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Teaching Vacancies; Waltham Cross; On-site; GBP 28,000 - 34,000; Full time

Job summary

Teaching Vacancies is seeking an empathetic pastoral practitioner to support KS4 students with SEMH needs. You will mentor students, manage detention and liaise with parents while working with the pastoral leadership to reduce incidents and promote wellbeing.

The role starts October 2026, requiring strong relationship-building, organisational skills and a proactive problem-solving approach in a busy school environment.

Qualifications

• Experience working with young people in a busy environment and ability to build positive relationships with students.
• Strong written and oral communication skills; confident contacting and meeting parents.
• Calm under pressure, excellent interpersonal skills and a team-player mindset.
• Highly organised, able to manage time and meet tight deadlines.

Responsibilities

• Mentor selected KS4 students to improve behaviour and attendance, supporting SEMH needs.
• Support Directors of Learning with daily behaviour issues, incident follow-up and parental meetings.
• Manage the detention system and monitor student attendance at detention.
• Collect and collate incident statements, maintain accurate records (e.g. bullying, racial incidents) and follow up when appropriate.
• Issue and monitor target cards and contribute to pastoral support plans.
• Respond to relationship issues between students and staff and take practical steps to resolve them.
• Provide general student support (upsets, lost items) and arrange work for students during exclusion or absence.
• Liaise with external agencies and be a secondary contact for parents when required.
• Support monitoring of students placed in alternative provision and assist with pastoral events and programmes.
• Assist with before-school/late gates, break/lunch supervision and on-call duties as required.

Skills

Behaviour support

Mentoring KS4

Parental liaison

Record keeping

Job description

What skills and experience we're looking for

Contract Type:Permanent

Closing Date:24th September 2026

This is a role for someone who can improve day-to-day behaviour systems, mentor Key Stage 4 students and provide calm, consistent support for young people with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs. You will work closely with Directors of Learning and the Pastoral leadership to reduce incidents, manage detention and support students 1:1 and in small groups, including parental contact and on-call duties. The post starts October 2026 and suits a strong practitioner who enjoys hands-on pastoral work and practical problem solving.

What you’ll be doing

• Mentor selected KS4 students to improve behaviour and attendance, supporting SEMH needs.
• Support Directors of Learning with daily behaviour issues, incident follow-up and parental meetings.
• Manage the detention system and monitor student attendance at detention.
• Collect and collate incident statements, maintain accurate records (e.g. bullying, racial incidents) and follow up when appropriate.
• Issue and monitor target cards and contribute to pastoral support plans.
• Respond to relationship issues between students and staff and take practical steps to resolve them.
• Provide general student support (upsets, lost items) and arrange work for students during exclusion or absence.
• Liaise with external agencies and be a secondary contact for parents when required.
• Support monitoring of students placed in alternative provision and assist with pastoral events and programmes.
• Assist with before-school/late gates, break/lunch supervision and on-call duties as required.

What we’re looking for

• Experience working with young people in a busy environment and ability to build positive relationships with students.
• Strong written and oral communication skills; confident contacting and meeting parents.
• Calm under pressure, excellent interpersonal skills and a team-player mindset.
• Highly organised, able to manage time and meet tight deadlines.
• Ability to work 1:1 and in small groups with students, including those with SEMH needs.
• Willingness to follow school policies, maintain confidentiality and contribute to safeguarding practice.
• Eligibility to work with children evidenced through DBS and recruitment checks.
• Previous experience of contributing to pastoral support plans or working with external agencies.
• Experience supervising alternative provision or supporting high-tariff students.

About the team

You will report to the Vice Principal (Pastoral & Behaviour) and work day-to-day with Directors of Learning, the SENCO, SLT, teaching and support staff within a close-knit Pastoral Team. The team places emphasis on clear procedures, strong communication and consistent routines to support students’ learning and wellbeing.

What we offer

• Personalised professional development and access to Trust-wide CPD and leadership pathways.
• Subsidised nursery provision via Ashbourne (staff discount and term-time places).
• Employee Assistance Programme, mental health first aid support and free on-site parking.
• Access to pension schemes (Teachers’ Pension or Local Government Pension where eligible), cycle-to-work scheme, flu jabs, staff wellbeing resources and discounted gym membership.
• A modern working environment with recent building improvements and sports facilities.

About us

Goffs-Churchgate Academy is an 11–16 comprehensive school of around 600 pupils in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, and a member of Generations Multi Academy Trust. The school is deliberately sized to maintain a strong sense of community and was graded Good by Ofsted in May 2022. The Trust operates several schools locally and offers centralised support, strong CPD and a collaborative working culture.

Generations Multi Academy Trust

Generations Multi Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to satisfactory references, qualifications, experience checks, medical clearance, enhanced DBS checks, social media checks, and documentary evidence showing your entitlement to work in the UK.

