Teaching Assistant - Year 3&4

Freshsteps Independent School is an OFSTED graded ‘outstanding’ independent alternative provision. The school caters for pupils aged 5-16 years who have SEMH / SEN. We have an exciting new opportunity available at our school to work with pupils with SEMH/ special educational needs. We wish to recruit an experienced teaching assistant to join us within our primary phase during this exciting time of expansion and progress.

Positions available for this role are in LKS2

The school has recently moved site and has invested in the construction of brand new classrooms, sports arena, gym area, library area and an indoor therapeutic, split level soft-play structure. The school is fully resourced and equipped.

Our pupils have been referred from mainstream schools due to various needs including behavioural, low numeracy, literacy, speech and language and SEMH. They have wonderful personalities and enjoy the benefit of an engaging, hands-on learning style and adapted curriculum. The school believes that every student can realise their true potential with the right support and teaching. Therefore, it sets high standards for both pupils and staff.

The curriculum at FreshSteps is very rich including horse-riding, cookery, boxing classes and we work in partnership with the Tottenham Hotspur Foundation and Edmonton Eagles Boxing Club .

The school received an ‘outstanding’ rating from OFSTED in its inspection in November 2017 and again most recently in its inspection in February 2020, stating that the school ‘inspires pupils to achieve more than what they believe they are capable of’.

We value our support staff as much as our teachers and as such our expectation is that our support staff should be able to work independently with groups of pupils - we are therefore looking for candidates with experience and confidence to lead small classes or intervention group sessions in reading, literacy and numeracy. You may also be required to support in some sports sessions, so you should be comfortable participating in sport.

The successful candidate must:

• Have proven experience working with pupils with SEMH / SEN in a school or alternative provision

• Have the ability to differentiate work according to each child’s individual needs

• Be resilient, show enthusiasm and commitment

• Have good organisational skills

• Be a good communicator who can work closely with colleagues

• Have good literacy and numeracy skills

• Have good behaviour management skills

• Have knowledge about a range of interventions and their impact on meeting the needs of children with an EHCP

• Be responsible for the planning, delivery and monitoring of learning for your pupils

• Be able to work on your own initiative

• A background in sport would be an advantage but not necessary as full training will be given

• The ability to deliver a therapeutic session i.e. play therapy would be an advantage

FreshSteps prides itself on its dedicated, professional and friendly team of staff. It is crucial that applicants are willing to share the school's ethos and its commitment to excellence, innovation and collaboration.

Salary is dependent on skills and experience.

Hours of work: 8.15am - 4.15pm. 

Freshsteps is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people that we work with. As such, all posts are subject to safer recruitment process, including the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks. We ensure that we have a range of policies and procedures in place which promote safeguarding and safer working practice across the school. Offers are subject to satisfactory references.