SEND: Teaching Assistant - Grade E + SSA. 37 hours per week - TTO - September 2024

Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy is a successful 11-18 mainstream co-educational academy which has improved rapidly over recent years. We recently celebrated achieving a ‘Good’ Ofsted rating in our November 2022 inspection. The improvement in progress 8 scores from 2019 to 2022 indicates we are the most improved school in Gateshead and among the top 10% of schools for improvement in the North East of England.

We provide an exceptional programme of CPD for staff. We know this through staff surveys and our exceptionally low levels of staff turnover. The majority of staff who have left us have gone on to promoted positions. Staff are happy here; Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy is a good place to work. We have high expectations of our staff and students, but we also know our staff are our greatest asset, and we treat them with respect. We value the development of all our staff and you will develop further as a teacher during your time here.

Our next steps are to build on our recent achievements, and to improve the attainment and progress of our disadvantaged students, including those with SEND. We also want to engage more effectively with our community and continue to expand our already thriving extra-curricular offer for our students. Alongside these aims, we aim to expand our sixth form further, by attracting applications from other local schools, as well as ensuring more of our students complete key stage 4 with the qualifications required for further academic study.

We are looking to recruit a skilful, passionate and dynamic TA for our SEND Department. You will be committed to transforming the life chances of our students. You will be passionate about raising the achievement of all students, particularly the disadvantaged, including those with SEND. You will be keen to learn and develop further, through collaboration with others, and through whole school and departmental CPD.

You will contribute to the development of an excellent standard of teaching within across the school as part of the SEND department. You will raise the achievement of our students through the support of our students with SEND, adopting strategies to access the teaching and learning in the classroom and ensuring student progression by implementing bespoke interventions strategies which meet the students’ needs.

We also expect the candidate to be someone who will share good practice to enhance the learning experience of all students. We believe that staff can learn from their peers at all levels, and we operate a professional learning group approach to sharing good practice across the academy.

The SEND Department consists of an Assistant Principal SENDCo, an Assistant SENDCo and 11 HLTAs/TAs with active responsibilities for an area of SEND. We are fortunate to be able to offer our students further support by expanding our department and are looking to recruit up to 3 additional TAs.

This is a professional and forward thinking department; we are flexible in meeting our students’ needs, both in and out of the classroom. “Teachers and teaching assistants work together to ensure that pupils with SEND are well supported in lessons.” (Ofsted) November 2022. We are striving for excellence and always looking for new, creative, and exciting opportunities to develop learning, supporting students and advising staff, “teaching staff have the knowledge to helps pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities(SEND)”. (Ofsted) November 2022.

To be considered for this post you must have a good education background to GCSE equivalent or above and be willing to engage in further professional development. We are looking for a TA with the capability to provide an excellent range of support for our students, and with the capacity to develop further.

This is an exceptional opportunity to join us on our journey towards becoming one of the best schools in the North East of England. We have further work to do, but are well on the way in our improvement plan. The successful candidate will learn and develop here, and will, we hope, go on to achieve great success in their career.

Lord Lawson of Beamish Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. This post is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Other Information

Permanent

Start Date September 2024

Grade of Post: E + SSA

Hours of Post: Full Time – 37 hours per week

Contract Weeks: Term time only 

Closing Date: Monday 13 May 2024 at 12 noon

Shortlisting to take place: Monday 13 May 2024

Interview Date: Week commencing Monday 13 May 2024