Teaching Assistants

Flexible working hours available, Monday to Friday, for 39 weeks per year (term time plus INSET days).

Options include:

8:45 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. (30 hours per week: £17,212 pro-rata per annum)

11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. (15 hours per week: £8,606 pro-rata per annum)

Alternative part-time hours may be considered, subject to the needs of the school.

It is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

Vacancies are available at various campuses including Winton, West Howe and Christchurch.

Linwood School is an 'Outstanding' (Ofsted January 2018) multi-campus, day special school for children and young people aged 4 - 19. We welcome them from a wide geographical area and support a comprehensive range of special educational needs including moderate (MLD), severe (SLD) and profound (PMLD) and complex learning difficulties (CLDD) as well as those on the Autism spectrum.

As a school we employ c. 180 Teaching Assistants. We are now seeking to appoint highly motivated, committed Teaching Assistants to join our expanding team on a permanent basis. Due to the special educational needs of our students this role can be challenging and sometimes physically demanding, however the work is also very rewarding. Resilience is a key personal quality for the role as is the ability to communicate effectively using a range of tools. Previous experience of working with children and young people with learning difficulties and/or social communication difficulties is desirable but not essential.

Some of our Teaching Assistants work with students with PMLD who require high levels of care including but not limited to:

• Intimate and personal care
• Assistance with eating and drinking
• Administering medication
  
  

Full training will be provided if needed however if you have the skills and aptitudes outlined above please refer to this in your application form.

Appointments are made to Linwood School and we currently have vacancies across most campuses. Successful candidates could be based at any of our campuses in line with their skills, abilities, experience and campus requirement.

The role is subject to a 6-month mandatory probation during which there is an expectation that Teaching Assistants attend paid Monday after school training sessions to enhance their work in school and their skill levels. A list of training dates and topics is provided upon commencement.

Linwood School offers career progression opportunities for Teaching Assistants wishing to enhance their skills further in an education setting, leading to Specialist Provision Teaching Assistant followed by Higher Level Teaching Assistant status. Some of our Teaching Assistants have progressed to Teacher level.

In addition to the benefits provided by BCP Council, Linwood School also provides:

• An Employee Assistance Programme to support staff wellbeing including free counselling sessions
• Paid after-school training sessions to support staff development
• Career development
• Long Service Awards
  
  

Linwood School is an equal opportunities employer which values a diverse workforce. We seek and encourage applications from individuals from a diverse background who will come and work with us and become part of our Linwood family, supportive of our school values whilst providing an excellent an inclusive service to our students, ensuring they continue to feel part of the school community in everyday activities.

Linwood School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and the successful applicant will be required to have an enhanced DBS check as well as an overseas criminal records check, if worked or lived outside the UK within the past 10 years. Offers of employment are also subject to satisfactory references, health and right to work checks.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. If the role is exempt, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed, and if they are disclosed, we cannot take them into account.

All Linwood School staff are expected to adhere to our policies and procedures in respect of safeguarding and child protection, including Keeping Children Safe in Education and guidance for adults working with children and young people in an education setting.

For any enquiries regarding your application please contact the HR Department on 01202 636811.