Supply Teaching Assistant – Pre-Prep

Highgate School; Greater London; Hybrid; GBP 22,000 - 25,000; Part time

Benefits offered by this job

Pension plan

Free lunch

Cycle to work

Season ticket loan

Job summary

Highgate School in North London is seeking a compassionate Supply Teaching Assistant to join our Pre-Prep team. You will work under the Class Teacher to support pupils and help deliver a quality learning experience across indoor and outdoor activities.

This casual role offers flexible hours across term time, with a start ASAP and a closing date of 21 September 2026. The position provides an exciting opportunity to contribute to a leading independent school’s nurturing learning environment.

Responsibilities

• Support pupils under the direction of the Class Teacher.
• Complete a range of duties both inside and outside the classroom.

Job description

Supply Teaching Assistant – Pre-Prep

• Job title: Supply Teaching Assistant - Pre-Prep
• Job Type: Casual
• Salary: £16.40 per hour
• Department: Pre-Prep
• Reporting to: Deputy Principal Teaching and Learning
• Location: Highgate, North London
• Start: ASAP
• Closing Date: 21 September 2026 at 9:00 am

Are you a skilled Teaching Assistant looking for a new opportunity to work in a leading coeducational independent school? We are looking for 3 Pre-Preparatory Supply Teaching Assistants. The role is based in our friendly and dynamic Pre-Prep School working in a supportive and exciting environment with a dedicated team of staff. Under the direction of the Class Teacher, you’ll support our pupils and be committed to providing a quality learning experience, as well completing a range of duties both inside and outside the classroom.

The Department

Highgate Pre-Preparatory School is an academically selective, coeducational school with approximately 180 pupils in 9 classes from Reception to Year 2. The Pre-Preparatory School is housed in its own building in Bishopswood Road, adjacent to the school’s playing fields.

Visitors invariably remark on our high standards of work and behaviour, and warm and friendly atmosphere. Highgate's modern teaching and outlook ignites our pupils' learning within a purposeful and exciting curriculum. Our pupils are happy and confident children who are encouraged to take risks.

Highgate is strongly committed to inclusion and is an equal opportunities employer.Weaim to create a welcoming, respectfuland safeenvironment for all members of our community, fromeveryethnicity, gender, sexualorientation, age, ability/disability, religionand background. We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams, and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staffand pupilswillfeel a sense of belonging and willthrive. To enable us to make any reasonable adjustments, please let us know when you submit your application whether you have any special requirements.

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of children and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities.

At Highgate, we constantly think of creative ways to make our whole learning experience inspiring. If we develop this pattern early on, we ignite a spark for the love of learning which can be taken through life.

— Emma Duong Saka, Pre-Prep Principal Job Description Person Specification

Benefits

Location |Highgate Village, adjacent to Hampstead Heath, with quaint shops and easy connections across London.

Pension | AVIVA workplace pension scheme offered – 26% employer contribution, with the ability to flex up to 16% of this as additional non-pensionable salary, employees contribute a minimum of 5%.

Personal development |Comprehensive induction support for new staff. Focus on continued professional development for all employees.

Leisure facilities |Free access, at stipulated times, to our sports facilities, including a fitness suite and swimming pool (recently refurbished).

Lunch | A complimentary lunch including hot meals, sandwiches, salads, fresh fruit and dessert.

Help with sustainable travel | Access to the Cycle to Work Scheme and a Season Ticket Loan scheme for public transport.

Family-friendly policies |Highgate appreciates that employees sometimes have family commitments so we try to be as supportive as possible, for example with enhanced maternity pay (8 weeks' full pay, then 10 weeks' half pay) and paid dependant leave.

Working at Highgate

A culture of community, kindness and belonging

Highgate is a caring, open-minded community, where we promote kindness, empathy and friendship. Everyone who works and studies with us deserves to feel they are part of a welcoming environment that enables them to be themselves and to thrive as individuals.

