Hope Valley Pathways is a specialist post-16 provision for young people with SEND, preparing them for life and work. It is set in the beautiful Peak District countryside and has its own building situated on the same site as Hope Valley College and currently has 25 students. We are seeking a passionate and inspiring Teaching Assistant to provide support and guidance to students inside and outside of the classroom in their variety of learning needs and to promote learning, opportunity and independence. This role is required to provide 1:1 support and assistance with personal care for a specific female student.

The working hours are 8:30am until 3pm Monday to Friday. 

Job description

The post holder must at all times carry out their responsibilities within the spirit of the school and trust policies and within the framework of legislation relating to academies and education, with particular regard to the statutory responsibilities of the trust and the governing body of the school.

The specific duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to:

Specific duties and responsibilities

Support for Students

·         Use specialist (curricular/learning) skills/training/experience to support students.

·         Assist with the development and implementation of Support Plans for SEND students.

·         To act as a keyworker and advocate for individual or groups of students.

·         Ensure productive working relationships with students, acting as a role model and setting high expectations.

·         Promote the inclusion and acceptance of all students within the classroom.

·         Support students consistently whilst recognising and responding to their individual needs.

·         Encourage students to interact and work co-operatively with others and engage all students in activities.

·         Promote independence and employ strategies to recognise and reward achievement of self-reliance.

·         Provide feedback to students in relation to progress and achievement.

Special Care

·         Supervise students and attend to their personal needs and implement personal programmes including social, health, physical, hygiene, first aid and welfare matters.  Specifically, this may involve any of the following:

·         Gastrostomy tube feeding and cleaning of tube in accordance with the care plan for the child and appropriate training; Changing of catheter bags and cleaning of tubes; Colostomy/Stoma Care; Bathing/Showering; Denture cleaning; Head lice inspection and treatment (in conjunction with parents/carers); Mouth or nose toilet; Toileting including wiping/cleaning of pupil; Application of splints, braces, corsets etc; Assistance in the transfer to and from vehicles and wheelchairs and mobility devices in accordance with manual lifting and handling procedures; Occupational therapy and physiotherapy as directed by health professionals; Draining exercises for students with cystic fibrosis; Assisting with magnets, which help fuse tissues back together post-surgery; Emergency treatments covered in basic first aid training; Supervise and support students ensuring their safety and access to learning including visits to other establishments.

Support for the Teacher

·         Work with the teacher to establish an appropriate learning environment.

·         Work with the teacher in lesson planning, evaluating, and adjusting lessons/work plans as appropriate.

·         Monitor and evaluate students’ responses to learning activities through observation and planned recording of achievement against pre-determined learning objectives.

·         Provide objective and accurate feedback and reports, as required, to the teacher, on pupil achievement, progress and other matters, ensuring the availability of appropriate evidence.

·         Be responsible for keeping and updating records as agreed with the teacher, contributing to reviews of systems/records as requested.

·         Undertake marking of students’ work and accurately record achievement/progress.

·         Promotion of positive values, attitudes and good pupil behaviour, dealing promptly with conflict and incidents in line with established policy and encourage students to take responsibility for their own behaviour.

·         Liaise sensitively and effectively with parents/carers as agreed with the teacher within your role/responsibility and participate in feedback sessions/meetings with parents, as directed.

·         Administer and assess routine tests and invigilate exams/tests.

·         Provide general clerical/admin support e.g. administer coursework, produce worksheets for agreed activities etc.

Support for the Curriculum

·         Implement agreed learning activities and interventions, adjusting activities according to pupil responses/needs.

• To deliver specialised SEN intervention for a range of students across all key stages
• To supervise students within student support
• Implement local and national learning strategies e.g. literacy, numeracy, KS3, early years and make effective use of opportunities provided by other learning activities to support the development of relevant skills
• Support the use of ICT in learning activities and develop students’ competence and independence in its use.
• Help students to access learning activities through specialist support.

Determine the need for, prepare and maintain general and specialist equipment and resources

Support for the trust/school

·         Be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person.

·         Work in a flexible way to respond to the needs of the trust and to fulfil other duties and responsibilities appropriate to the grade and role as and when required.

·         Be aware of and support difference and ensure equal opportunities for all.

·         Appreciate and support the role of other professionals.

·         Attend and participate in relevant meetings as required.

·         Contribute to the overall ethos/work/aims of the trust/schools.

·         Participate in relevant training, other learning activities and performance management as required.

·         Team responsibilities: all staff are considered part of the overall trust team and may be required to provide assistance to colleagues in other areas from time to time commensurate with the role, skillset and grade.

·         From time to time, to meet the needs of the trust, you may be asked but not expected to work hours additional to your normal working hours.  The trust will give you as much notice as possible and you will be paid/recompensed for such work.  Situations where this might be required are, for example: relevant key school events such as open evenings, exam results days, trips, clubs, training etc.

Changes to these duties

The above duties are not exhaustive, and the post holder may be required to undertake tasks, roles and responsibilities as may be reasonably assigned to them by the Headteacher/Principal.

The job description and allocation of particular responsibilities will be kept under review and may be amended via consultation with individuals, the governing body or board of trustees and/or senior leadership team as required. Trade union representation will be welcomed in any such discussions.