SEN Teaching Assistant -1:1 SEMH Support

Senploy; Dunchurch; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 24,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Consultant support

Local opportunities

Job summary

Long Term Futures is recruiting a SEN Teaching Assistant to provide dedicated 1:1 SEMH support in a welcoming two-form entry primary school in Rugby. You’ll support Year 4 and Year 6 pupils with SEMH needs and PDA, helping with successful classroom reintegration and building trust with each pupil.

The role emphasises understanding barriers, recognising triggers, and adapting approaches. You’ll work with teachers and the SENCO to maintain consistent support across the day.

Qualifications

• Experience supporting children with SEMH or behavioural needs.
• An understanding of PDA-informed or trauma-informed approaches.
• Strong relationship-building skills.
• A calm and consistent approach during challenging situations.
• Confidence providing individualised 1:1 support.
• Resilience to recognise that progress isn't always linear.

Responsibilities

• Provide dedicated 1:1 support across Year 4 and Year 6.
• Support pupils with SEMH needs and PDA.
• Help pupils gradually reintegrate into classroom learning.
• Adapt tasks and expectations around individual needs.
• Support emotional regulation and positive engagement.
• Recognise triggers and use appropriate strategies to prevent escalation.
• Use outdoor play and learning as part of pupil engagement.
• Build consistent, trusting relationships.
• Encourage confidence and independence.
• Work closely with class teachers, the SENCO and wider SEN team.
• Help create consistency between individual support and the wider school day.

Skills

SEMH support

PDA awareness

Behaviour management

1:1 support

Relationship building

Team Teach

Tools

Team Teach

Job description

SEN Teaching Assistant -1:1 SEMH Support

SEN Teaching Assistant - 1:1 SEMH Support | Rugby

Location: Rugby, CV22

Hours: 8:30am-3:30pm | Monday-Friday | Term Time Only

Contract: Long-Term to Permanent

Start: ASAP

Before a child can re-engage with learning, they may first need to trust the adult sitting beside them.

They may need someone who recognises when to encourage, when to reduce a demand, when to offer space and when a difficult moment is communicating something that can't yet be put into words.

Long Term Futures is recruiting a SEN Teaching Assistant to provide dedicated 1:1 support within a welcoming two-form entry primary school in Rugby.

You'll work across Year 4 and Year 6, supporting pupils with SEMH needs and PDA, including helping with successful classroom reintegration.

This isn't about forcing children to fit into the school day.

It's about understanding the barriers they are experiencing and helping them find a way through.

Relationships will sit at the centre of your work. You'll get to know the individual pupils - what helps them feel safe, what can trigger anxiety or dysregulation, how they communicate and which approaches help them engage positively.

Some support will happen in the classroom. At other times, learning may need to happen differently - through quieter spaces, movement, outdoor activities or a gradual return to classroom routines.

You’ll:

• Provide dedicated 1:1 support across Year 4 and Year 6.
• Support pupils with SEMH needs and PDA.
• Help pupils gradually reintegrate into classroom learning.
• Adapt tasks and expectations around individual needs.
• Support emotional regulation and positive engagement.
• Recognise triggers and use appropriate strategies to prevent escalation.
• Use outdoor play and learning as part of pupil engagement.
• Build consistent, trusting relationships.
• Encourage confidence and independence.
• Work closely with class teachers, the SENCO and wider SEN team.
• Help create consistency between individual support and the wider school day.

The right person for this role will understand that a pupil refusing a task, leaving a classroom or becoming dysregulated isn't necessarily being deliberately difficult.

You’ll be curious about what sits behind the behaviour and confident adapting your approach accordingly.

You may already have experience as a SEN Teaching Assistant, SEMH Teaching Assistant, Learning Support Assistant, Behaviour Mentor, 1:1 Teaching Assistant or Pastoral Support Assistant.

We’re particularly interested in hearing from you if you have:

• Experience supporting children with SEMH or behavioural needs.
• An understanding of PDA-informed or trauma-informed approaches.
• Strong relationship-building skills.
• A calm and consistent approach during challenging situations.
• Confidence providing individualised 1:1 support.
• The resilience to recognise that progress isn't always linear.

Team Teach or other relevant behaviour training would be highly desirable.

Good 1:1 support works best when the adult isn't left to figure everything out by themselves.

You’ll join a school with an established SEN team and supportive leadership, working closely with teachers and the SENCO to create a consistent approach around each pupil.

The position is initially long-term, but there is the potential for it to become permanent for the right person.

Through Long Term Futures, you’ll also have:

• Consistent Monday-to-Friday hours.
• A long-term role with permanent potential.
• Dedicated consultant support.
• Access to opportunities across Rugby, Coventry and surrounding areas.

For one pupil, progress might be completing a learning task. For another, it could be returning to the classroom for ten minutes, managing a difficult transition or asking for help before becoming overwhelmed. Those achievements matter.

Having one calm, reliable adult who notices them and keeps showing up can make an enormous difference.

Long Term Futures is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All applicants will be subject to safer recruitment checks, including an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.