The job in one line
You teach GCSE. That is the job, and we have built the role so that it stays the job.
Who you will be teaching
PET-Xi runs a 16–19 Study Programme for young people mainstream education has not served well. Some were excluded. Some simply stopped attending and nobody chased them. Some arrived in the UK as asylum seekers or refugees and are rebuilding an education in a second language.
Around nine in ten of our learners are neurodiverse. Six in ten come from low-income households, which means the cost of turning up, travel, food, kit, is itself a barrier. Some were referred with at least one contextual safeguarding concern. A few do not speak in class very much.
Every one of them has sat your subject’s exam before and not got the grade. They were handed long odds. Your job is to change them.
What you will actually do
– Teach GCSE. Resit groups in your subject, across the ability and attendance range, for learners who need the grade to move on.
– Assess properly. Diagnose where the subject actually broke down for each learner. For most of them it was years before they met you.
– Mark, feedback, track. Keep progress visible to the learner, not just to the spreadsheet.
– Run the exam cycle. Entries, mocks, access arrangements, revision, results day. You own the outcome for your subject.
– Intervene early. Target the learners at the grade boundary and the ones a long way below it, differently.
– Be one of the adults who stays. Youth Workers hold the pastoral side. You hold the subject. Both matter, and the learners can tell when one is missing.
Who we are looking for
A qualified teacher who wants to teach the young people who need teaching most. You will need QTS or QTLS and a subject qualification, and experience of teaching your subject to GCSE. That part is not negotiable, because these learners have already been taught badly once.
What we cannot train:
– One hundred per cent commitment to the young people in front of you.
– Patience with a learner on their third attempt at the same paper, and no sense that a resit is a lesser job.
– The instinct to be a role model and an ally, and to build a young person’s belief that they are worth something.
– Energy that lifts a room without needing volume.
– Grit. Some weeks the odds win. You come back on Monday.
A second language is a serious advantage. Arabic in particular, and also Romanian, Polish, Ukrainian, or another community language spoken by our learners and their families.
Building, not maintaining
This is the second year of the Study Programme. The first year taught us a great deal and we are acting on it, a stronger team, a clearer structure, a better offer for learners. You will have real influence over how that takes shape.
We are looking for people who find that prospect appealing and will enjoy the impact and challenge.
The young people we work with have been let down by adults who did not stay. Consistency is the most valuable thing you can give them.
What we offer
– £32,000 – £35,000, set by experience and relevant qualifications.
– One subject, one cohort, and a role that is teaching rather than everything else a school hands you.
– A defined CPD plan and a team that backs each other.
– Pension, Holiday, Other Benefits
How to apply
Tell us which post you are applying for, maths or English. Send your CV and a short covering note, no more than one page, telling us how you would teach your subject to someone who has already decided they cannot do it, to [email protected] . Closing date 26th August 2026. Interviews will be held 2nd–4th September 2026 and will include teaching a short session.
Qualifications
Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or QTLS
Essential
A level or higher in the subject applied for, or a degree in that subject or one with substantial subject content, or a recognised equivalent
Essential
Level 2 English and maths, or equivalent
Essential
Recognised assessor qualification (TAQA, A1, CAVA)
Desirable
Experience
Teaching the subject applied for to GCSE level
Essential
Working directly with young people aged 16-19 in education or training
Essential
Supporting neurodiverse young people, or those with SEN
Essential
Managing challenging behaviour and de-escalating situations calmly
Essential
Teaching GCSE resit groups, or learners who did not achieve the grade first time
Desirable
Working with learners who are NEET, excluded, or in alternative provision
Desirable
Knowledge and understanding
Current awarding body requirements for GCSE in the subject applied for
Essential
Safeguarding responsibilities when working with young people, and the confidence to act on a concern
Essential
The barriers facing young people who are disengaged, excluded, newly arrived in the UK or from low-income households
Essential
The condition of funding for English and maths, and 16–19 Study Programmes more widely
Desirable
Access arrangements and how to evidence them
Desirable
Skills and abilities
Teaches the subject to learners who have already decided they cannot do it
Essential
Assesses accurately and identifies where a learner’s understanding broke down
Essential
Engages a withdrawn group and directs a high-energy one, without shutting either down
Essential
Organised, keeps registers, tracking and learner records accurate and to deadline
Essential
Communicates clearly with parents, carers and colleagues, including in difficult conversations
Essential
Languages
Fluent spoken and written English
Essential
Able to communicate with learners and families in Arabic, or in another community language spoken by our cohort, for example Romanian, Polish or Ukrainian
Desirable
Personal qualities
One hundred per cent commitment to the young people taught, sustained across a full year
Essential
Acts as a role model and an ally, and builds a young person’s sense of their own worth
Essential
Patient with repeated attempts, and does not treat a resit as a lesser job
Essential
Energetic, lifts the room and sustains it across a full day
Essential
Warm towards young people who may initially reject it
Essential
Resilient and consistent, and comfortable in a programme that is still developing
Essential
Collaborative, works with the Youth Workers rather than around them
Essential
Other requirements
Eligible to work in the UK, and able to obtain a satisfactory enhanced DBS check including the Children’s Barred List
Essential
Available across the full academic year as timetabled, with occasional travel to other PET-Xi sites
Essential
