Head of Inclusion – GEMS Education

GEMS schools in Dubai are looking for a Head of Inclusion to lead the strategy and day-to-day delivery of inclusive education support across the school, making sure students with additional learning needs, whether that’s a learning difficulty, a disability, or another form of additional support requirement, are properly identified, supported, and integrated into mainstream school life. This is both a leadership and a hands-on pastoral role.

The work involves overseeing the identification and assessment process for students who may need additional support, developing individual education plans in collaboration with teachers and specialists, training and supporting classroom teachers on inclusive teaching strategies, and liaising closely with parents who are often anxious about their child’s needs being met. The Head of Inclusion also typically manages a small team of learning support assistants or specialists and reports to senior school leadership on inclusion outcomes and compliance with relevant regulatory standards.

Because inclusion touches every part of the school, from curriculum delivery to pastoral care to facilities, this role requires strong cross-functional influence: the Head of Inclusion rarely has direct authority over classroom teachers but needs to shape how they teach and support students with additional needs day to day. Safeguarding and student wellbeing are constant undercurrents in the role, given the vulnerability of some of the students being supported.

This suits an experienced special educational needs or inclusion specialist who combines genuine pastoral commitment with the leadership skills to influence a whole-school culture around inclusive practice.

How well a school supports students with additional learning needs is increasingly a factor parents and regulators scrutinize closely, and in many jurisdictions, including the UAE, school inspection frameworks explicitly assess inclusion provision as part of overall school quality ratings. A Head of Inclusion who builds strong, well-documented support systems protects the school's inspection outcomes and its reputation with a growing number of parents who prioritize inclusive education when choosing a school. Beyond compliance, inclusion done well has a direct effect on student retention: families whose children are properly supported are far more likely to stay at the school long term, rather than withdrawing to seek a more specialized or better-resourced environment elsewhere. Poor inclusion practice, by contrast, creates real risk: unsupported students can disengage or underperform, parents can become frustrated and vocal, and the school can face regulatory findings that affect its standing. Because inclusion requires influencing classroom practice across the whole staff body, this role's effectiveness compounds: a Head of Inclusion who successfully builds teacher capability in inclusive strategies improves outcomes for many students across many classrooms, not just the ones receiving direct one-to-one support. Given GEMS' scale, strong inclusion leadership at one school also often becomes a model or resource that benefits the wider group.

Leading inclusion at a school builds a rare and increasingly valuable combination of specialist SEN expertise and whole-organization leadership skill, since the role requires influencing teaching practice across a staff body without direct line authority over most of them. That kind of cross-functional influence, built on credibility and relationship rather than positional power, is a genuinely advanced leadership skill that transfers well beyond education into any role requiring organizational change management. The role also builds deep expertise in navigating regulatory and compliance frameworks around inclusive education, which is an area of growing focus for schools and education authorities across the region and internationally. That regulatory fluency, combined with hands-on experience running individual education plans and inclusion teams, is highly sought after as more schools invest in dedicated inclusion leadership. Working within a large network like GEMS Education also provides exposure to inclusion practices and resources at scale, along with access to peer inclusion leaders across other schools in the group, which accelerates professional learning compared to working in isolation at a smaller school. People who succeed as Head of Inclusion often progress into Assistant Principal or Vice Principal roles with a pastoral or inclusion portfolio, into district or group-level inclusion advisory roles, or into educational consultancy specializing in inclusive practice, given how central this expertise has become to school leadership more broadly.

• Bachelor’s degree in Education, Special Educational Needs, Psychology, or a related field; relevant SEN/inclusion qualification preferred
• Significant experience in special educational needs, learning support, or inclusion leadership within a school setting
• Experience developing and monitoring individual education plans (IEPs)
• Strong leadership and influencing skills to shape inclusive practice across teaching staff
• Excellent communication skills for working with parents, teachers, and external specialists
• Sound understanding of safeguarding practices and student welfare
• Familiarity with relevant UAE or international inclusion and SEN regulatory standards