Teaching Assistants

Salary: Grade F £27,254 - £28,598 (32.5 hours per week £20,591 - £22,097 pro-rata)
(Pay award pending)

Hours of work: 32.5 Term time only plus INSET days             

Contract type: Permanent

A bit about us:

Downland School is a co-educational maintained community special school for pupils aged between 10 and 16 who have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). 

Our pupils have varying aptitudes and abilities; we are extremely proud of all their achievements and progress. Our pupils have a range of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) including: Autism (ASC); attachment disorders and Social, Emotional Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties. We seek to ensure that, by the time they leave us, our pupils emerge as self-confident individuals able to manage their own learning; equipped with the skills and competencies to successfully take the next steps in their lives. 

We are a friendly, happy and caring school, providing a positive, inclusive and enriching educational experience for our young people. We view each of our pupils as unique and shape our provision to meet their individual needs and accelerate their progress in a variety of areas e.g. personal, social, academic and well-being. Our commitment to supporting the ‘whole’ child and their development is underpinned by our strong pastoral systems and our committed and trained staff. At Downland we promote inclusion and equality and celebrate diversity.

Our mission statement is ‘Aspire, Achieve and Thrive’.

All about the role:

We are looking to appoint a Teaching Assistant to enhance support to our pupils, either through dedicated 1:1 support or by working in class. This post holder will be timetabled as needed across the full range of subjects.  They need to be versatile and resilient.

Key areas of work will include:

• Supporting pupils’ learning, either in groups or through 1:1 work.  The exact tasks will depend on the learning support needs of the pupil/s to meet their SEND profile but may include:
  • supporting the development of skills in literacy, numeracy, communication and social and behavioural needs
  • adapting & personalising work for individual pupils to suit their ability
  • using knowledge of pupils learning support needs to suggest appropriate adjustments to lesson plans to teachers
  • clarifying and explaining instructions
  • ensuring pupils are able to use equipment and materials provided
  • motivating and supporting pupils
  • helping pupils to concentrate on and finish work set
  • meeting physical needs as required while promoting independence
  • liaising with class teacher and SEND team about Behaviour Support Plans and EHCP outcomes
  • developing appropriate resources to support pupils engage and learn
  • listening to pupils’ problems and taking appropriate action or seeking advice to resolve the issue
• Supporting pupils’ self esteem, inclusion and behavioural development, e.g.
  • encouraging an acceptance and inclusion of the pupil with special needs
  • developing methods of promoting/reinforcing the pupil’s self esteem and independence
  • providing individual or small group supervision in and out of the classroom for pupils with 
    behavioural problems
  • establishing a supportive relationship with pupils
  • reinforcing the school ethos, e.g. expectations of behaviour within class and elsewhere on the school site and apply ‘The Downland Way’
  • supervising pupils on school activities and school trips
• Provide physical/personal care to pupils, e.g.
  • supervising pupils with medical needs, e.g. diabetes, epilepsy
• Supporting  the teacher/s, e.g.
  • Using knowledge and experience of the pupils concerned, to contribute, with the class teacher (and other professionals as appropriate), in the development and evaluation of a suitable programme of support for children who need learning support
  • Contribute to the development of Behaviour Support Plans and reviews of pupil progress and engagement
  • In conjunction with the class teacher (and other professionals as appropriate) to develop system/s of recording pupil progress and contribute to the maintenance across a range of systems
  • Providing regular feedback about pupils to the teacher/s
  • Encouraging the social and emotional development of pupils by intervening in situations which call for adult supervision
•  Supporting  the curriculum
  • Support the delivery of the literacy and mathematics strategy along with other aspects of both the National Curriculum and the enhanced curriculum offered by the school.
  • Improve the classroom and school environment e.g. create displays that celebrate pupils’ achieve