Our community extends beyond the school, through partnerships, charity work and our commitment to equality, inclusion and sustainability. All members of our school community are encouraged to look outwards and play an active role.

Following a visit from the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) in September 2024 to assess Highgate’s regulatory compliance and school standards, we are pleased to share the inspection findings, which reports compliance in all five areas and a ‘significant strength’ in our teaching expertise.

Staff wellbeing

Highgate is committed to staff wellbeing, which we promote by encouraging a strong work-life balance; trying our best to support flexible working requests; providing a nutritious complimentary lunch in the dining hall; and offering access to sporting facilities including our recently renovated swimming pool.

The Staff Wellbeing Committee, with representatives across the School, meets regularly to drive forward initiatives, and a selection of staff have been trained as Mental-Health First Aiders.

We encourage an open culture throughout our school, with regular staff surveys, action committees and opportunities to feedback. We strive for continual learning and improvement, and staff training and development is paramount. There are opportunities to participate in the wider life of our school, such as taking part in trips or societies and getting involved in partnership projects.

More details about working at Highgate can be found here:

Work with us Aims + Ethos

A fun, collaborative and forward-thinking environment with a real sense of community

— Philippa Studd, Junior School Principal

Charitable work and sustainability

As an independent school, we want to use our position as a charity effectively: to make high-quality education accessible to as many children as possible – through our bursary programme at Highgate and through our work with local state schools. We have partnerships with over 60 state schools across 7 London boroughs, and we are the principal educational sponsor for London Academy of Excellence, Tottenham – an academically-selective state sixth form in a community where such opportunities are lacking.

Alongside this, our staff and pupils undertake charitable activities throughout the year. These range from staff giving up their time to neighbourhood schools and charitable organisations, focused fundraising campaigns, to pupils undertaking community work in the local area or further afield.

As a school, we have a central role to play in educating our pupils, staff and parents about the importance of environmental sustainability. We are taking positive action to adapt our operational performance to tackle the negative effects of climate change. We encourage all our staff to reflect upon their personal and professional practices, to support our environmental agenda and to make positive changes wherever possible.

Application procedure

• Closing Date: 21st September 2026
• In-Person Interview: 24th September 2026

Contact: The Recruitment Team is happy to answer any questions about this post.

Early Application: Applications will be considered 'as and when' received and we may close the vacancy if we appoint before the closing date.

Inclusion

We know that more diverse teams are stronger teams,and that the more inclusive we are, the more our staffand pupilswillfeel a sense of belonging and willthrive. To enable us to make reasonable adjustments, please let us know of any disabilities (including neuro-divergence) when you submit your application.

Safeguarding

As this role will have regular unsupervised contact with children you must, if appointed, comply with Highgate's Safeguarding Policy and Staff Code of Conduct. Ifin the course ofcarrying out the duties of the post the post holder becomes aware of any actual or potential risks to the safety and welfare of our pupils, these concerns must be reported immediately in accordance with the Safeguarding Policy. If whilst in the post, Highgate becomes aware of any safeguarding concerns to staff, pupils or the community; these will need to be followed up in line with the safeguarding policy and code of conduct which is underpinned by KCSE and other legislation. These concerns may need to be shared with other agencies. A copy of these policies will accompany all offers of employment.Training will also be provided to all staff to support Safeguarding practice.

Please read before you apply

Highgate is committed to the safeguarding and welfare of childrenand applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to this post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service and overseas police check if necessary. Candidates from overseas must provide information about their past conduct, for example, by providing documents issued by overseas teaching authorities. DBS Privacy Policies

Please note that this role is 'exempt' from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and therefore, you are required to declare any convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings that are not 'protected' (i.e.filtered out) as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to provide details of all unspent convictions and those that would not befiltered,prior to the date of the interview. DBS Code of Practice

In accordance with the latest guidance from KCSIE, we shall be conducting online searches on any candidates who are shortlisted.