GMAT is a cross-phase Multi Academy Trust based in Cheshunt, currently comprising two secondaries and two primaries - Goffs Academy, Goffs-Churchgate Academy, Flamstead End School and Oakview Primary School. Across the piece, GMAT currently has just under 3,000 students in its care and employs just under 400 staff. The MAT also operates nursery provision on the Goffs-Churchgate site, with subsidised and term-time only places for staff, run by Ashbourne Nurseries - https://ashbournedaynurseries.com/.

All of the schools are situated within close proximity of each other in Cheshunt, and share many activities, including CPD for staff. One of the Trust’s fundamental principles is that no one school or phase is in any way more important or successful than the other. As such, CPD and other events are rotated through all schools in the Trust, with everyone learning from and sharing with each other. This collegiate and collaborative approach permeates our Trust.

The MAT’s finances are overseen by a highly skilled Chief Finance Officer with considerable financial expertise in the private sector, plus a highly experienced Finance Manager. The Trust deliberately created an innovative Income Generation function, and extensive lettings and business development work now takes place across all sites in the MAT. This additional income – now yielding around £600k per annum – underpins generous levels of staffing at both schools, plus many “extras” that would otherwise be unaffordable in the current funding climate.

GMAT is a fully centralised MAT, with all of our schools able to access dedicated, expert advice and support from centralised functions in HR, Finance, Income Generation, Data/Business Analysis, ICT and Estates.

The MAT is extremely clear about its daily purpose, reflected in its motto of “no set destiny for any child.” All of our schools, leaders and staff believe fiercely in the life-changing nature of education and work tirelessly to that end, day in and day out. There is no set destiny for any of the children in our care; rather, we are each very clear that our daily work across the piece allows children to forge new futures and destinies.

Flamstead End School is a thriving primary school with approximately 485 children on roll. It has a preschool, a 60-place nursery offering 30 hours provision, and two classes per year group from Reception to Year 6. Flamstead End is also a ' Herts Therapeutic Thinking' school, and seeks to understand and support children's behaviour so that they are able to learn and achieve to the best of their ability. The school is a tight knit community, with a well‑established staff who care for one another and the children in their charge.

Goffs Academy is a mixed 11-18 comprehensive academy with approximately 1,600 students on roll, including a thriving and successful sixth form. The school is also extremely popular in the local area, with an average of over 800 applications annually for the 240 places available, and significant waiting lists for places across the year groups.

Goffs-Churchgate Academy is a fully mixed 11-16 comprehensive school, with approximately 600 students on roll. The school has rightly established a very strong reputation for both its academic outcomes and its close-knit, nurturing community, receiving an average of over 600 applications for just 120 available places. The decision to cap student numbers at 600 is entirely deliberate, enabling us to maintain a strong sense of community where everybody knows everybody else.

Oakview Primary School is a one-form entry warm and welcoming primary school with currently approximately 170 children on roll. In September 2025, Andrews Lane Primary was relaunched as Oakview Primary, marking the beginning of a significant transformation under the leadership of the Generations Multi Academy Trust. This was far more than a rebrand. The change of name signaled a new identity, reflecting the ambition to deliver a higher quality of education, stronger community links, and continuously improving outcomes for all children. The school benefits from significant space, including a field and a forest. As a 'Herts Therapeutic Thinking' school, the school is committed to understanding and supporting children with their learning and achievement, within a context of deep‑rooted mutual respect. One of the features of Oakview is its commitment to supporting its children and their families, and as such the school provides adult learning classes throughout the year. Staff are committed, dedicated professionals who want to do their very best for every pupil.

Our schools pride themselves on their sense of community – both within the school itself, and in the wider locality. Visitors to our schools unfailingly comment on a very real sense of community, coupled with warmth and pride. Three of our schools are members of Cheshunt extended services (CHEXS), offering a variety of extended school and community-based activities for both students and parents. Our students actively support local charity work such as the Isabel Hospice and maintain strong links with our local primary schools.

Our schools are proud to be truly community‑based schools, with students and staff from different nationalities, faiths and cultures and a number of languages spoken in each school. As a Trust we recognise and celebrate what makes us unique and different, and acknowledge that we are also part of one community. Our aim is for everybody to feel valued and respected, and we strive hard to ensure we create a positive culture within the schools to enable this to happen.

Further information about GMAT can be found here: https://generationsmat.com/

Staff Development

The Trust has an extremely strong reputation for staff development, for both teaching and support staff. Developing the next generation of school leaders, both middle and senior, plus future Headteachers for those who wish to pursue this, is also a responsibility that we take very seriously. We have a full suite of staff leadership development which staff can join, be they an ECT or highly experienced colleague.

