Teaching Assistant (pastoral) - Sandford St Martin’s CE VA Primary SchoolBookmark this job

Sandford St Martin’s CE VA Primary School

Teaching Assistant (pastoral)

25 hours per week

LEARN – LOVE – LAUGH: at Sandford St Martin’s CE VA Primary.

The governors and leadership team of our school wish to appoint a committed Pastoral Teaching Assistant to become part of our team and help support all our children (and specific individuals) who present with a range of Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.

The main aspects of this role will include you:

supporting/managing transitions (into school first thing, between lessons and to/from social times)

providing safe, engaging, active and sociable playtimes and lunchtimes – including routines, games and social skills. Building friendship skills and social understanding over time.

supporting consistent strategies to help children regulate their behaviour and communicate well

supporting the reduction of barriers to learning and helping children to understand/channel ‘big feelings’ appropriately

providing movement breaks, sensory support and short burst rewards for a small number of children

being on hand to help individuals succeed in their learning, both in and out of the classroom

being on call for the SLT, teachers and wider team at points of crisis or over-spill (for known children)

acting on and implementing advice/strategies from other professionals as well as working on own initiative/creativity

The successful applicant will be a caring adult who is committed to keeping all children safe, calm and desires to see everyone thriving. We treat all children with respect, as individuals, we listen properly to their thoughts and feelings - placing their needs and safety at the heart of all we do. Is this you too?

Our ideal candidates should possess a good sense of fun, a willingness to be reflective, be committed to continual improvement through professional dialogue and enjoy working supportively and flexibly as part of a team. Our hours for this role are Monday - Friday 8:30-1:30, term time only. The position is to start as soon as possible in January 2024 and is initially fixed until July 2025 (5 terms)

The role of Pastoral Teaching Assistant is to support an inclusive, safe and high-quality learning environment for our pupils, using a solution focused, pupil-centred and consistent relational approach. Is this you?

The successful candidate will have a flexible approach, be willing to gain knowledge and experience of working with children) who have social, emotional and mental health difficulties (mainly in KS2). The post requires someone who is highly resilient, able to work well as a member of a successful team and someone who has highly developed interpersonal skills, patience and a good sense of humour. You will be relentlessly positive and meet every child with Unconditional Positive Regard and warmth. Is this you?

Letters of application should indicate why you believe you are the right person for the role.

Sandford St Martin’s CE VA Primary School values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people; this is a commitment which we expect all staff and volunteers to share. The successful candidate will be required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service check in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines.

The pro rata salary shown is based on the number of hours and weeks worked and includes appropriate paid annual leave and bank holiday entitlements.

This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

Keeping Children Safe in Education

The school will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This check will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. All aspects of social media and internet searches will be conducted. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.

The salary quoted is the annual salary for the position at the time of advert. The salary will be paid in equal monthly instalments and will be adjusted at the start of employment and again if leaving part way through the school year to ensure the correct salary is received for the work completed in an academic year.

Closing Date: Midnight Thursday 4th January 2024.

Interview Date: Thursday 11th January (TBC) with the position to start as soon as possible in January 2024.