Cover Assistant

King Edward VI King's Norton School for Boys, Birmingham, West Midlands, B30 1DY

15 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  1 January 2026

• Closing date

  27 November 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  12 November 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teacher or lecturer
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Fixed term
• Full time equivalent salary: £28,614.00 - £34,811.00 Annually (FTE) Pro Rata Salary (£25,133.21 - £30,576.37)

Cover Assistant job summary

We are looking to appoint a confident, organised and enthusiastic Cover Assistant to support the effective day-to-day running of the school. The successful candidate will provide classroom cover for both planned staff absence and short-notice/emergency absence, ensuring that pupils are able to continue with their learning and that disruption to lessons is kept to a minimum.

Working across a range of subjects and year groups, you will supervise classes using work and resources provided by teaching staff, maintain a calm and purposeful learning environment, and support pupils to remain focused and engaged. You will not be expected to plan lessons or undertake the full responsibilities of a classroom teacher, but you will need to be confident managing a classroom, following the school's behaviour and safeguarding procedures, and responding flexibly to the changing needs of the school.

Job Purpose

To provide effective classroom cover for planned and emergency staff absence, ensuring continuity of learning and minimising disruption to pupils.

The Cover Assistant will supervise classes undertaking work that has been set by the absent teacher or department. The postholder will establish a calm, purposeful and positive learning environment, promote high standards of behaviour and ensure pupils remain engaged with the work provided.

The role does not normally involve planning or assessing lessons or assuming the full professional responsibilities of a teacher. It requires confidence in working independently with classes and the flexibility to work across different subjects and year groups.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Classroom Cover

• Provide classroom supervision during planned and short-notice staff absence.
• Deliver and explain work that has been prepared by the absent teacher or relevant department.
• Ensure pupils understand the work set and provide appropriate clarification and support where required.
• Promote positive engagement and encourage pupils to complete the work provided.
• Maintain a calm, orderly and purposeful classroom environment.
• Apply the school's behaviour policy consistently and appropriately.
• Take registers and follow school procedures relating to attendance and pupil whereabouts.
• Ensure completed work is collected, stored or passed to the appropriate member of staff as required.
• Provide appropriate feedback to teaching staff regarding the lesson, including any significant behaviour, safeguarding or welfare concerns.

Supporting Pupils

• Encourage pupils to work independently and remain focused on their learning.
• Provide reasonable support with activities without replacing the teacher's role in planning and teaching new subject content.
• Promote positive relationships, high expectations and respectful behaviour.
• Respond appropriately to individual pupil needs within the expectations and boundaries of the role.
• Follow relevant information and instructions relating to pupils with additional or identified needs.

Wider School Responsibilities

When classroom cover is not required, the Cover Assistant may be deployed to undertake appropriate duties which support the effective operation of the school, including:

• supporting departments and teaching staff with learning-related activities;
• assisting with examination or assessment arrangements where appropriate;
• supporting supervised study or other pupil activities;
• undertaking appropriate administrative tasks associated with classroom cover;
• supporting duties, events and other reasonable activities consistent with the nature and grade of the post.

Safeguarding

The Cover Assistant will:

• promote and safeguard the welfare of children and young people at all times;
• comply with the school's safeguarding and child protection procedures;
• report any safeguarding or welfare concerns promptly through the school's agreed procedures;
• maintain appropriate professional boundaries and standards of conduct;
• undertake required safeguarding training and keep their knowledge up to date.

Health and Safety

The postholder is expected to:

• take reasonable care of their own health and safety and that of pupils, colleagues and visitors;
• follow the school's health and safety, emergency, fire and lockdown procedures;
• report accidents, incidents, hazards and defective equipment through the school's established procedures;
• follow relevant risk assessments and instructions applicable to the activities they supervise.

General Responsibilities

The postholder will:

• demonstrate a commitment to the school's values, ethos and expectations;
• maintain confidentiality and handle pupil and staff information appropriately;
• promote equality, inclusion and respectful relationships;
• work collaboratively and professionally with teaching and support staff;
• undertake relevant training and professional development;
• carry out other reasonable duties appropriate to the level and nature of the post.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will ideally have:

Essential

• Good literacy and numeracy skills.
• The confidence and presence to supervise groups of secondary-age pupils.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• The ability to establish and maintain clear expectations for behaviour.
• Good organisational skills and the ability to follow instructions and lesson materials.
• The ability to remain calm and professional when dealing with challenging situations.
• The flexibility to work across different subjects and year groups.
• A clear commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children.

Desirable

• Previous experience of working with children or young people.
• Experience within a secondary school or similar educational setting.
• Experience of classroom supervision, cover supervision, teaching assistance or pastoral support.
• An understanding of school behaviour, safeguarding and attendance procedures.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About King Edward VI King's Norton School for Boys

• Organisation type: Academy, ages 11 to 16
• Education phase: Secondary school
• Size: 815 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 16
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• Website: King Edward VI King's Norton School for Boys website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/king-edward-vi-king-s-norton-school-for-boys

At King Edward VI King’s Norton School for Boys, we are proud of our journey and, with over 100 years of history, our school has many great traditions that live on in our ethos today. We maintain the best of these traditions and enhance them with the latest educational practice; this provides us with a blend of traditional values with a forward-looking approach to learning.

We are part of the King Edward VI Multi Academy Trust, which is a diverse family of schools serving Birmingham. The trust supports the school in our shared aim and values; to make Birmingham the best place to be educated.

To achieve this it is essential that we add value, academically, personally and culturally to our students journey. We are proud of our curriculum, teaching, learning and the results they enable our students to achieve. We are proud of our students and the way they develop as individuals through their interactions and experiences. We are proud of the range of opportunities that we offer which take our students out of their comfort zone and help them to build character, self-worth and resilience.

Aspiration is essential to all of this; it is the key to continually striving for improvement. Our motto is:

“Humani Semper Contendimus”. – ‘we humans are always striving’

It drives us in providing the highest quality, well-rounded education for the boys we serve.

School location

Get a job alert when similar jobs are listed

Find more school jobs in Birmingham and West Midlands