[251105] Therapy Assistant

The Springfields Academy; Calne; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 28,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

LGPS pension

Career progression opportunities

Employee assistance programme

Job summary

The Springfields Academy in Calne invites applications for a Therapy Assistant to join our child-centered team from January 2027. The role supports learners with autism and works within our multidisciplinary therapy team as part of a therapy-first culture.

We offer a part-time, term-time contract with a 33.25-hour week and competitive pay (£26,052–£27,838 per year). Our school emphasises inclusion and personalised education with strong Ofsted outcomes and NAS Advanced specialist award.

Qualifications

• Good knowledge and understanding of autism and neurodiversity
• Understanding of social, emotional & mental health needs
• Excellent listening skills
• Ability to build trusted relationships
• Resilience and ability to work autonomously
• Promote inclusion in activities
• Use of positive anxiety management strategies

Skills

Autism and neurodiversity

Social communication support

Listening skills

Relationship building

Autonomous work

Anxiety management strategies

Education

Experience with autism support in school setting

Job description

The Springfields Academy, Reach South Academy Trust is seeking to appoint an experienced Therapy Assistant to join the School in January 2027

Post: Therapy Assistant

Location: The Springfields Academy, Curzon Street, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0DS

FTE Salary Range: Grade H Pt 15-17

Actual Salary Range: £26,052 - £27,838

Contract Type: Permanent, part time, term time only (39 weeks per year)

Contract Hours: 33.25 per week, Monday to Friday

For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours, job share, compressed hours, or staggered hours. Please wait until the job offer stage before asking us about flexibility, and we will explore what’s possible for the role.

Salary Range:

The Role:

We are looking for a Therapy Assistant to join our child-centred team.

Springfields is a fantastic, vibrant and caring community that engages pupils. Our autism approach is accessed by all our pupils and is personalised to meet specific needs. All our pupils have an education, health and care plan.

The Springfields Academy is a Reach South Academy for young people aged 4-19 with autism, we are proud to hold the NAS Advanced specialist award and are incredibly proud of our April 2026 Ofsted outcomes, which recognised Springfields Academy as Exceptional in Inclusion, Personal Development, and Leadership & Governance. The inspection also highlighted our strong performance in Attendance and Behaviour, Early Years, Curriculum and Teaching, and Achievement, reflecting the dedication of our staff, pupils, families, and wider school community in ensuring every child can thrive and succeed.

We have 285 pupils attending our provision. Our goal is to build safe independent lives for autistic young people through support, understanding and enablement.

Part of the excitement of working at Springfields is the broad range of individuals that you will care for. A key aspect of working at Springfields is taking the time to get to know pupils and their individual needs, and given their complexity, being able to create a safe, stimulating and supportive learning environment is crucial.

You will be joining a happy, hardworking and well-established team. You will also work in partnership with our multi-disciplinary therapy team as part of our therapy first culture.

About the successful candidate

The position of Therapy Assistant is an exciting opportunity for a passionate and compassionate individual to lead interventions and support our learners with autism.

Key skills:

• To have a good knowledge and understanding of autism, neurodiversity and social communication needs and appropriate strategies to support pupils with this need.
• To have knowledge and understanding of social, emotional & mental health needs and cognitive needs, that affect children and young people's development.
• Excellent listening skills
• An ability to build strong, trusting relationships
• To be resilient and able to work autonomously
• Promote and support the inclusion of all pupils in activities that they enjoy
• To use positive and personalised anxiety management strategies

School Background:

The Springfields Academy is an academy based in Calne. We aspire to build safe independent lives for autistic young people through support, understanding and enablement. Additionally, we hold the National Autistic Society Advanced specialist award and are incredibly proud of our April 2026 Ofsted outcomes, which recognised Springfields Academy as Exceptional in Inclusion, Personal Development, and Leadership & Governance. The inspection also highlighted our strong performance in Attendance and Behaviour, Early Years, Curriculum and Teaching, and Achievement, reflecting the dedication of our staff, pupils, families, and wider school community in ensuring every child can thrive and succeed.

We are an acknowledged centre of excellence for Autism; we are highly reflective in our practices and are continually working to improve our provision and practices. We provide a personalised curriculum journey that enables learners with a diagnosis of autism to develop skills in areas of need and to overcome their barriers to learning.

Trust Background:

Reach South is a young and developing Trust which operates across the Southwest of England with the aim of delivering all through 3-19 education. We operate 21 academies in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. We are building this Trust on a clear set of values, behaviours and curriculum principles. At the heart of those values and principles is a belief in our young people and a determination to support them to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to become the successful citizens for today and all of their tomorrows.

Our core business is delivering exceptional education for children and young people with a mission to help all pupils aspire to achieve beyond the expectations that others put on them. We do this through the development of a talented and committed workforce. In order to deliver exceptional opportunities for learning, we need highly motivated staff across all parts of the organisation.

Those we recruit are able to demonstrate that they share our values, are highly motivated to work with colleagues, within and beyond their school, to continuously develop their skills and pursue professional excellence.

Next Steps:

If you have any queries about this role or would like an informal conversation, visits are warmly welcome, please get in touch by calling Liz Burns (Head of Therapy) on 01249 814125 or email [e-mail].

Closing date: for applications is 22nd November 2026

Interview Date: Interviews are provisionally booked for WC 30th November 2026

We reserve the right to interview and appoint prior to the closing date. Therefore, an early application is strongly advised.

Opportunities and Benefits

We offer a competitive salary plus LGPS pension, great career progression and development opportunities, access to our Employee Assistance Programme with many other benefits.

We're proud of how we support our staff in order that you have high levels of job satisfaction, are aware of the difference you are making for the children and families you work with and can see your contribution towards our community. There are regular opportunities for professional development and training, and a wider community of staff to network with within Reach South Multi Academy Trust. You will have the chance to visit other local schools, work alongside a range of outside professionals and take part in a variety of e-learning and face-to-face training.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Each post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Reach South Academy Trust has an Equal Opportunities Policy for selection and recruitment. Applicants are requested to complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring section of the application form before submitting.

Please note that Reach South Academy Trust is a licenced Sponsor for CoS applications and therefore can consider applications from candidates eligible to apply for Teaching and Teaching Leadership roles (only). For all other roles applicants are required to provide the required documentation where a candidate does not need a Skilled Worker Visa.