School Therapy Assistant

Something a bit different… Exciting opportunity for an outdoor-loving person!

Blossom House is an Ofsted-rated “Outstanding” specialist school for children aged 3 – 19 years of age with speech, language and communication difficulties.

We are excited to recruit a Therapy Assistant for a brand-new role at Chestnut Farm, our SEN outdoor learning provision which is based in Ockham, Surrey. This provision is launching in September 2023 with one small group of KS3 aged learners, with the plan to slowly grow the number of pupils as we develop the property.

The Therapy Assistant will join our Multi-disciplinary Team, supporting the students on the farm. The ideal candidate will have excellent English skills (clear written and spoken English) and good reading, writing and numeracy skills, along with the ability to build good working relationships with young people, teachers, parents and carers. Experience of working with young people with Special Education Needs (SEN) is desirable.

We are looking for someone who shows initiative, is organised, enjoys the outdoors and believes in our ethos of ensuring our young people are happy, fulfilled and safe. The applicant will be passionate about working with young people with complex social communication difficulties and have experience working within a multidisciplinary team to provide the best support possible for the learners.

We are designing a bespoke learning curriculum based around the running of the farm, which will be hands-on and functional with less of an academic focus.

The applicant will need to be comfortable around handling and caring for our farmyard animals and someone who is a keen to get their hands dirty.

This will be a highly therapeutic environment, where communication support is central to its success. We follow the SCERTS framework (Social Communication Emotional Regulation Transition Support) to support our assessment, target setting and maintenance of a high quality, communication friendly environment. Close multi-disciplinary team work, is one of our core values, and we are very proud of our dynamic team of specialist teachers, therapists and learning support assistants, who work very closely together to ensure our students experience a meaningful, holistic timetable of activities to optimise their independence and emotional well-being.

What the role involves:

·        Working closely in a multi-disciplinary team to ensure the young people experience a smooth transition from their current school site (Motspur Park) to the new farm site (Ockham).

·        Co-creating and delivering an adapted and pertinent functional curriculum based around the farm’s natural resources and opportunities and delivering learning opportunities through daily farm tasks and therapeutic outdoor activities.

·        Getting your hands dirty and fully embracing the outdoor curriculum.

The ideal candidate will have:

·        Confidence, enthusiasm and a passion for hands-on learning.

·        Experience and/or interest in working with children with more profound/complex Special Education Needs.

·        Experience or commitment to using symbolised communication systems (AAC) to support language and learning in the classroom.

·        The ability to build good working relationships with children, teachers, parents and carers.

·        The ability to promote positive behaviour in a nurturing environment is essential.

·        A commitment to embracing outdoor learning and farm living.

·        Knowledge and experience of supporting children with significant sensory integration difficulties.

·        A passion for working with neurodivergent students.

What we offer:

• A supportive working environment.
• Support from an enthusiastic and dedicated team of Therapy staff and Teachers who will work alongside you in the classroom or collaborate for planning. Our Speech & Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapist and Arts Therapists aim to maximise each child’s potential in a nurturing and supportive environment.
• Opportunities for continued professional development.
• Great staff benefits which include; pension, free Friday lunch, cycle to work scheme and computer scheme and wellbeing allowance.
• UK Healthcare cash plan designed to help cover your “day to day” healthcare expenditure such as Optical and Dental bills and offers cash back (up to policy limits) for a variety of different medical treatments. It also offers lifestyle benefits and discounted gym membership.

The role is a Permanent, Full-Time, 8 weeks holiday

Monday to Friday (08:30 – 17:00)

To start: September 2023

If you wish to apply for the post, please download the application form and advert and email the completed application form detailing how you meet the requirements of the person specification along with the recruitment activity (on the last page of this advert) to the Recruitment Team.

Blossom House School is committed to safeguarding and protecting the children and young people that we work with. As such, all posts are subject to a safer recruitment process, including an Enhanced DBS check, the disclosure of criminal records and vetting checks.

We can only shortlist based on completed applications and not CV’s alone.