Inclusion Support Assistant

Full Time, Permanent, 37 hours per week, Term Time Only
Grade:            4 (SCP 6–7)
Salary:           £25,989 – £26,403 (pro rata where applicable)
Start Date:   September 2026

About the Role:

Sir Graham Balfour School is seeking to appoint a committed and resilient Inclusion Support Assistant to support students in improving their behaviour, enabling them to engage more effectively in their learning and make positive academic progress.

Working under the direction of the Head of Alternative Provision, you will use your knowledge, experience, and personal qualities to provide targeted support for pupils who require additional behavioural guidance. Your role will be key in promoting a calm, purposeful learning environment where all students can succeed.

This is a varied role, with approximately:

• 50% of your time based in the School Inclusion Unit
• 50% working alongside students in mainstream lessons

Support may be delivered both within the classroom and in alternative learning environments.

Key Responsibilities:

You will assist school staff in:

• Supporting students to develop positive behaviour for learning.
• Helping pupils regulate their emotions and behaviour to improve classroom engagement.
• Implementing behaviour support strategies and intervention plans.
• Providing one-to-one and small group support for targeted students.
• Supervising and supporting students within the Inclusion Unit.
• Reinforcing school expectations, routines, and values consistently.
• Supporting teachers in managing behaviour effectively within lessons.
• Helping students re-engage in learning following disruption or absence from lessons.
• Recording and reporting on student progress, behaviour, and engagement.
• Building positive relationships with students to promote trust, resilience, and self-esteem.
• Supporting restorative conversations and behaviour reflection processes.

The Ideal Candidate Will Have:

• Experience working with young people, preferably in a school or similar setting.
• A strong understanding of behaviour management strategies.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to remain calm and patient under pressure.
• A proactive and flexible approach to supporting students.
• A genuine commitment to inclusion and improving outcomes for all learners.
• The ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team.

At Sir Graham Balfour we offer:

• A friendly, well-motivated staff, who embrace willingly a culture of professional development.
• An ever growing reputation in the local community which has resulted in the school being consistently oversubscribed in an area where student rolls are falling.
• A very positive climate for learning.
• A first rate learning environment. We are housed in buildings completed in 2002 and financed via a PFI initiative.
• Innovative 14-19 collaboration and an increasing roll at KS5.
• A commitment to inclusive practice.

Please note:

• All applicants will be submitted for an enhanced DBS check.
• Applications will only be accepted if submitted on the enclosed formal application form.
• Two references will be required, one of which must be from your most recent employer.  In the case of teachers, one reference must come from your most recent headteacher.
• Once a written reference has been received, we will contact the referee by telephone to confirm the provenance of that reference.
• If shortlisted, online searches will be carried out, in order to help identify any incidents or issues that have happened and are publicly available online, which the school might want to explore with the applicant at interview.
• In addition, at interview, applicants will be asked if they have ever been involved in any form of media or activity which would make them unsuitable to work with children and young people, or, if it came to light, might risk the reputation of the school in the eyes of the community or wider public.
• If shortlisted, we will request a portrait photo of you to attach to your file and to help confirm your identity.
• If appointed, the successful applicant will be informed that the appointment is subject to satisfactory completion of the following checks: the right to work in the UK, qualifications requirements, satisfactory DBS Enhanced Disclosure, the Criminal Record Self-Declaration Form, teacher prohibition and barred list checks, pre-employment medical screening and satisfactory references (if not already received).

How to Apply

Visits to the school are strongly recommended and can be arranged by contacting Mrs Vicki McKeen (details below). 

For an application pack, please access our website, www.sirgrahambalfour.co.uk or contact Mrs Vicki McKeen, Headteacher’s PA, on vmckeen@sirgrahambalfour.staffs.sch.uk or telephone 01785 223490.  The closing date for applications is:  3.30pm Friday 19^th June 2026.  Please return completed applications to vmckeen@sirgrahambalfour.staffs.sch.uk 

Shortlisting for this post will take place by Monday 22^nd June 2026 and successful applicants will be contacted no later than 3.20pm on the same day.  If you have not heard from us by this time, please assume you have not been successful on this occasion.   

Interviews will take place week commencing Monday 22^nd June 2026.