Teacher

Teacher

Team: Education and Teaching

Location: Mitcham, Surrey

Salary: £34,502 - £53,482 + SEN1 £2,384 + excellent benefits

Contract Type: Permanent

Position Type: Full Time

Interview Date: Tuesday, 03 January 2023

Closing date: Monday, 19 December 2022, 23:59

Huge small victories

Giving young people the best start in life is not easy. There’s lots of ups, downs, and proverbial mountains getting in the way, but it’s what our teachers do every single day. To one of our young people, just sitting through a PE lesson can be a big win. We call these huge small victories, and whilst they may seem small on the surface, they add up to make a big difference by the time one of our young people leave us for the world of work.

Our teachers are fulfilled by the idea of affecting even the smallest positive changes in our young people, so we celebrate the little things.

Get out what you put in

You’ll get to work with children and young people with Autistic Spectrum Disorder. You will get a chance to help them learn, develop their sporting abilities and raise their self-esteem. It’s not just about academic achievement; you’ll help them feel accepted and confident in their abilities. Whilst you will need to be resilient and dedicated, as those huge small victories that you achieve for them will be life-changing.

It’s can be a tough journey, but the positive steps forward will more than make up for it. As a Teacher at Witherslack Group, you’ll get all the support you need to succeed, from in-house psychologists, to teaching assistants and therapy professionals. Your colleagues will be the best at what they do, the school environments will be the most well-resourced in the country, and we’ll be with you every step of the way, helping you to build a rewarding teaching career.

Bring your whole-self to work

Worried you might not fit in? Here at Witherslack Group, we celebrate everyone’s differences as that’s what makes us the best at what we do. Our young people come from all walks of life, diverse backgrounds and with different needs – and our workforce reflects that diversity, so that our teams can engage, encourage and inspire our young people to be themselves. You be more than a PE teacher, you’ll be able to connect with our pupils with:

• Your ‘can do’ attitude – a team player who rolls up their sleeves to help others
• Your genuine passion for physical education and the impact sport can have on young lives
• The ability to relate PE to each pupil and build great relationships with your class
• Your enthusiasm and expertise to build our new PE department right from the start

Outstanding environments

As someone potentially coming into SEN Education for the first time, we wanted to let you know that it’s different to a mainstream school. Forget class sizes of 40+ and the production line mentality that you may have experienced growing up; this role enables teachers to have a greater impact on the next generation. This means small class sizes, more personalised lessons, first-class equipment and facilities - and more opportunities to make the kind of difference teaching adverts say you will make.

The positive impact you can have on a child’s life is most likely the reason you got into teaching in the first place. At Lavender Lodge School in Mitcham, that impact will be greater than you could have imagined.

Lavender Lodge provides outstanding schooling for Autistic young people with a range of complex educational needs. We like to foster a safe, supportive environment where children can grow in confidence and thrive. Each young person’s set of needs requires a unique approach. Our teachers are there to channel their individual capabilities into academic success, as part of a holistic and uniquely attentive educational strategy – and all of this from a setting that is truly inspiring to both pupils and teachers.

Our school building dates back to the 18th century and sits in beautiful surroundings including two adventure playgrounds. Add to the fact that we’ve installed amazing new learning spaces, therapy rooms and a great supporting team and it all adds up to a truly uplifting teaching environment

What we do for you

We know you’re going to do great things. For your hard work and commitment, we reward you with the best salary and benefits package in the education sector. With us, you’ll get to bring sport alive and make a genuine difference to the lives of our young people – plus you’ll get:

• Salary: Base salary of £32,157
• Training: A full induction and on the job training
• Work/life balance: Flexibility and support to suit your lifestyle
• Holiday: You’ll work hard at WG, so you’ll be rewarded with full school holidays
• Progression: If career development is your thing, most of our head teachers and leaders have been promoted from within our group
• Flexible benefits package: meaning you can increase/decrease benefits such as life insurance – check out our benefits here
• Wellbeing: a host of wellbeing tools and advice including employee assistance
• Some extra bits and bobs to show how much we care: Medical cover so you can claim back the cost of things like an opticians or dentist appointment, plus employee awards, sick pay as well as a host of high-street discounts
• A true team ethos: our joined-up model means we have a real sense of community – we’re all in it together
• Beautiful working environments with the very best facilities – check out our schools here
• A recommend a friend scheme that offers a £2,000 bonus every time
• We strongly believe that people should have choice and flexibility when it comes to saving for the future. As such we offer membership of the Teachers Pensions Scheme if you are eligible to join. We also offer a flexible alternative option to the Teachers Pension Scheme that allows you to opt out and receive an allowance of 15% of your base salary and free life insurance. If you take this option you are also able to join our Scottish Widows Group Pension Scheme where your employee contributions are matched up to 5%.

Join the UK’s best special education and care provider

Our young people deserve the best possible future and we feel the same about our teams. You deserve to have the career you want, with a purpose-led employer, in an environment that allows you to be yourself.

The Witherslack Group is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of its young people. This post is subject to an enhanced DBS check (we will cover the cost). We are an equal opportunities employer welcoming applications from all sections of the community.

For a full job description and person specification, please see the attached document.

Special Education / PE Teacher / Physical Education / Careers in Special Education / Working with Children / SEMH / SEN