Courtlands School caters for primary aged children who have Moderate Learning Difficulties, Social, Emotional and Mental Health Difficulties (SEMH) and other complex needs including autism, ADHD, speech and language difficulties and those impacted by trauma.    

Courtlands is a remarkable school with a real feel of positivity, acceptance and camaraderie. You see targeted therapies many other schools do not offer and a curriculum that is designed to meet the additional needs of our pupils. You see learning organised to meet the developmental needs of the children and we have the confidence to buck the trend, stand out, and to aim for the outstanding. 

We have 107 children here ranging in age from 4 to 11 years old.  We take pupils from Plymouth, Devon and Cornwall and we welcome prospective visits from interested parents, SENDCos or Local Authority Officers. 

We have small classes of no more than ten children with high levels of adult support so that our children can make excellent progress.  We look at the whole child and help them to improve both their academic achievement and their personal wellbeing.  This means that we help them to socialise, eat and play independently, become more active and have better coordination.  We help them to learn to swim, ride a bike and look after themselves in every way.  Our children make excellent progress and really enjoy coming here as can be seen through their smiles and obvious love for learning. 

The levels of progress made by our pupils is significantly above national expectations for like pupils, our attendance is in the top 1% of special schools nationally and our exclusion levels in the lowest 1% nationally.  We are a truly inclusive school who believe that the children have a right to have their needs met and not feel excluded from anything. 

Our curriculum has been designed from the ‘ground up’ to meet the needs of the children.  Whilst it is based on the National Curriculum, we have adapted and added to what you could expect in a mainstream school.  We use specialist approaches such as TEACCH, Makaton, Attention Autism, Precision Instruction and many more to help our children to access the curriculum.  We have a unique outdoor environment and we have won national recognition for its innovative use of the outdoors to teach children the value of relationships and transferable skills.  We use outdoor activities such as forest school, mountain biking, and problem solving to enhance our wellbeing curriculum and teach our pupils resilience, teamwork, adaptability and perseverance – all life skills that they will need to be successful in the 21st century jobs market. 

We have a team of complementary therapeutic workers who provide for the wider needs of our pupils from their emotional needs, through their medical needs to their sensory needs.  We use expertise from our school-base occupational therapist and play therapist, and other professionals such as speech and language therapists, CAMHS and paediatricians to design bespoke packages for some of the most disadvantaged children in the area.   

We have a reputation for flexibility and making the impossible possible. 

About The Role 

Job Title: Higher Level Teaching Assistant – Cover Supervisor 

Salary Range: Grade E 

Hours: 35hrs a week, 39 weeks a year

Contract Type: Permanent  

Job Description