Teaching Assistant

Kingsmead School is a rural mixed ability Academy with a fully comprehensive intake situated near the Devon/Somerset border, close to the Brendon Hills and Exmoor. It is a magnificent area in which to live and work. Not only is there the tranquillity and beauty of the countryside but there is the rapidly growing county town of Taunton nearby and easy access (20 minutes) to the M5 for connections to the rest of the country.

The school lies in the small town of Wiveliscombe. It caters for the age range 11-16 and has 925 students and 110 staff. Our latest Ofsted Report, in June 2022, gave an overall judgement that Kingsmead “requires improvement”. Mr J Eddy, Headteacher, joined Kingsmead in January 2023.  He is determined to improve education at Kingsmead for our superb body of students.

The core values of Kingsmead are Care, Aspiration, Respect and Determination which drive our strong positive ethos and offering amenities for the whole school community. We have high expectations and expect staff to support our caring, student-centred ethos to set high standards for our students. We hope staff will contribute to and lead some of the wide range of extra-curricular opportunities we offer.

Safeguarding is at the heart of what we do at Kingsmead. All staff and volunteers are expected to have read and be fully compliant with the following policies - Safeguarding and Child Protection, Staff Code of Conduct, Online Safety and Whistleblowing.

They are also expected to be familiar with ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ 2023. A read receipt is required from all staff at the start of each academic year and from newly appointed staff prior to taking up appointment. Kingsmead is never complacent about safeguarding and accept that we must never believe “it wouldn’t happen here”. We have rigorous and tested practices and procedures which are constantly reviewed and have high expectations of staff in matters of safeguarding and child protection.

Newly appointed staff will be given a full induction programme with some safeguarding elements being completed prior to the commencement of work at the school.  Early Career Teachers will also receive their 2-year induction programme in partnership with SWIFT and Teach First.

A major £13 million rebuild completed in December 2023.  This is a very exciting time for the school and our new facilities will further support the advancement of teaching and learning at Kingsmead.