1:1 Complex Needs Support Assistant | Durham SEND Schools

Protocol Education Ltd; Gateshead; On-site; GBP 17,000 - 20,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Weekly PAYE pay

No umbrella companies

FREE CPD Academy

FREE Thrive training

Dedicated consultant support

Local SEND opportunities across Durham

Experience in specialist and alternate

Refer a Friend rewards

Job summary

Protocol Education Ltd are recruiting a dedicated 1:1 SEND Support Assistant to work in a specialist school in Durham. The pupil you will support has complex behavioural needs and requires consistency, safety, and adaptive communication strategies.

You will work with teachers and SEND professionals to promote engagement and learning, following safeguarding plans and using agreed strategies. The role is full-time, term-time only, with pay £92.63–£108 per day depending on experience.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting children or young people with additional needs.
• A calm and patient approach.
• Strong resilience and emotional awareness.
• Confidence working in challenging situations.
• A genuine interest in understanding behaviour.
• The ability to build relationships based on trust and consistency.
• A willingness to learn and follow specialist strategies.
• Experience within SEND schools, SEMH, PRUs, residential care, youth work or behaviour support would be beneficial.

Responsibilities

• Providing consistent 1:1 support
• Supporting a pupil with complex SEND and behavioural needs
• Helping the pupil recognise and manage their emotions
• Using agreed sensory, behavioural and communication strategies
• Supporting classroom engagement and learning
• Following individual behaviour and safeguarding plans
• Responding calmly to incidents of challenging behaviour
• Building trust through consistency and positive reinforcement
• Working alongside teachers and experienced SEND professionals

Skills

Calm and patient

Resilience

Emotional awareness

Confidence in challenging situations

Relationship building

Willingness to learn

Interest in understanding behaviour

Experience with SEND

Job description

1:1 Complex Needs Support Assistant | Durham SEND Schools

Location: Durham
Job Type: Full Time, Term Time Only
Start Date: September 2026
Pay: £92.63–£108 per day, dependent on experience

Look beyond the behaviour. Support the child.

Protocol Education are recruiting for a dedicated 1:1 SEND Support Assistant to work in a specialist school in Durham.

The pupil you'll be supporting can present with complex behavioural needs, including periods of significant dysregulation. This may involve biting, kicking, throwing objects and other physical behaviours.

Your role won't simply be about managing behaviour. It's about understanding what sits behind it, creating a sense of safety and helping the pupil develop positive ways to communicate and engage.

The role will involve

• Providing consistent 1:1 support
• Supporting a pupil with complex SEND and behavioural needs
• Helping the pupil recognise and manage their emotions
• Using agreed sensory, behavioural and communication strategies
• Supporting classroom engagement and learning
• Following individual behaviour and safeguarding plans
• Responding calmly to incidents of challenging behaviour
• Building trust through consistency and positive reinforcement
• Working alongside teachers and experienced SEND professionals

We're looking for someone with...

• Experience supporting children or young people with additional needs
• A calm and patient approach
• Strong resilience and emotional awareness
• Confidence working in challenging situations
• A genuine interest in understanding behaviour
• The ability to build relationships based on trust and consistency
• A willingness to learn and follow specialist strategies

Experience within SEND schools, SEMH, PRUs, residential care, youth work or behaviour support would be beneficial.

Develop your SEND career with Protocol Education

As well as your placement, you'll have access to:

• Weekly PAYE pay
• No umbrella companies
• FREE CPD Academy
• FREE Thrive training
• Dedicated consultant support
• Local SEND opportunities across Durham
• Experience in specialist and alternative settings
• Refer a Friend rewards

Thrive training: It can give you practical strategies and greater confidence when supporting children with complex social, emotional and behavioural needs.

All pay rates quoted will be inclusive of 12.07% statutory holiday pay. This advert is for a temporary position. In some cases, the option to make this role permanent may become available at a later date.

Protocol Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We undertake safeguarding checks on all workers in accordance with the DfE statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, this may also include an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted applicants.

We offer FREE online safeguarding and Prevent Duty training to all our workers. All candidates must undertake or have undertaken a valid enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and subscribe to the DBS Update Service.