Job Description

Permanent

Full time, Monday to Friday, Term-time plus 5 days

Start date 21st August 2025

Pro rata salary from 27,945 up to 31,731 depending on experience and qualifications (Support Staff Pay Spine Point 16 31,954 FTE to Point 20 36,283 FTE per annum)

If you have been working with young people and are looking for a new challenge, an exciting opportunity has arisen to join the College's well established Student Services and Support team in the post of Progress and Support Tutor. Working closely with other colleagues, Progress and Support Tutors provide appropriate guidance and support for students, monitoring their progress in order to support their personal and academic development and to assist them in fulfilling their potential.

Progress and Support Tutors are responsible for a minimum of 7 tutor groups, with about 25 students in each group. Each tutor group comprises students from a single year group and has timetabled weekly Future Ready sessions. Each tutor has a significant allocation of time to conduct one to one discussions with tutees at mutually convenient times throughout the week. Progress and Support Tutors will also be required to mentor up to four periods of Extended Project Qualification (EPQ) per week and deliver one period of enrichment.

This role will ideally suit somebody who has experience and an interest in the development of young people. Recent knowledge and experience of post-16 education and dealing successfully with parents, students and staff is essential. An understanding of the developmental, emotional, social and educational issues of young people is also a key requirement, together with an awareness of the range of needs of people from diverse ethnic, cultural and social backgrounds. All candidates will need up to date knowledge of the legislative and best practice requirements pertaining to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of young people.

Recently rated 'outstanding' again, Hills Road Sixth Form College continues to enjoy a strong national reputation for excellence in education. In part, this is because we continually review and refine our practice to enhance the experiences of our students and staff, for example, through our collaborative evidence-based approach to professional development. We also appreciate that academic success requires a happy, healthy and caring community, so our coaching culture ensures that the wellbeing of our students and staff is at the heart of all we do.

We offer a wide range of competitive benefits including a generous pension scheme, free use of the College sporting facilities, free on-site parking, cycle to work scheme, as well as discounts on all our Adult Education courses.

Closing date:

Monday 2nd June 2025

Interviews:

Wednesday 11th June 2025

Details and an application form for the above post may be obtained from our website www.hillsroad.ac.uk

The College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its students and staff and expects all members of the College community, volunteers and visitors to share this commitment. The College actively promotes equality and diversity and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

The Post

Hills Road Sixth Form College has operated a specialist tutorial system for over ten years now. This means that we have a dedicated team of tutors who look after the guidance and support needs of our 2,800 students. Tutors oversee and monitor students' progress, their attendance, support needs, and well-being and consider each student's experience at the College holistically. Tutors work alongside their tutees to ensure that each student is capable of realising their potential and are the first point of contact. Tutors also deliver the college tutorial programme, known as Future Ready, Extended Project sessions and Enrichment. Ultimately, it is the tutor that gets to know each of their students well and who writes the final reference to support the student's successful onward progression to employment, training or university.

Most importantly, we are looking for candidates with the right disposition: it's crucial that you really like 16-18 year olds and feel a real commitment to doing all you can to support the best outcomes for them. Sometimes this means a 'tough love' approach to ensure that students are meeting College expectations and not letting themselves down and sometimes this means a much more gentle and flexible approach to coaxing the best from a student.

Organisational Structures

Tutors are supported in their role by a variety of support structures within the College. The core team supporting students is our Student Services Team who work together with tutors to monitor and support student attendance and who are on the end of a phone to receive information from parents and to liaise directly with students too. The Student Services Team includes in-house College counsellors to whom referrals can be made for 1:1 confidential support. Wellbeing Coordinators, who are available for student drop-in sessions, to triage support and to signpost students to the most appropriate kinds of support for them. In addition the Safeguarding and Welfare Officers provide support to staff regarding safeguarding issues, and to students with specific needs. The team collectively is known as the Guidance Team and it is led by the Guidance Leadership Team. This team consists of the Vice Principal (Student Progression and Support), two Heads of Year and the Head of Student Personal Development who meet once a week to discuss the strategic and operational needs of the guidance elements of College. In addition, the Safeguarding Leadership Team meet weekly to consider case studies of students in particular need.

Accommodation and Resources

Each Tutor has their own office in the Guidance corridor where students can find them for 1:1 review meetings and informal drop-in opportunities. Each tutor has a dedicated direct dial phone line and personal laptop to allow parents easy access to them for communicating important information in relation to a student's circumstances and potential progress.

Tutor Groups and Future Ready Programme

Students are organised into tutor groups by year group and are typically in groups of 25 which meet with their Tutor once a week through Year 12 and less frequently through Year 13. Progress and Support tutors look after a minimum of seven tutor groups. A centrally organised Future Ready programme is delivered to each group by the Tutor and includes elements of wellbeing, social responsibility and careers education & guidance. In addition, whole cohort days are run in November based on Wellbeing and a week is dedicated in February to Progression pathways and career possibilities. Training and support would be available for colleagues new to any of these elements.

Extended Project

All of our Year 12 students complete the Extended Project Qualification because we see this as a really valuable opportunity for students to develop and determine their own curriculum element for perhaps the only time in their compulsory education phase. A key part of the Tutor role is to act as EPQ mentor to the students in their own Y12 groups. Full training and support will be given for this element of the role, with no expectation that candidates will have prior experience either of the qualification or of teaching. EPQ delivery is unique because it relies on 1:1 support work with students to mentor and guide them through their projects and as such fits very well with the skill set we are looking for in our Progress and Support Tutors.

Training and Support

A full induction and training programme will be available to guide new colleagues through and beyond their first year in post. This will cover all aspects of the role, such as monitoring and recording using our ProMonitor software; writing references for students' university applications and using UCAS.com; liaising with parents and a range of external agencies and a whole range of technical and knowledge areas that we will be glad to support you with. We need you to be someone who is genuinely committed to helping young people realise their potential in any number of ways. We want you to be passionate about helping them to lead happy and fulfilling lives whatever that may take and however creative you might need to be in finding solutions that work for them.

If this sounds like you, or if you have any questions about the role, then we look forward to hearing from you. Please don't hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss this further before making an application.

With best wishes

Tim Lomas

Vice Principal

tlomas@hillsroad.ac.uk

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: 27,945.00-31,731.00 per year

Benefits:

Additional leave Bereavement leave Canteen Casual dress Company events Company pension Cycle to work scheme Employee discount Enhanced maternity leave Enhanced paternity leave Free flu jabs Free parking Gym membership Health & wellbeing programme On-site gym On-site parking Sick pay Transport links
Schedule:

Monday to Friday
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 02/06/2025

Expected start date: 21/08/2025

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: 27,945.00-31,731.00 per year

Benefits:

Additional leave Bereavement leave Canteen Casual dress Company events Company pension Cycle to work scheme Employee discount Enhanced maternity leave Enhanced paternity leave Free flu jabs Free parking Gym membership Health & wellbeing programme On-site gym On-site parking Sick pay Transport links
Schedule:

Monday to Friday
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 02/06/2025
Expected start date: 21/08/2025