What skills and experience we're looking for
Job Purpose:
• To be a champion for students who are more likely to experience disadvantage.
• To support and motivate students to achieve their very best academically and personally (prioritising students who are more likely to face disadvantage).
• To undertake the duties of a Head of Year.
Job Description:
• To support students on a 1:1 basis or in small groups.
• To work with students to identify and overcome any barriers that may be affecting their personal or academic progress.
• To support young people to engage actively with their learning and the wider life of the school.
• To develop and run small group targeted intervention sessions based on student need e.g. punctuality, organisation, wellbeing, study skills.
• To work within the wider pastoral team, liaising with teachers, Heads of Year and parents as required.
• To ensure that record keeping is accurate and complete.
• To undertake the duties of a Head of Year (key stage dependent).
• To lead the wider supervision and monitoring of all Sixth Form students during independent study lessons (key stage dependent).
• To be a part of the school’s team of form tutors.
Interview dates W/C 5th May 2025
What the school offers its staff
Queen Mary’s High School is an 11 to 18 selective girls’ grammar school with approximately 920 students. This number is set to rise to in excess of 990 by 2025 due to an increase in PAN from 120 to 150 in 2019. There are a small number of male students in the sixth form.
Since the school’s successful bid for funding from the Selective Schools Expansion Fund (SSEF), it has been able to increase its PAN and to engage in outreach to the local community with the aim of increasing the number of local disadvantaged children being admitted to the school. This, together with the inclusion of a lower qualifying score for disadvantaged local children, has resulted in the average percentage of disadvantaged students admitted to the school in Years 7-9 being 28% with the aim of this rising to 30% for the whole school over time.
Queen Mary’s High School is a diverse, busy and happy school. Care for the individual lies at the heart of our provision. We are not a school where one size fits all, but we are a school in which diversity thrives, is encouraged and is celebrated. Whilst academic achievement is a key part of our school culture, we recognise that there is much more to learning than that which takes place in the classroom. Our students benefit from and enjoy a range of extra-curricular activities. This includes participation in our competitive House system, opportunities in sport, music and drama, residential trips and visits along with a range of other clubs and societies. Sixth Form students play a key role in the life of the school through their leadership roles and capacity as role models for our younger students. We have a long and established tradition of educating the thinkers, doers and change makers of the future and have been doing so for over 125 years. Queen Mary’s High School is a school which is proud of its heritage and tradition whilst simultaneously being committed to developing staff and students who are outward facing, innovative and ready to take on a challenge.
Queen Mary’s High School has a dedicated, expert and conscientious teaching staff, ably supported by superb associate staff. Our ethos and values are demonstrated by the endeavour of all in our school community, who work together to ensure the highest standards of academic achievement, and to provide excellent pastoral care that supports, nurtures and empowers our students in achieving this excellence. Partnerships between school, parents and pupils enable examination success and wide-ranging life enriching opportunities outside of the classroom prepare and equip our students to meet the challenges of a rapidly evolving world.
Located in the heart of Walsall, Queen Mary’s High School has been educating young women since it was founded in 1893. We are a busy, friendly and energetic school with a distinctive family-oriented ethos, a positive culture and an ambition for success. We draw our students from a wide area including Walsall, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Sandwell and Staffordshire.
The Mercian Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Pre-employment checks include an enhanced disclosure and barring service check as a requirement of this post. Our Safeguarding Policy is available on our website, and we encourage applicants to review it before applying.
This position is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check (formerly CRB) under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Further details regarding this check are available from the school or by visiting
Commitment to safeguarding
We are committed to safeguarding at QMHS. Our school’s aims and vision statement very clearly states that we strive to ensure that the individual needs of all our highly able students are met. At QMHS and across the Mercian Trust we recognise that the emotional wellbeing and positive mental health of all members of the community is integral to our continued success. We have built and continue to strengthen a community of support for all stakeholders which includes pupils, staff and parents/carers.