Teaching Assistant (EAL)

Hayesbrook Academy, a successful secondary academy, has a great opportunity for a confident and empathetic Teaching Assistant (EAL) to join their support team from October 2022 to primarily focus on working with our Ukrainian students. Our appointed candidate will join us and receive fantastic training and development opportunities from the off-set with scope to positively influence our students’ learning.

Our appointed candidate will provide support for students who have a range of specific needs and will be able to build rapport well with them, assist them with their classwork and assist the class teacher in delivering an effective and engaging lesson. You will also implement programmes of support designed specially to meet the pupils’ needs. The role is a fantastic role for a new or established colleague who aspires to grow and develop as an outstanding Teaching Assistant within our academy.

A Teaching Assistant should be proactive, communicate well with students and teachers alike to ensure that optimum learning takes place within the class. As an academy, we are committed to the professional development of all colleagues. 

To be considered for the role, you will need to meet the following requirements;

• The ability to speak Ukrainian is highly advantageous
• Educated to at least Level 2 Maths and English, but ideally educated to A-Level or Degree Level 
• Previous experience of working with children/young people, with a real interest in working with this age range
• Previous experience of working with children/young people with special educational needs
• A commitment to motivate and inspire young people, supporting them to overcome any barriers
• Good ICT skills and practice
• You will be committed to personal learning and development, and have a sincere commitment to sharing our long-term aims and drive

​​​​​​​This is a permanent opportunity offering an actual salary ranging between £16,817 - £17,863 (£19,293 - £20,493 full time equivalent), commensurate with experience, based on 37 hours per week, Term Time + 1 week inset.

Building on the strengths of our legacy school which is currently Hayesbrook Academy, Leigh Academy Tonbridge will open our doors to the first cohort of year 7 students, including boys and girls, for September 2023. Follow us on this exciting journey and visit our website to read more. 

Joining us at Hayesbrook Academy: Hayesbrook Academy first opened in 1964. Having always been an all-boys school, our history before then is closely linked to the old Sussex Road Boys School, where records go back to the early 1900’s, and so we have a strong tradition of education provision in Tonbridge. The modern day academy has always been an 11-18 comprehensive school with a mixed sixth form, serving the local community.

Since being the first school in West Kent to gain Academy Status in 2010, the academy led the way in achieving excellent standards and in creating a multi-academy Trust. We were graded ‘Excellent’ by Ofsted in 2005, 2008 and 2009. The academic success and high standards have continued and inspections in 2013 and again in 2017 found the school to be ‘Good’ with ‘Outstanding’ features and praised for its leadership and continued commitment to improvement of educational standards as well as students’ achievement.

Hayesbrook Academy grows, adapts and thrives with each new cohort of students that are welcomed here every September and our recent move to Leigh Academies Trust has strengthened the academy’s ability to deliver the very best for our pupils.​​​​​​​

Being part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st September 2022, our Trust comprises 30 geographically organised academies (14 secondaries, 14 primaries and 2 special) educating 20,000 students, and employing 3,000 talented staff. The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training organisations, a large teaching school hub and is an accredited apprenticeship provider. Our future plans are found in our Vision 2030 document available on our website.​​​​​​​

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.

Our commitment to safeguarding: Leigh Academies Trust and all of our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair, robust and consistent recruitment process across all academies and business units which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates - you can read more about this in our Recruitment Guidance. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.  ​​​​​​​

Our commitment to equality and diversity: As a Trust, we are passionate about diversity and recognise that as individuals, we all bring something unique to the role regardless of any protected characteristics which is why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise. We are committed to providing equality and fairness throughout our recruitment and employment practices and not discriminating on any grounds.