Teacher of English

Teaching Vacancies; Smethwick; On-site; GBP 32,000 - 46,000; Full time

Job summary

Holly Lodge seeks a committed teacher with a good honours degree and strong classroom practice to deliver engaging lessons and support students’ personal development. You will contribute to safeguarding, pastoral care and staff culture as part of a collaborative school community.

The role emphasizes high expectations, reflective practice, and ongoing professional learning through CPD, with a warm-strict approach to behaviour and a commitment to inclusive education.

Qualifications

• Good Honours degree in a relevant secondary subject.
• Excellent classroom practice and planning, including explanation, checking for understanding, student practice and habits of discussion.
• Proficient use of information from lessons, classwork and formal assessment to inform teaching and future planning.

Responsibilities

• Plan and teach highly effective, motivating, ambitious and supportive lessons.
• Support students to develop excellent habits of learning through modelling, monitoring and discussion.
• Read around your subject and the education literature in order to continuously develop your teaching and curriculum thinking.
• Attend whole-school, department and pastoral CPD and apply what you learn to your practice.
• Visit colleagues' lessons and welcome visitors into your own lessons as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.
• Contribute to department discussion and development of curriculum materials.
• Use information from lessons, student classwork and assessments to inform future planning and teaching.
• Apply the school's systems to ensure excellent behaviour from all students.
• Support students through your role as a form tutor.
• Actively participate in duties, engaging students in conversation and helping to ensure an excellent climate for break and lunch.
• Contribute to the staff culture through professionalism, discussion, openness and warmth.

Skills

Interpersonal communication

Motivates students

Safeguarding knowledge

Classroom management

Lesson planning

Data-informed teaching

Behaviour standards

ICT skills

SIMS / data systems

Education

Honours degree in relevant subject

Tools

SIMS

Job description

What skills and experience we're looking for

Qualifications and Experience

• Good Honours degree in a relevant secondary subject

Professional Experience and Practice

• A commitment to ambitious education for all students, regardless of their background or starting point
• A readiness to provide world-class pastoral care and personal development as a form tutor

Personal Attributes and Qualities

• A passion for your subject and for teaching
• A belief that we are none of us the finished article, and that professional life is about ongoing learning, discussion, challenge, feedback and continuous improvement
• A willingness to proactively contribute to our staff culture through professionalism, discussion, openness and warmth

Knowledge and Skills

• Outstanding interpersonal and communication skills with students, colleagues and stakeholders
• Motivates and inspires students
• Knowledge of and experience in safeguarding and child protection, and the role of the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
• Evidence of dealing with classroom day-to-day issues

Professional Experience and Practice

• Excellent classroom practice and planning, including explanation, checking for understanding, student practice and habits of discussion
• Proficient use of information from lessons, classwork and formal assessment to inform teaching and future planning
• High standards of behaviour and the application of our "warm-strict" approach

Knowledge and Skills

• Evidence of teaching in more than one school
• Knowledge and use of SIMS and/or other data management systems to monitor students' behaviour, attitudes and well-being
• Outstanding ICT skills

The Core Purposes of the Role

• Teaching and contributing to curriculum development
• Providing pastoral care and supporting students in their personal development
• Contributing to the staff professional culture of the school

Key Duties and Responsibilities

• Plan and teach highly effective, motivating, ambitious and supportive lessons.
• Support students to develop excellent habits of learning through modelling, monitoring and discussion.
• Read around your subject and the education literature in order to continuously develop your teaching and curriculum thinking.
• Attend whole-school, department and pastoral CPD and apply what you learn to your practice.
• Visit colleagues' lessons and welcome visitors into your own lessons as part of our commitment to continuous improvement.
• Contribute to department discussion and development of curriculum materials.
• Use information from lessons, student classwork and assessments to inform future planning and teaching.
• Apply the school's systems to ensure excellent behaviour from all students.
• Support students through your role as a form tutor.
• Actively participate in duties, engaging students in conversation and helping to ensure an excellent climate for break and lunch.
• Contribute to the staff culture through professionalism, discussion, openness and warmth.

Additional Information

This appointment is subject to the current conditions of employment contained in the School Teachers' Pay and Conditions Document, the required Teacher Standards, other current educational legislation, and the school's articles of governance.

This job description may be amended at any time following discussion between the Headteacher and the member of staff and will be reviewed annually.

The school will endeavour to make any necessary reasonable adjustments to the job and the working environment to enable access to employment opportunities for job applicants with disabilities or specific requirements, and for any employee who develops a disability or specific requirement during their employment.

What the school offers its staff

Ambition

At Holly Lodge we believe that a truly excellent education should be the entitlement of every single young person. This means we pursue an ambitious, knowledge-rich curriculum, made accessible and memorable for all. We believe that our curriculum and teaching should equip students to pursue high-flying further study and careers on their chosen paths, and to join “the great conversations of humankind.”

As Aristotle said, “Excellence is a habit.” Thus, hard work from students and staff alike sits at the heart of our ambition. We are ambitious not only for our students’ academic success but also for their personal development, soft skills and wider cultural capital. To this end we model and expect excellent conduct from all of our students. “We are becoming the best version of ourselves.”

Ambitions such as these do not come easy. When we are pushing ourselves, we should expect to feel challenged; we should embrace the obstacles we face as opportunities to grow and learn. Resilience is therefore the final component of our Holly Lodge Ambition. “If it was easy, it wouldn’t be worth doing.”

An education at Holly Lodge represents many, many fantastic opportunities, from the learning itself, to extra-curricular clubs, to trips, to life-long friendships made. We see opportunity as a value in itself: it is a way to see the world, to notice, seize, and make the most of the opportunities we are so fortunate to have.

Crucial to our opportunity outlook is appreciation. It is vital that we take time each day to notice all the wonderful things we are lucky to have - “even in the darkness there is light.”

At Holly Lodge, we make the most of our opportunities by valuing efficiency. We spend our time on the things that make a difference, and we don’t waste time on things that don’t work. “Every second counts:” whether it is for learning, rest or leisure.

Openness is key to opportunity: openness in our minds and outlooks, a willingness to try new things and consider other viewpoints, and to receive and act on feedback that helps us to get better every day.

Community

Communities are valuable because together we are stronger. At Holly Lodge we value our school community and the wider community we serve as a school. Community is based on respect: tolerance, trust and consideration. It is also based on kindness: we do things to help others because it is the right thing to do.

Finally, we take responsibility: we are independent thinkers and we have the power to make the world a better place - “it is up to us to do so, in our actions every day.”

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organization 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.