Lytchett Minster School is looking for highly motivated colleagues who are passionate about education and who will relish the prospect of making a positive difference in the lives of young people.
This post represents an exciting opportunity for a well-qualified and experienced Deputy Designated Safeguarding Lead (DDSL) to join our pastoral team, with the expertise and people skills to support some of our most vulnerable students. This is a full-time post, working 8.30am – 4.30pm, Monday – Thursday and 8.30am -4.00pm Fridays, starting in June 2026.
A strong pastoral system forms the heart of our school and this is an exciting opportunity to make a significant contribution within the context of school aims, policies and practices that promote the welfare of students.
The successful candidate will share responsibility for safeguarding and child protection across the school. They will take part in strategy discussions and inter-agency meetings, and contribute to the assessment of students. They will also advise and support other members of staff on child welfare and child protection matters, and liaise with relevant agencies such as the local authority and police.
Set in a semi-rural location with an 18th Century family Manor House at its heart, Lytchett has one of the most beautiful and inspirational learning environments in the county with stunning extensive grounds and a number of modern extensions. The school is massively over-subscribed and highly regarded in the community. Parents know that Lytchett looks after its students, providing them with outstanding pastoral care and high-quality teaching. The school has a successful, thriving sixth form with over 340 students.
Lytchett has not joined a multi-academy trust, and has no intention of doing so, because it values its independence as a secondary school which serves its local community and produces outstanding outcomes for its students.
To find out more about the school, please refer to our 'What is it like to work at Lytchett?' document.
Lytchett Minster School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Any offer of employment will be subject to receipt of a satisfactory DBS Enhanced Disclosure and acceptable references.
Lytchett Minster School will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. All aspects of social media and internet searches will be conducted. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not be on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.