Early Years Teaching Assistant / HLTA

London Borough of Havering; Havering-Atte-Bower; On-site; GBP 23,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

St Edward's Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School is seeking an Early Years Teaching Assistant to support Nursery and Reception with high-quality interactions, purposeful play, and strong language development. An HLTA role may be offered for an exceptionally experienced candidate.

This permanent, term-time position includes INSET days (39 weeks per year) and 32.5 hours per week (8:30am–3:30pm). Start date is to be discussed with the successful candidate.

Qualifications

• Substantial Early Years experience is essential.
• Commitment to safeguarding and inclusive practice.
• Strong EYFS knowledge and good literacy/numeracy.
• Ability to lead learning and cover classes when required.

Responsibilities

• Support high-quality learning through purposeful play and direct teaching.
• Promote communication and language, modelling rich vocabulary and engaging children in meaningful conversations.
• Support early reading, phonics, mathematics and children's wider development.
• Promote children's independence, relationships, resilience and self-regulation.
• Understand children's starting points and adapt support to help them make strong progress.
• Help create stimulating and purposeful indoor and outdoor learning environments.
• Work collaboratively with teachers and inclusion staff to ensure children with SEND participate successfully in mainstream provision.
• Build positive relationships with children, colleagues and families.

Skills

Early years experience

EYFS knowledge

Teamwork

Flexible across Nursery and Reception

Education

Level 2 Early Years qualification

Job description

• Employer: St Edward's C of E Primary School
• Reference: SCH/26/344448

St Edward's Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School

Closing on 27/09/2026 at 12:00

Enhanced DBS Check

Permanent | Term Time

32.5 hours hours per week.

Early Years Teaching Assistant / HLTA

Location: St Edward's Church of England (Voluntary Aided) Primary School
Contract: Permanent, Term Time Only + INSET Days (39 weeks per year, 0.76fte)
Hours: 32.5 hours per week (8:30am–3:30pm, with 30 minutes unpaid lunch)
Start Date: To be discussed with candidate (ASAP/After October Half term/January 2027)

Salary: Teaching Assistant – APTC 3 Points 5–6 (£23,290- £23,623)
HLTA: A higher-grade appointment may be considered for an exceptional candidate with substantial Early Years experience who can lead by example and provide high-quality cover when required.

Come and help give our youngest children the very best start!

Due to the continued growth of our Early Years provision and high demand for places, we are looking for an experienced, enthusiastic and caring Early Years Teaching Assistant to join our team.

The successful candidate will work in our Nursery and/or Reception provision, supporting children at different stages of their Early Years journey.

We are looking specifically for someone with successful experience of working in the Early Years who understands how young children learn through high-quality interactions, purposeful play, carefully planned teaching, rich language and positive relationships.

For a candidate with substantial experience, we may consider appointment at HLTA level, particularly someone who can model excellent practice, support colleagues and confidently provide class cover when required.

About St Edward's

St Edward’s is a large, successful and inclusive school, shaped by our distinctive Christian ethos and our vision for every child to experience ‘Life in all its fullness’ — in mind, body, heart and spirit.

We were graded Outstanding in all areas by Ofsted in October 2024. Our school continues to grow, with very high demand for places, and we are committed to ensuring that our youngest children receive an exceptional start to their education.

We want our Early Years provision to be ambitious, language-rich and inclusive, providing strong foundations for children's future learning, development and wellbeing.

Inclusion at St Edward's

Inclusion is one of the great strengths of our school. We are proud to be recognised as a Centre of Excellence for Inclusion through the Inclusion Quality Mark and have extensive provision for children with additional needs.

Alongside our mainstream classes, we have specialist and support bases. Children accessing these provisions, including our Early Years children, also spend appropriate parts of their day learning and playing alongside their peers in mainstream.

The successful candidate will work closely with teachers, our Inclusion Team and staff within our specialist and support bases, ensuring that children's individual strategies and support are consistently implemented when they are accessing mainstream Early Years provision.

We are looking for someone who sees inclusion as everyone's responsibility and has high expectations for every child.

About the Role:

Working flexibly across Nursery and Reception, you will:

• support high-quality learning through purposeful play, direct teaching and excellent adult interactions
• promote communication and language, modelling rich vocabulary and engaging children in meaningful conversations
• support early reading, phonics, mathematics and children's wider development
• promote children's independence, relationships, resilience and self-regulation
• understand children's starting points and adapt support to help them make strong progress
• help create stimulating and purposeful indoor and outdoor learning environments
• work collaboratively with teachers and inclusion staff to ensure children with SEND participate successfully in mainstream provision
• build positive relationships with children, colleagues and families.

We Are Looking for Someone Who:

• has successful experience of working within the Early Years
• has a secure understanding of the Early Years Foundation Stage and how young children learn
• understands the importance of communication, language, purposeful play and high-quality adult interaction
• can support early reading and phonics
• has high expectations for all children, including those with SEND
• is caring, enthusiastic, proactive and able to use their initiative
• works effectively as part of a team
• is flexible and happy to work across Nursery and Reception
• shares our Christian vision and commitment to ensuring that every child flourishes
• can articulate why they are interested in this particular job, in our unique school.

For an appropriately qualified and highly experienced candidate, we may consider appointment at HLTA level.

Alongside the responsibilities above, we would expect an HLTA to:

• lead by example and model excellent Early Years practice
• support colleagues in maintaining consistently high-quality provision
• confidently lead learning with groups and whole classes
• provide teacher cover across Early Years when required
• contribute to the continued development of our growing Early Years provision.

Applicants must have:

• successful experience of working within an Early Years setting
• a relevant Level 2 qualification or above in Early Years, Childcare, Supporting Teaching and Learning or a related field
• a good working knowledge of the EYFS
• good literacy, numeracy and communication skills
• a commitment to inclusive practice and safeguarding.

Candidates wishing to be considered at HLTA level should have substantial Early Years experience and the confidence and competence to lead learning and provide class cover.

Why Join St Edward's?

This is an exciting time to join our school.You will join an experienced and supportive team in a school where Early Years and Inclusion really matter, with opportunities for professional development and the chance to contribute to the continued development of our provision.

If you are an experienced Early Years practitioner who is ambitious for children and passionate about giving them the strongest possible start, we would love to hear from you.

Come and help our youngest children build the foundations for a lifetime of learning.

Safeguarding

Havering Schools are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The protection of our pupils from abuse is the responsibility of all staff within our schools, superseding any other considerations. Therefore Havering Schools comply with the Department for Education ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’ guidance.

It is an offence to apply for a post which involves engaging in regulated activity relevant to children if you are barred from doing so. Please be advised that, again in line with ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, shortlisted candidates (who wish to accept an invite to interview) will be required to submit, prior to their interview, a self-declaration of their criminal record or information that would make them unsuitable to work with children. Upon submission of this information, online checks may be carried out.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974; the successful applicant will be expected to undertake an enhanced DBS disclosure check. Having a criminal record will not necessarily debar you from obtaining a position with the School.

Equal Opportunities

Havering Schools aim to promote and ensure equality of opportunity and equal treatment for all. We are committed to equal opportunities in employment regardless of gender, marital status, race, colour, nationality (including citizenship), ethnic or national origins, disabilities, age, sexual orientation, responsibility for dependants, religious or political affiliation and trade union activities. All matters related to employment are decided on the basis of qualifications, merit and business need.