Taking advantage of the many opportunities inherent in being a cross-phase MAT, the MAT runs a calendared programme of networking meetings where leads across both phases can come together to discuss and share best practice in areas including safeguarding, behaviour and teacher training.

In addition to whole staff training days, we disaggregate a number of hours for training every year. This allows staff development to be highly personalised as staff can opt for the training which best meets their needs, including the opportunity to do a research project in partnership with Cambridge University. Many use their disaggregated time to coach others or to receive coaching. Moreover, there are specific training sessions for ECTs and other interested staff which run each week after school.

We also place a lot of emphasis on ‘on the job’ training and support. A thorough induction scheme is available to all new staff, and mentors/buddies are assigned to guide you through those new routines. Finally, external courses can of course be booked if, on very rare occasions, we cannot cater for a particular training need in-house.

Leadership Development

The Trust’s leadership academy encompasses both staff and student leadership development through a series of student led groups and staff leadership pathways. The staff programme specifically provides opportunities for:

• Aspiring middle leaders
• Aspiring senior leaders

All pathways are personalised for the individual and staff receive one-to-one support from a mentor alongside working on a whole school project. Both support staff and teaching staff are welcome to join the leadership academy at any point in their career.

A full suite of leadership training is offered with a range of sessions including:

• What makes a good leader? - Communicating vision and values
• Leadership and staff motivation - Building a high performing team
• Leading and managing change - Developing your leadership approach
• Being a Lead Practitioner - Quality assuring effective teaching
• Strategic pastoral leadership - being a Director of Learning
• Strategic curriculum leadership - being a Head of Department
• Coaching and mentoring - Observation for improvement
• Using data in leadership for impact
• Resilience in leadership, including effective communication with key stakeholders
• How to make your applications stand out
• Fostering positive behaviour for learning
• Leading and managing innovation and change

As part of the Trust’s commitment to developing future leaders, a number of the existing senior leadership team across both secondary schools gained experience through an ‘associate’ SLT position before gaining substantive leadership posts.

Trust Staff Benefits

Alongside our very strong focus on outstanding professional development and promotion opportunities, we also offer a range of benefits including:

Competitive base salary with a tailor‑made development plan aimed at enhancing your future [earnings] potential through:

• High quality, personalised CPD
• Subsidies for masters and degree courses
• Secondment and shadowing opportunities
• As part of our multi academy Trust, potential to work across more than one school to develop career enhancing skills and knowledge
• Supported nursery provision with Ashbourne at any of their nurseries in the Buckinghamshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire, and Bedfordshire area:
  • 15% discount for all Trust staff
  • Term time only places are available
  • A school day would be 9.00am - 3.00pm
  • “sundries” would be applied to a child taking up a funded only space (e.g. 30 hours funding only). This covers the cost of: meals, snacks, nursery resources
• The MAT adheres to the STPCD for its teaching staff

Additional financial incentives and tax efficient benefits, including:

• Exam marker payment of £400 plus 2 days' paid leave to do the marking (1st year)
• Payments for staff taking weekend sporting fixtures: staff paid £200 for leading a minimum of six Saturday fixtures plus 6 weekly training sessions
• A daily allowance of £50 for school trips taken over a weekend or any school holiday
• A £1,000 employee referral scheme (i.e. Finder’s fee) for any qualifying positions that staff refer the successful candidate for: £500 on the person starting, and £500 if the person is still in employment in the Trust 12 months later

Access to a wide range of health and well-being resources including:

• Employee Assistance Programme via Spectrum Life which offers access to:
  • An in-the-moment advisory helpline on a wide range of personal, work‑related or financial issues
  • Further counselling support (subject to a referral)
  • Healthy eating ideas
  • Fitness programmes
  • A wealth of wellbeing resources such as podcasts and mindfulness techniques
• Fully trained Mental Health First Aiders at all Trust sites
• Eligible staff may join the Teachers’ Pension Scheme or the Local Government Pension Scheme
• Support Staff annual leave increases in line with service at 5 and 10 years’ service
• Enhanced annual leave for full year support staff

Paid time off for:

• Interviews
• Moving house
• Study/exam leave
• Medical appointments
• “Special” leave
• Compassionate Leave

• Generous sick pay allowances
• Two-week autumn half term
• Cycle to work scheme
• Free on-site parking at all sites
• Modern, professional and fit for purpose working environments
• Free use of a range of sports and leisure facilities, including a fully equipped gym
• Substantially discounted membership to a new professionally run, externally let, Lifestyle Fitness Gym
• Free tea, coffee and milk
• Discounted car valeting service on site at Trust schools
• Ad hoc rewards such as ice cream van visits, fruit, doughnuts, chocolates, Easter eggs and many more

Alison Garner

Chief Executive Officer

Date

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment. Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance. Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant): childcare disqualification Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) medical online and social media prohibition from teaching right to work satisfactory references suitability to work with children You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.