JOB DESCRIPTION

Title:TEACHING ASSISTANT

Responsible to:Learning Director

Hours:Monday to Friday, term time only

0830 – 1530 hours = 32.5 p.w.

Salary:Pre-qualified £18,063p.a. FTE (£13,103 p.a. pro-rata)

Post-qualified £20,131p.a. FTE (£14,602 p.a. pro-rata)

A little more about us:

West Heath School is an Independent Special Needs School, which forms part of the West Heath Charity set up specifically to support vulnerable children for whom mainstream were unable to meet their needs due to significant and complex needs. This group includes children and young persons with significant mental health difficulties, High Functioning Autism and Asperser’s Syndrome.

The varying needs of this cohort impacts upon their ability to engage with their academic and personal development. West Hearth School has created a number of different learning environments and approaches to education to enable students to successfully access provision and the support to make learning possible.

Our learning environments and approaches are based up on removing the barriers to accessing education that our cohort of students previously faced. With a focus upon both personal and academic development, we help independent and active participants in their community

Our offer package includes:- Free parking, Free Lunches, CPD, Attendance Bonus, Training, Child Care Vouchers Scheme and School Pension contributes a max of 7% of earnings.

A little more about the role:

Your job at our school is demanding, frequently challenging and often complex. It is made effective by liaison and co-operation. We are not a collection of individuals. We are team players and should see our own contributions as part of the greater whole. We need to keep in mind the broader pictureand the long-term perspective at all times. We are preparing our students for life in the real world and this is not an instant business. You are in a marathon and not a sprint.

Group TA: Teaching Assistants are normally given their own timetable to follow. Within this you should remain flexible depending upon the needs of the students in school and the needs of the teaching staff. You may be supporting students for academic reasons, either to enable a student to keep on task or help a teacher balance the needs of several demanding students in one group. It is essential that the teacher should brief you on your role before each lesson. You should find out the lesson objectives and what particular support is required. There is a wealth of advice in the SEN Training Portfolio for Teaching Assistantscovering each subject and you should familiarise yourself with this as part of your preparation. Sometimes it may be necessary to take a student out of class for one-to-one support.

Individual Support: Sometimes individual students have a need for the consistent company of a trusted adult to help them make the most of school life and to help them with their learning. Your job may be to help an individual student make sense of how our school runs and translate the relevance of all aspects of our school’s life into a way that they can understand. Most importantly, the key to making a difference to the lives of any of our students is through the maintenance of an open, respectful relationship.

Transporting Students: Students often need to be transported outside the school. You are not covered by our school’s insurance policy for this purpose. However if your own insurance policy includes business cover you may be asked to transport students to a particular place, remain with them and help any student requiring help, then return them to the school. You may claim costs for the mileage incurred in the use of your car. You will need to complete the School Vehicle Drivers Annual Declaration (you must be 25 years old and over) so you will be covered to drive the School vehicles if required.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

  • To be able to instil a sense of fun into the lives of the students with whom we work.
  • To work as a member of a team
  • To undergo an induction process, to participate in staff training and development activities, and the Performance Management Review.
  • To contribute to the planning, implementation and review of “Individual Education and Provision Plans” for our students.
  • Follow the guidance outlined in the SEN Training Portfolio for Teaching Assistants and the School Handbook.
  • To familiarise yourself with school policies and ensure that these are adhered to.
  • To operate in the line of Health & Safety that our school remains free of hazards to our health and safety through the discharge of your responsibilities outlined in our Health and Safety policy. You should familiarise yourself with the policy and report any health or safety concerns to the Learning Director using the red file in the staff room.
  • Promote the welfare and well being of students at all times and strictly adhere to our school’s Child Protection policy and .guidelines. Especially, do not promise confidentiality to individual students when it is in their best interests to share information they may give you.
  • To accompany students to and from lessons, ensuring that they arrive promptly, safely and happily.

Person Specification

The successful candidate will be:

  • A team worker
  • Flexible
  • Child focused
  • Suitability to work with children
  • Have strengths in some areas of the school curriculum
  • Have a belief that young people can and do change
  • Show a willingness to learn about young people and their needs, and an effective strategy for helping them
  • Have the ability to make boundaries of behaviour clear in a firm but friendly manner
  • Emotionally robust

West Heath School has a no smoking policy - the school is a smoke free zone.

NOTE: This job description sets out the duties of the post at the time when it was drawn up.Such duties may vary from time to time without the general character of the duties or the level of responsibility entailed. Such variations are a common occurrence and cannot of themselves justify reconsideration of the salary for the post.

The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and applicants must be willing to undergo safeguarding screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service.

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