The Portsmouth Grammar School is a leading co-educational school located in the historic heart of Portsmouth. We are very much a family school known for excellent teaching, superb pastoral care and wide-ranging co-curricular opportunities and offer an education across the age range from Pre-School to Sixth Form.
The school seeks to appoint a well-qualified teacher of Learning Support and English from September 2025 or January 2026. The successful candidate will ideally have experience working with neurodiverse pupils with a variety of difficulties and will have experience supporting pupils across the four pillars of the SEND Code of Practice. Holding or working towards a level 7 Specialist Assessor qualification would be an advantage. This will be a full-time role.
Learning Support is a well-established and integral part of the school. Teaching within the department aims to build upon all pupils’ neurodiverse strengths and develop their independent learning skills. Pupils may be seen one-to-one or in small groups for variable lengths of time or numbers of sessions, and these are usually arranged on a half-termly or termly basis. The focus of the support for individual pupils is dependent on their needs but could encompass literacy; numeracy; study skills; revision techniques; and curriculum support. Particular assistance is provided for those pupils with a specific additional educational need or difficulty (including, but not limited to, dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention difficulties and hearing or visual impairments in some form) but, beyond that, a range of support can be offered for any pupil in the school who is identified as benefitting from working with the department. Underpinning effective support is the early identification of pupils’ strengths and weaknesses through a comprehensive group screening procedure for all new entrants to the school, followed by further individual testing, where necessary. The department also support those pupils with SEND who followed a reduced curriculum; this is done through timetabled learning support lessons.
PGS is an all-through school from ages 2½ to 18 and it is envisaged that this role will involve opportunities for work and personal professional career development across all key stages and sectors of the school. The Learning Support Department is line managed by the Deputy Head (Teaching and Learning).
The school offers excellent training and support to teachers at all stages of their career. PGS teachers convey passion for their subject and seek to maximise progress by knowing their pupils well and adapting their teaching accordingly. We are always looking to develop new ideas and approaches to teaching and are keen to incorporate the particular interests of new members of staff into the overall curriculum scheme.
The successful applicant will be expected to contribute fully to the pastoral and co-curricular life of the school. It is an expectation that all teachers will have a tutor group or act as a co-tutor within the pastoral system.
How to apply
Candidates are asked to apply through the online form linked to our advert on
Any informal enquires about the role or how to apply are very welcome at recruitment@pgs.org.uk
The closing date will be midday on 21st April 2025 and interviews will be scheduled to place on 25th April 2025. Candidates are asked to allow a whole day for the interview process.
The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The School may carry out online searches on shortlisted applicants and applicants may be required to provide details of their online profile, including social media account names/handles, as part of their application.
The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The School is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions on a self-declaration form in advance of attending an interview (including those which are ‘spent’ unless they are ‘protected’ under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children.