Role: Learning Manager
Academy: Outwood Academy Portland
Start Date: 01/09/2026
Salary (Actual Salary): £26,690 to £27,577
Working Pattern: 37 hours Per Week, Term Time only plus 10 days
Outwood Academy Portland has an exciting opportunity for a dedicated Learning Manager to join our exceptional, supportive pastoral team. Are you passionate about making a real, daily difference in young people’s lives? Do you thrive on building strong relationships and guiding students through both their academic and personal journeys? Unlike a traditional administrative role, this is a deeply rewarding, student-facing position where you will have whole oversight of a specific year group. Led by our Lead Learning Manager, you will join a high-performing, passionate team fully committed to helping every student be the best they can be.
Welcome from the Principal:
We are a welcoming and supportive academy, with a relentless determination to provide the very best education for every child. We place students at the centre of everything we do, with a focus on creating a culture of success and a positive climate for learning. We have an exceptional culture and student behaviour which is recognised by being a host school for the Exemplary Leadership Programme.
‘Overwhelmingly, staff are upbeat about the school. They value the positive changes in the school’s culture. They appreciate training opportunities. They welcome steps to make their workload more manageable. Staff morale is positive and they are very proud to be part of the school.’ - Ofsted, November 2024.
We have created an educational environment where staff and students constantly strive to improve; where teachers sharpen their skills and expand their repertoires to deliver an outstanding learning experience; and where teachers, classroom assistants, mentors, tutors, inclusion support assistants and students operate as a seamless team. This enables everybody, staff and students, to not only see but also help fulfil the potential in each other.
We believe our success speaks for itself as we are above the national average for the number of students achieving at a Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs. We are also proud to have been awarded Bronze Status by the Carnegie Centre of Excellence for Mental Health Award.
We work hard to ensure we reduce workload on staff, allowing more time in the classroom to put our vision of students first, raising standards and transforming lives into practice.
All academies within the Outwood Family have gained the IQM Inclusive Schools Award with 18 having Centre of Excellence status and one holding Flagship status.
If you share our vision, join our family.
Key Responsibilities
In this role, you will act as the key figurehead for your assigned year group, building deep, meaningful relationships with students to truly understand their individual needs. You will be responsible for the holistic management of your year group, which involves monitoring and managing both their academic progress and daily behavioural needs, while implementing strategic interventions to maximise their achievement. As the first line of support for daily student needs, you will resolve issues dynamically to maintain a safe, positive learning environment. Furthermore, you will act as a crucial bridge between the academy and the wider community, working closely with the Inclusion Coordinator, Academy Leadership Team, parents, carers, and external support agencies to improve overall attendance, behavior, and student outcomes.
About You
We are looking for an exceptional individual who genuinely loves working with young people and understands the diverse challenges they face today. To be successful, you must possess first-class interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to converse empathetically and professionally with students, families, and external partners alike. This is a fast-paced environment, so you must be extremely well-organised, able to prioritise a busy workload under your own initiative, and capable of meeting deadlines. We need a resilient professional who leads by example, maintains absolute professionalism, confidentiality, and feels comfortable using student data to identify who needs extra support and track the impact of interventions.
This is an incredibly rewarding role where you will see the direct impact of your hard work every single day. We offer a highly supportive working environment, excellent professional development, and the chance to be part of an exceptional team dedicated to putting students first. If you have the passion, resilience, and communication skills to champion our students, we would love to hear from you.
If you have any questions or would like to visit the school, please contact Sophie Gascoyne, Vice Principal at s.gascoyne@portland.outwood.com
The Learning Manager strategically monitors all students in their assigned year group, utilizing MIS systems and Praising Stars data to identify concerns and action appropriate intervention strategies. Key duties include acting as the first point of contact for behaviour related incidents and supporting the Consequences process, including contacting parents regarding exclusions and supporting readmission meetings.
A core function is inter-agency liaison, including chairing Children in Need and Team Around the Child meetings, undertaking referrals for families, and supporting the Education Welfare Officer with truancy sweeps. They also coordinate year group logistics such as vaccinations and photographs and handle attendance checks.
The successful applicant must have experience of working in a school environment and demonstrable knowledge of issues affecting students and young people, including how to offer supportive assistance.
Essential skills include the ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of audiences, verbally and in writing, and proficiency in using standard ICT packages, including Microsoft Office. Crucially, candidates must be able to work well under pressure, manage competing deadlines, relate sympathetically to students, and recognise potential child safeguarding issues. Experience of working with other agencies that support vulnerable students is desirable.
Outwood Grange Academies Trust (OGAT) places staff development at the heart of its strategy to deliver excellence, aiming to recruit, develop, and retain the best staff through the Outwood Institute of Education (OIE).
What will we do for you?
We offer a supportive package focusing on professional advancement, secure benefits, and work-life balance:
Secure Pay & Pension: Competitive salary, automatic pay progression, and enrolment in the Local Government Pension Scheme.
Training & Progression: Access to diverse CPD opportunities, including apprenticeships and vocational qualifications.
Flexibility & Leave: Flexible family policies, enhanced occupational benefits (with no qualifying period), and 25 days holiday, plus bank holidays for non-term time staff. (Holiday for part-time staff is calculated on a pro-rata basis)
Wellbeing & Perks: Dedicated mental well-being strategy, free on-site parking, employee discounts, and access to a comprehensive Employee Assistance Programme.
If you are looking for a rewarding, supportive role where you can truly make an impact, we encourage you to apply now.
Further Information on employee benefits can be found Click Here
To find our more about working for Outwood and to read a message from our CEO please Click Here
Note: If applying from an external job board, please click 'Apply' to access the working links on the Outwood Careers page
Please note, we reserve the right to close advertisements early, either on the advertised closing date, or sooner if required.
Outwood Grange Academies Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. All appointments are made in accordance with safer recruitment practices and the statutory guidance in Keeping Children Safe in Education. Online checks will be carried out on all shortlisted candidates, and all appointments are subject to an enhanced DBS check, satisfactory references and checks regarding suitability to work with children.
We are an award-winning multi-academy education trust with passion, purpose and people at our heart. We manage 41 transformative primary, junior, secondary and Post 16 schools up and down the North of England, from Redcar to Nottinghamshire, each celebrating very different identities but driven by a shared vision. Each academy is individually shaped around the community and children it serves.
We’re incredibly proud of how far our kind, creative and talented teachers and support staff go to make life better for our pupils and their families. It’s why we have built such a leading reputation in education and taken failing schools to Ofsted-rated outstanding in a record amount of time.
We are committed to putting students first, raising standards and transforming lives.
