Specialist Teaching Assistant

Castle School Education Trust; Frenchay; Remote; GBP 22,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Local Authority Pension Scheme

Health Shield

Occupational sick pay

Family-friendly leave packages

Job summary

Downend School in Downend, South Gloucestershire is seeking a Specialist Teaching Assistant to join our SEND team. You will deliver targeted interventions, work with pupils including those with SEND, and support literacy and numeracy within a collaborative school setting.

You will report to the SENDco and contribute to planning, monitoring progress, and maintaining SEN records. The role requires patience, organisation, and strong communication with staff and families.

Qualifications

• Experience working with pupils with SEND and an understanding of effective intervention using data.
• Ability to plan targeted interventions and monitor progress.
• Excellent communication with parents, outside agencies and students.

Responsibilities

• Lead small group work and 1:1 intervention sessions, supporting literacy and numeracy.
• Monitor responses to learning activities and help students reach targets.
• Liaise with teachers to plan effective support and maintain SEN records.
• Assist with behaviour management programs and ensure student safety.

Skills

SEND experience

Intervention planning

Literacy support

Numeracy support

Education

Good education standard including English & Maths

Job description

# Specialist Teaching AssistantEmployer: Downend SchoolLocation: Downend, South GloucestershireContract Type: PermanentHours: Full TimeSalary: PATH 6. £29,542 FTE, £22,319 proratedPosted: 20th October 2026Expires: 3rd November 2026 09:00 AMStart Date: As Soon As PossibleJob ID: 1580532* Share :* Print**Job title:** Specialist ESA**Salary:** PATH 6. £29,542 FTE, £22,319 prorated**Hours:** 32.5 hours per week**Contract Type:** Permanent**About the role**We are looking for a dedicated individual to work as part of a team promoting the emotional, physical and educational development of pupils, including those with special needs. Reporting to the SENDco, you will play a key role in planning and delivering targeted interventions to identified students who require additional support.**Key responsibilities include:*** Leading small group work and 1:1 intervention sessions, specifically supporting literacy and numeracy skills.* Monitoring student responses to learning activities and helping them achieve learning targets.* Liaising with classroom teachers to plan effective support and maintain accurate special needs records.* Assisting with the implementation of behaviour management programs and ensuring student safety.**About you**You are an experienced, enthusiastic and proactive person committed to securing high standards for all young people. You possess endless supplies of compassion and patience, alongside the confidence to work with secondary aged students.The ideal candidate will have:* A good standard of education (including English and Maths) and experience working with young people with SEND.* An understanding of what constitutes an effective intervention and how to use data to inform impact.* Excellent organisational skills and the ability to communicate effectively with parents, outside agencies and students.**About us**At Downend School we provide a safe, supportive and challenging learning environment that aims to inspire and empower young people to grasp opportunity; to reach their potential and excel; to develop responsibility and integrity and to respect themselves and others.We have a strong ethos based on our core PRIDE values of participation, respect, identity, determination and excellence. We set standards high and aim to nurture young people who are well equipped to become active and positive members of the school community and to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in a time of rapid change.We are proud of the care and support we offer our students. We strongly believe in the value of creating a friendly and caring school community where youngsters feel a sense of belonging and feel valued and respected. Happy and motivated students will flourish and become successful young people. Above all, Downend is a happy school.**We can offer you:*** A supportive trust and school community* Strong collaboration across the trust family of schools and access to a centralised team of specialists across all areas of school operations* A commitment to high‐quality CPD, with dedicated time and budget for your development* A values‐driven ethos where diversity, equity and inclusion are lived every day* Recognition of continuous service (modification order) to protect employment rights and entitlements* Local Authority Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions and death‐in‐service cover* Access to Health Shield, a fully-funded healthcare scheme* Occupational sick pay to support you during illness or unexpected emergencies* Family‐friendly leave packages to help maintain a healthy work–life balanceIn order to apply for this role please complete an application form by **9am, 13th October.** Please let us know if you require any adjustments as part of the process.Further details and additional information about our school may be viewed on our website. If you would like to have an informal chat about this role, please contact us to arrange that.Please know that depending on the number of applications received we may decide to close the advert early. If you do not hear from us by a week after the closing date then please assume that you have not been shortlisted for an interview. If you have previously applied for this role there is no requirement to apply again, all applications will be reviewed. We wish you all the best in your future and ask that you join our E-Teach Talent Pool so as to keep up to date with all of our latest current opportunities.Join us in Providing a Great Education for Every ChildPathway Trust is committed to equal opportunities and encourages applicants from all backgrounds and communities, as we recognise the importance and benefit this has for our students.### AttachmentsSpecialist Teaching Assistant JD DOWPathway Recruitment Pack### Safeguarding Statement:Pathway Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. All roles across the trust have a varying level of responsibility for ensuring safeguarding practice, with some roles holding significant responsibility and involving working with children on a daily basis in regulated activity. Regardless of the level of responsibility and involvement in each role, we expect all staff, visiting professionals and volunteers to share this commitment.This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. Successful candidates will be required to provide a disclosure of any unspent convictions and cautions, as well as any spent convictions or cautions that are not \"protected\" (i.e., filtered) under the Amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013 and 2020). All appointments are subject to a comprehensive pre-employment checking process. This includes an Enhanced DBS check (including a Children’s Barred List check), satisfactory references, medical fitness, Right to Work in the UK, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching/management check. In line with KCSIE guidance, we will also conduct online searches on all shortlisted candidates.Our full Recruitment and Selection policy is available on our website.