The Role
Support students aged 8–16 with social, emotional, mental health, learning, communication, sensory, and behavioral needs. Work alongside teachers one-to-one or in small groups to promote learning, self-regulation, personal development, and positive mental health. Apply trauma-informed practices, manage challenging behavior, use ICT to support learning, contribute to teamwork and school improvement, and promote equality and inclusion.
Summary Generated by Built In
Are you passionate about truly making a difference in the lives of young people with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs?
Become an Eslander and start a truly rewarding career!
Role: SEMH Teaching Assistant
Salary: £23,520 to £25,357 per annum (dependent on experience)
Contract: permanent
Hours: Full time (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm)
Esland are driven to changing children’s lives for the better by providing best-in-class specialist services.
This is an exciting opportunity to join our brand new SEN school, commencing our next phase of expanding our team!
Salary: £23,520 to £25,357 per annum (dependent on experience)
Contract: permanent
Hours: Full time (Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm)
Esland are driven to changing children’s lives for the better by providing best-in-class specialist services.
This is an exciting opportunity to join our brand new SEN school, commencing our next phase of expanding our team!
Our Teaching Assistants (TAs) play a vital role working alongside our class teachers, working one to one or in small groups to support our amazing students to fulfil their potential and to develop their skills.
Our pupils are aged 8 to 16 and have a range of learning needs, some have experienced trauma or disadvantages and these experiences mean that sometimes students present with challenging behaviours.
A successful SEN Teaching Assistant will:
- Have an awareness of how to meet the needs of primary and secondary aged children who have experienced difficulty in accessing mainstream education.
- Have an awareness of additional SEND needs which impact on children's ability to self-regulate - communication and interaction; cognition and learning; sensory and physical needs.
- Be inclusive, empathetic, solution focused and passionate about making a difference for our learners
- Have an awareness of trauma informed practices and positive mental health promotion
- Have a clear understanding of, and ability to, manage behaviour that challenges
- Be a team player and a strong advocate for change, progression and continuous school improvement
Required skills, knowledge and abilities for a SEN Teaching Assistant:
- Appropriate knowledge of first aid
- Ability to relate well to children and adults
- Work constructively as part of a team, understanding classroom roles and responsibilities and your own position within these
- To have some knowledge of National Curriculum requirements.
- Effective knowledge and use of ICT to support learning
- Understanding of relevant polices/codes of practice and awareness of relevant legislation
- Basic understanding of child development and learning
- Ability to self-evaluate learning needs and actively seek learning opportunities
- Working with or caring for children
Whilst this job description gives a reasonable overview of the post, it is not exhaustive, and the post holder will be expected to behave in a flexible manner and take on any other duties that may be reasonably delegated from time to time.
Successful employment is subject to satisfactory Full Enhanced Disclosure, right to work and reference checks in line with government regulations and Safer Recruitment Practices.
All young people are equally entitled to have their needs met in a fair and balanced way. Esland employees are responsible for promoting equal opportunities for all and for challenging any behaviour or practice which discriminates against any young person or colleague on the grounds of race, religion, disability, age, gender, sexual orientation, or any other perceived difference.
What we can offer a SEN Teaching Assistant:
- Enrolment into the Esland education pension scheme, which is double matched up to 20%, meaning at total pension contribution of up to 30%
- Company sick pay
- Life insurance to the value of 4 times your basic salary
- Comprehensive, paid induction training and ongoing training within the role
- Fantastic opportunities for career development, we promoted over 100 colleagues last year
- Cycle to work scheme
- Access to our Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) including our Online GP 24/7, 365 days a year
- Access to our Green Hybrid and EV car scheme
- A £500 bonus via our 'Refer a Friend’ scheme
- Monthly recognition awards
- Access to big-brand deals and discounts via our employee benefits scheme E-Together
- The opportunity to make a real difference to a child's life!
About
With over 35 years of residential childcare experience, the Esland group now has more than 65 residential children’s and assessment homes, and five schools, that are spread across the Kent, Hertfordshire, Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Lincolnshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Wiltshire, Bedfordshire, Nottinghamshire, West Midlands and Northamptonshire regions of England. This also includes our Esland online school accessible to children throughout the UK which helps to deliver education to children missing education by utilising our specialised Turning the Curve education programme. With over 800 team members and over 200 young people supported we strive to help our children achieve their very best outcomes, through our bespoke residential care, education, therapeutic and activity-led wraparound services.
Skills Required
- Awareness of meeting the needs of primary and secondary-aged children who have difficulty accessing mainstream education
- Awareness of SEND needs affecting self-regulation, including communication, cognition, learning, sensory, and physical needs
- Empathy, inclusivity, solution-focused approach, and passion for supporting learners
- Awareness of trauma-informed practices and positive mental health promotion
- Understanding and ability to manage challenging behavior
- Ability to work constructively as part of a team and understand classroom roles and responsibilities
- Appropriate first aid knowledge
- Ability to relate well to children and adults
- Knowledge of National Curriculum requirements
- Effective knowledge and use of ICT to support learning
- Understanding of relevant policies, codes of practice, and legislation
- Basic understanding of child development and learning
- Ability to self-evaluate learning needs and seek learning opportunities
- Experience working with or caring for children
- Satisfactory enhanced disclosure, right-to-work, and reference checks
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The Company
What We Do
At Esland, we help vulnerable young people between 6 and 18 turn the curve on their futures by providing the care, education, and therapeutic support they need.
