Learning Support Assistants

SJB is an over-subscribed, mixed Catholic comprehensive school of approximately 1550 students (including a thriving Sixth Form), located just outside Woking town centre, and a 15-minute walk from the train station (22 minutes from London Waterloo on the train). We are part of the Xavier Catholic Education Trust; a group of nineteen schools in the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton who have come together to work collaboratively for the benefit of all the children they serve. The Trust's aim is to provide a caring and supportive environment within which all children receive the best possible education.

Our staff are vibrant, enthusiastic and passionate about ensuring our students get the very best deal, and we work hard to ensure they are supported and cared for. The School Leadership Team see it as their role to serve the staff, and ensuring an effective work-life balance for all is key in that. Our staff enjoy working here because our standards, facilities and staff wellbeing are excellent; and because we like to have fun!

We are also exceptionally fortunate to work with such brilliant students; they are a pleasure to teach and make excellent progress. If you come to visit us, you will see that they are happy, hard-working and very positive about the school and learning. We want all our children to grow into happy, confident, resilient and articulate young people who leave SJB equipped to lead fulfilling lives and make a positive contribution to society. Everything we do is with that aim in mind, and we always seek to ‘do what is best for the children’ and as a result they thrive and achieve their potential. During the 2023-24 public exams our Year 11 students achieved a Progress 8 score of +0.73; with 90% of all grades 4+; 43% of all grades 7+; 78% achieving 5+ grades in English and Maths. Post-16 results were also very strong with 42% A*-A grades and 89% gaining A*-C grades.

Technology at St John the Baptist School is a major part of teaching, learning and school/teacher administration. We have developed a strong 'can do' approach to supporting staff which encourages everyone to embrace the possibilities that technology has to offer within the school for teaching, learning or administration. Every child has their own iPad which they use to support their learning (as do teachers). We have developed several 'in-house' apps for both staff and students and are always seeking new opportunities to improve our use of technology. We are a designated Apple Distinguished School. The ideal candidate will have a good grasp of technology and be keen to develop this within their role. However, full training will be provided for all new staff.

We are very committed to improving the whole school system and have a long-standing history supporting other schools and the development of teachers for many years as Teaching School and now as a lead school in the Xavier Teaching School Hub. We also lead the North East Hampshire and Surrey Maths Hub and have strong links with Teach South East SCITT. This means we are able to offer our staff new opportunities in: training future teachers and various support roles; developing Maths teaching across all phases; and supporting local primary and secondary schools. We currently have a number of staff that work in a variety of capacities in other schools. We work hard to offer development to all stages of a teacher’s career; from initial teacher training to NPQH for prospective Headteachers.

We are very proud to have been recognised as “transforming” under the SSATs Framework for Exceptional Education in all twelve aspects of our practice including: climate for learning; culture of reflection; professional learning; variety of teaching; wellbeing and leadership through moral purpose. The first school in the country to do so! We have also recently been awarded the Chartered College Research Mark in recognition of our we are commitment to embedding an evidence-informed culture in our school.

Support for staff is exceptional and there are significant opportunities for professional development at all levels. The school is fully staffed, partly because staff know that they can concentrate on teaching and are very well supported by both the School Leadership Team and the excellent support staff. We have a well-established programme of support for newly appointed staff, which enables them to settle into the school routine quickly and effectively.

As an employee at SJB, we offer an excellent benefits package including:

• All teachers are allocated 15% PPA time
• Corporate discount package provided by Edenred (including pre-tax car scheme, cycle-to-work scheme, dental insurance and many other retailer discounts).
• Department planning and collaboration time is built into the week; it is not an add-on
• A smart feedback policy minimises marking, allowing teachers to spend time planning engaging lessons
• Flexible opportunities for part-time staff
• New staff induction day and leadership development day (if relevant to post)
• New staff CPD programme
• Mentor/Coach
• Individual iPads for staff and bespoke iPad support and training
• Excellent training and professional development opportunities both within the school and across the Trust including access to the National College Online, SAfE and all NPQs fully funded.
• Generous Pension Scheme (TPS)
• Ability to book MOT through the school with onsite pick-up/drop-off
• Free annual flu vaccination
• Excellent onsite catering facility
• Free use of the onsite gym (6-8am and 5-8pm weekdays)
• Weekly dry-cleaning pick-up/drop-off service
• Tax free Apple laptop/desktop purchasing scheme with optional payment plan
• Regular staff social events
• Discretionary time off for one-off, special events
• Opportunities to shape the future of our school – staff voice/feedback is incredibly important to us.

Working in a Catholic school is unique. The Christian ethos is at the core of everyday life at SJB and is one of our greatest strengths. Visitors frequently comment on the care, compassion and real sense of community that permeate everything that we do. We appoint members of staff, who, whatever their beliefs, support the ethos of our school and will always put our children first.

Expectations are incredibly high here at SJB. We expect the very best from and for our students and we expect the same of ourselves as staff. All the staff at SJB are highly valued and contribute in various ways to the overall success of our students. If you feel you would like to know more about this opportunity to join the SJB community, you are welcome to visit and look round the school at any time.

If you feel you would like to know more about the opportunities we have to join the SJB community, you are welcome to visit and look round the school at any time. Just get in contact via info@sjb.surrey.sch.uk