Teaching Assistant

**Our salaries will not be pro rata’d to take out the school holidays.**

**Are you used to wearing different hats throughout the day? We_ all_ wear many hats here and no two days are ever the same**

Here at Oakwood Learning Centre, you need to be passionate about working in a fast paced environment and be prepared to change gears at any moment. Teaching Assistants need to be comfortable “wearing many hats” while in work: that of the teaching assistant,the entertainer, the counsellor, the good cop and, at times, the less good cop (putting in boundaries and sometimes saying the words “No, because ”) All these roles will be helping our pupils to learn in the class and understand the acceptable rules of life.That is our commitment to them and their outcomes.

If you’ve already been working as a teaching assistant in a school, where you’ve been inspired to take up the challenges of the classroom and change lives for the better, I am sure you will remember how difficult that starting point was? But your stick-abilitymade a real difference. We want you to join our school and use that stick-ability to help us change the lives of our pupils for the better.

**The role**

As a Teaching Assistant at Oakwood Learning Centre, we have the same outlook as you. We know that enabling positive outcomes for young people facing complex challenges isn’t an overnight fix. That’s why we need a committed and enthusiastic individual, whois ready to start every day with a fresh outlook and welcome the children into their learning opportunities. Our work with the children isn’t about us; we are a team who are all about the children all of the time.

The great thing for you is, you won’t be alone in your goal to have a positive impact on our pupils’ lives. You’ll have all the support you need from the team.

You will need to be able to build trusting relationships with our learners to help them manage the learning challenges of the day. We _all_ wear different hats here and in order for our pupils to succeed, you will need to think on your feet. It’s about coaxing their confidence both academically and socially - helping them feel accepted and understood.

**Day to day, you’ll**
- Support the teacher by focusing on pupils’ needs, adapting to scenarios, leaving the teacher free to get on with the job of delivering lessons.
- Set up any equipment or tech requirements needed in the lessons, ready for use.
- Work one-to-one with pupils to ensure that they’re getting the most out of what’s being taught in the classroom.
- Help to keep disruption to a minimum and de-escalate any challenges you do face with your impressively calm, rational approach.
- Work closely with our therapists to make sure every pupil gets all the mental health support they need to be able to enjoy a fulfilling school experience.

**Working with us**

Your experience in a similar role, the NVQ level 2 (or equivalent - or higher) that you achieved and the fact that you’re looking to take that next important step in your careerthose things tell us just how seriously you take being a Teaching Assistant.We’d also love to see up-to-date welfare and safeguarding knowledge and evidence of great team working skills. Plus, you’ll need the kind of resilience that will send you home from even the most challenging of working days with a sense of satisfaction thatyou’ve done your best. If you’re emotionally strong and good in a team, we can offer a role with exciting prospects.

Here at Witherslack Group there are three levels of Teaching Assistant teams, dependant on your experience. Level 2, 3 and Higher Level. The latter gives you the chance to take on extra duties, like planning meetings, working without supervision and helpingTeachers to develop the kinds of learning activities that will draw pupils’ attention and keep them engaged in learning tasks. You’d also be one of the people supporting and developing our other Teaching Assistants, in that case too.

**Benefits and Support**

The progression opportunities here are plentiful and, with all the support we’ll give you, there’s nothing to stop you from taking them. Promoting from within is what helps us to keep our team strong and consistent, so if you have ambitions to become a Teacherin the future, we can provide the platform and pathway for that.

But that’s not all. Join us and you’ll be entitled to a benefits package that includes:

- A salary and benefits package that’s among the best in our sector including paid summer holidays.
- Contributory Pension Scheme matched up to 5%.
- Full school holidays, including bank holidays.
- A comprehensive induction package and ongoing training.
- Medicash Health Plan, Employee Assistance and Cycle to Work Scheme.
- We’ll also cover the cost of your Enhanced DBS check.

For further information please contact Lynne Nixon - Senior Administrator on.
- For a full job description and person specification, please see the attached document._