Are you a committed, caring and passionate about supporting pupils in Early Years with SEND? If so, then Topcliffe School would love to hear from you!

We currently have an opportunity for a caring and highly motivated Teaching Assistant with experience in working within Early Years and an interest in supporting pupils with ASC to join our hardworking and committed team. The role would be working within our Early Years or KS1 Resource Base classes.

Topcliffe is a welcoming and inclusive one form entry mainstream school with two additional specialist resource base provisions which support pupils with Autism and/ or Speech, Language and Communication needs. We are very proud of what we have to offer, and visits are always welcome!

We are looking for someone who is:

·        Experienced in working within Early Years and/or SEND provision and understands the benefits and importance of play in developing communication skills and learning

·        An inclusive practitioner with experience in supporting children with Autism and complex communication and sensory needs

·        Passionate about making a difference to the lives of children and able to think outside of the box to support children with limited verbal communication needs using different a variety of communication tools and strategies

·        An effective practitioner with high expectations to achieve the best outcomes for all

·        A positive and creative team player

In return, we will offer you:

·        - A collaborative and inclusive culture, where team members will upskill you and give you regular opportunities to learn from each other in a safe and collaborative environment.

·        - An opportunity to undertake structured CPD via access to the National College online CPD platform and/or apprenticeships such as [the CIPD or Coaching via our Apprenticeship Levy-amend examples based on roles].

·        - Access to Career Pathways and Pledge to help you plan for and make your goals a reality via our Professional Growth and Performance process.

·        - A wellbeing culture, with paid and unpaid time off to support life events via our Life Leave Policy, access to a Wellbeing Champion and the opportunity to participate in our annual staff wellbeing survey with Edurio, so we know and can respond to views.

·        - Access to 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), which includes confidential counselling, access to wellbeing advice and a lifestyle app called “My Possible Self”.

·        - Access to a suite of supportive policies, such as Life Leave, Wellbeing, Career Break and Family Friendly.

·        - Access to a generous pension scheme known as the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS).

·        - Access to a comprehensive employee rewards package including Long Service Awards, Employee Referral Scheme, Cycle to Work Scheme and contribution to glasses and eye-sight tests for eligible display screen users.

·        - Opportunity to be part of key Trust-wide collaborative groups such as the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI working group) and Wellbeing working groups, including menopause support and neurodiversity support.

·        - Generous annual leave entitlement based on length of service, starting at 30 days pro-rata, rising to 33 at 5 years’ plus service and 35 following 10 years’ plus service. This excludes an additional 2-week paid compulsory closure at Christmas, for which additional days’ leave are gained.

·        - Onsite parking at all schools.

As a Disability Confident Committed Employer we have committed to:

·        ensure our recruitment process is inclusive and accessible

·        communicating and promoting vacancies

·        offering an interview to disabled people who meet the minimum criteria for the job

·        anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments as required

·        supporting any existing employee who acquires a disability or long-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work

As part of our recruitment process, we carry out rigorous online searches in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE)

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early if we receive sufficient applications for the role. Therefore, if you are interested, please submit your application as early as possible. 

Please note that applications must be the creation of the candidate applying. While technology, including artificial intelligence, may be used to help the candidate select certain phraseology, if substantial use of AI is used, the application will be disregarded.

We value our people and are dedicated to making sure that everybody feels empowered to bring their authentic self to work. We have an outstanding opportunity to work at Washwood Heath Multi Academy Trust.

We promise to treat all candidates fairly, consistently and with respect throughout the application, assessment, and selection process.

We are also “happy to talk flexible working” subject to the operational requirements of the role.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Which means 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. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) and therefore the ability to speak fluent spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.

 Washwood Heath Multi Academy Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment.  An enhanced DBS check is required for all successful applicants.

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