Graduate Coach - English

“Pupils and staff enjoy belonging to a vibrant school community where caring, respectful relationships are the norm” - Ofsted (January 2024)

We are seeking an enthusiastic and motivated Graduate Coach - English to join King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy and support our pupils to develop their confidence, knowledge and skills in English.

Working closely with colleagues within the English department and wider academy, you will provide targeted academic support to pupils through in-class support, small-group intervention and bespoke 1:1 work. You will help pupils to overcome barriers to learning, reinforce key English skills and support them to make strong progress and achieve the outcomes of which they are capable.

This is an excellent opportunity for a graduate who is passionate about English and working with young people. It would particularly suit someone looking to gain valuable experience within a secondary school environment and develop their skills alongside experienced teaching professionals.

We are looking for someone who reflects our academy values in the way they work every day:

Bold - You will be confident in encouraging and motivating pupils, helping them to challenge themselves and overcome barriers to their learning.

Ambitious - You will have high expectations for every pupil and be committed to helping them achieve the very best outcomes in English.

Collaborative - You will work closely with English teachers and colleagues across the academy to ensure pupils receive consistent and effective support.

Kind - You will build positive, supportive relationships with pupils, providing the patience, encouragement and understanding they need to grow in confidence and succeed.

Most importantly, you will be joining a supportive community of Senior Leadership, Teaching and Support staff where “staff feel valued and appreciate how their workload and wellbeing are considered by leaders at all levels”, as recognised by Ofsted.

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy is a dynamic and forward-thinking school, recognised as the most improved school in the West Midlands and the fifth most-improved school in the country by the Fairer Schools Index in January 2025. We are also proud to be the first Birmingham City Academy School in conjunction with Birmingham City Football Club, creating further opportunities and experiences for our pupils.

We are incredibly proud of the journey our academy is on and are looking for a like-minded professional who shares our commitment to achieving the very best outcomes for our young people. Our pupils “know staff have high expectations of them and want them to be successful”, while both staff and pupils are “rightly proud of how much Balaam Wood has improved over recent years”. At Balaam Wood, daily life reflects our values of being bold, ambitious, collaborative and kind, and we look forward to welcoming a new colleague who will help us continue that journey.

Who will you be joining?

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy is located in South West Birmingham. The academy is rapidly improving and continuing to benefit from having joined King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham which has led to investment across the academy, including the availability of cutting-edge technology in each classroom. King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy is proud to be part of The Schools of King Edward VI Birmingham which supports its schools, faculties/departments and individual staff to work collaboratively. The successful candidate will benefit from a wide range of professional development opportunities encompassing the potential to experience schools across the Foundation and to pursue professional qualifications. There will be opportunities to collaborate with other schools and to benefit from their expertise and resources.

Our expectations and aspirations

King Edward VI Balaam Wood Academy has the highest aspirations and expectations for all members of its community. As a member of staff, you will be valued, challenged and supported in making a difference to the lives of our young people. We expect the same of our pupils. We demand courtesy, endeavour and resilience from all of our pupils and the support of their parents and carers.

We are exceptionally proud of our academy and our young people and would encourage interested applicants to come and spend some time with the leadership team to understand our shared vision, have a look around and experience what life is like as part of our community.

About the Academy Trust

The King Edward VI Foundation, Birmingham, is a progressive charitable organisation which has supported excellence in education across the city since 1552. Our schools are diverse in nature but have a common purpose and commitment to achieving our mission of “making Birmingham the best place to be educated in the UK”.

Our Academy Trust currently consists of two independent schools, six selective, and five non-selective academies. Our recent expansion into a wider diversity of local communities is enabling us to accelerate our strategies for improving the life chances of young people in Birmingham, whatever their background.

The King Edward VI Academy Trust Birmingham (“the Academy Trust”) was established in 2017 and is made up of the academies outlined above. The academies receive back office central support services including governance, from the Foundation Office (a central support services function), with several staff being seconded from the Foundation to deliver support services to the Academy Trust and the academies themselves.

Our highly focused five-year strategy aims to build on our existing strengths and heritage and deliver our ambitious growth strategy which aims to bring in a further five academies over the next five years.