Higher Level Teaching Assistant

About the role: Bearsted Primary Academy has a rare and exciting opportunity to appoint an enthusiastic, motivated and experienced Higher Level Teaching Assistant to join our highly collaborative and supportive team. Our teaching support team is pivotal to our success in the classroom and provides a great deal of support for our teachers, and this position for an HLTA will strengthen the team even further with their knowledge, experience and additional support that they can provide our teaching staff with. Our successful candidate will be able to establish strong working relationships with staff and students alike, be able to work as part of a team and will be reliable and excellent communicators. A Level 3 qualification in childcare is highly desirable as well as Key stage 1 experience, however, experience in Key stage 2 is essential for this opportunity. The successful candidate will be expected to support two schools and will be able to drive with access to a car. The hours are 32.5 hours per week, Term Time + 1 week inset.

Please be aware that interviews will be conducted in the first week of September 2021.

Our successful candidate will be;

• Enthusiastic, energetic and adaptable
• ​​​​​​​Capable of working independently and in a team
• Able to motivate and support pupils
• Able to work with individual pupils and small groups of pupils
• Able to demonstrate experience with interventions and learning support
• Candidates should have a minimum of a Level 3 NVQ or equivalent and have experience of working within a primary school
• Possess an unending desire to help all children achieve their best
• Possess a caring nature and a deep regard for children

Bearsted Primary Academy: Bearsted Primary Academy, opened in September 2020, has welcomed its first cohort of Reception children of up to 60 pupils, two classes of 30 in each along with our nursery and KS1 class. Every year we will continue to grow our academy until we reach full capacity of 420 pupils across Years R - 6.

Little Bears Nursery opened in January 2021 and has 26 FTE places for pupils from the term after their 3rd birthday.

Our aim at Bearsted Primary Academy is to allow all children an opportunity to reach their full potential, where ambition knows no bounds making every moment count. Surrounded by talented, dedicated practitioners, we aim to deliver pupils engaging and challenging experiences and opportunities within their education, which are both enjoyable and develop a thirst for learning. In doing this, we look to provide the highest quality learning experiences for every child, utilising our brand new facilities and resources including our outdoor Forest School provision.

We are committed to providing an education and environment where children feel safe and cared for, take risks and embrace learning, experience a sense of pride in all that they achieve, and where children can develop a variety of social, emotional and academic skills preparing them for a bright future.

Bearsted Primary Academy focuses on the development of the whole child, both in and outside of the classroom, with an emphasis on inquiry-led learning, encouraging our pupils to challenge, question and take ownership of their learning. In order to achieve this, we believe in the importance of building strong partnerships between the adults and pupils in our school, ensuring all learners succeed and benefit from the relationships formed within a caring and encouraging environment. Therefore to be a successful candidate you need to be passionate, dedicated, proactive and caring. We are looking for someone who has good communication skills and is flexible in their approach when supporting children and working alongside other colleagues. As a Trust we believe it is important to be positive, inspirational and a real team player.

Being part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st September 2020, our Trust will comprise 28 geographically organised academies (11 secondaries, 15 primaries and 2 special) educating over 16,000 students, and employing over 2,500 talented staff. We also have one further secondary academy in development phase, due to open in September 2021. The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North West Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training providers and a large teaching school. Click here to view our future plans in our Vision 2025 document. 

As part of Leigh Academies Trust you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with your peers both within the academy and across the whole Trust. This is an important part of our vision as we know through experience that we perform better when we work together. You are supported to undertake regular self-development to continue your professional development and hopefully progress further within the organisation.

We strive to offer a range of benefits that all employees can take advantage of which we regularly review and add to - click here to view what you’d receive as a member of staff with Leigh Academies Trust. 

The academy is committed to safeguarding children and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. Our commitment to safeguarding is underpinned by robust processes and checks which are in place across the Trust.

Recruitment and hiring during COVID-19: Despite the challenges we face, recruitment and hiring will continue for all Leigh Academies Trust vacancies with as little disruption as possible over the coming weeks and months. This is for all senior, teaching and support staff appointments. Applications will still be reviewed and interviews conducted in a timely manner, although interview activities will vary. If you have any queries or concerns, please get in touch with the LAT Talent Team - talent@latrust.org.uk

Based on the quality and quantity of applications received, Leigh Academies Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy sooner than the specified closing date. Applicants will be notified of this where possible.  Therefore, early applications are encouraged