Communication Support Worker

Oldham College is looking for a dedicated Communication Support Worker (CSW) to join our Additional Learning Support team. This is a rewarding opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of d/Deaf learners, helping them to access education, achieve their goals, and grow in confidence.

About the Role

As a CSW, you will:

• Provide high-quality communication support for learners who are d/Deaf, primarily through British Sign Language (BSL).

• Support students in accessing the curriculum, including clarifying and explaining key concepts, note-taking, and summarising information.

• Facilitate conversations and interactions with peers and staff to promote inclusion, independence, and self-esteem.

• Contribute to student progress through one-to-one support, reports, and regular monitoring.

• Support learners both in the classroom and during extra-curricular activities, trips, and events.

• Work closely with staff, families, and external professionals to ensure the best outcomes for students.

About You

We are seeking someone who is passionate about supporting d/Deaf learners and who brings:

• British Sign Language (BSL) Level 3 (or equivalent). You can be working towards this qualification. 

• GCSE Maths and English (Grade C/4 or above, or equivalent).

• Experience of supporting d/Deaf learners or adults using BSL.

• Strong communication, organisational, and interpersonal skills.

• An understanding of Deaf culture and a genuine interest in equality of opportunity.

• The ability to work flexibly and collaboratively as part of a team.

Joining our Journey:

When you join our college, not only will you benefit from an annual reviewed salary but have access to numerous benefits and facilities:

• Generous Pension Scheme  

• Fantastic Staff Benefits and Rewards platform

• Very generous holiday entitlement

• Employee Assistance Scheme

• Enhanced Maternity/Paternity provision

• Staff Development days/week (Jan, July, Aug)

• Free confidential counselling service

• Staff recognition awards

• Car Scheme

• Subsidised car parking

• On-site Day Nursery

• On-site hair and beauty salon

Oldham College is a great career choice for ambitious professionals. With one of the best apprenticeship programmes in the region, excellent 16-18 results and truly outstanding GCSE English results, we are already a high performer.

But we want to deliver much more than this.  Our ambition is to be “The Best Place to Learn and Work” and we have a clear Strategic Plan which sets out what this means and what we will do to deliver it.  We will keep on improving and innovating, and we are investing in new provision, new facilities, and new technology; including our state-of-the-art clinical simulation suite.

We expect a lot from you, so we want ambitious, open minded candidates, who are ready to give their best.  But we give a lot in return, from training to pensions, our own benefits package, and one of the best and most helpful group of colleagues you could ever wish to meet.  

The role will require you to embed and work to the college’s values; working with Integrity, having Ambition to help our learners succeed and being Inclusive to learners and colleagues alike.

At Oldham College, our mission is to welcome everyone and create inclusive teams. We encourage everyone to join us, as we create a workforce that is as diverse as our wonderful student community. We do monitor responses to our diversity questions in our application, to ensure that we can continue to build a workforce that is representative of the community that we serve.

We understand that not everyone works to the same timetable, and offer a range of flexible working options, including flexible start and finish times, part-time, term-time only or hybrid options, where the role permits.

We will do everything we can to support you during your application.  If you need us to make any adjustments to our recruitment process, contact our HR team who will be happy to advise.

If your application is successful, your personal data may be used for a pre-employment screening check by a third party as permitted by applicable law. Depending on the vacancy and applicable laws, a pre-employment screening could include, employment history, education and other information (such as media information) that may be necessary for determining your qualifications and suitability for the role.

Oldham College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment.

Any appointments will be subject to enhanced DBS checks and a check of the DfE Barred List.

Further details including a Person Specification are included within the attached Job Description.

This role is exempt from the Rehabilitation Act 1974. It is an offence to apply for the role if the applicant is barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children and vulnerable adults.