teaching assistant

Schoolsworks Academy Trust; Angmering on Sea; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 24,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible Working

Mental Health First Aiders

Employee Assistance Programme

Wisdom wellbeing app

Long service recognition

Pension Scheme

AVCs Salary Sacrifice

Vivup

Job summary

East Preston Junior School is seeking a positive and well-motivated teaching assistant to support pupils with Special Educational Needs. The role includes classroom assistance, small-group interventions, and playground supervision within a friendly, supportive school community.

The successful applicant will join a team of teaching assistants providing academic and pastoral support. Flexible hours are welcome; prior experience with children is essential.

Qualifications

• Experience of working with children in an educational or similar setting.
• First Aid qualification and/or experience.
• Good literacy and numeracy skills.
• Understanding of safeguarding requirements in schools.

Responsibilities

• Attend to children's personal needs and welfare matters.
• Supervise and support children ensuring safety and access to learning.
• Promote inclusive behaviour and positive relationships.
• Assist with planning learning activities and classroom preparation.
• Provide clerical/admin support as required.
• Support children's use of ICT and literacy/numeracy activities.
• Engage with parents/carers as directed.

Skills

Experience with children

First Aid

ICT skills

Literacy skills

Numeracy skills

Safeguarding knowledge

Education

NVQ 3 Teaching Assistant or Higher Qualification

GCSE English and Maths (grades 4-9)

Job description

Thank you for showing an interest in the vacancy at East Preston Junior School. Ours is a growing school at the heart of the East Preston village community, with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This is an exciting addition to the school team to provide additional support for pupils with Special Educational Needs. About the post This role will largely be focused on providing support to individuals or small groups of children, either in the classroom, or working to provide structured interventions to support children to 'catch up and keep up' with their peers. It also includes playground and lunch supervision duties.The role would suit an individual who has experience of working with children in an educational or similar environment and enjoys supporting children's learning. It may also suit someone who is looking to start a career in the education sector. We are open to candidates who wish to work fewer hours/days than the full post.

Areas of Responsibility and Key Tasks

• Attend to the children's personal needs, and implement any related personal programmes, including social, health, physical, hygiene, good eating habits and welfare matters.
• Supervise and support children ensuring their safety and access to learning.
• Establish good relationships with children, encourage good behaviour, acting as a role model and being aware of and responding appropriately to individual needs.
• Promote the inclusion and acceptance of all children encouraging pupils to act towards each other in an appropriate and acceptable manner.
• Encourage children to interact with others and engage in activities led by the teacher.
• Encourage children to act independently as appropriate.
• Provide first aid (at an appropriate level for the first aid certification held), pastoral care and assistance for children who are upset, ill, injured or require hygiene related care in order to minimise distress.
• Prepare classroom as directed for lessons and clear afterwards and assist with the display of children work.
• Be aware of individual children and their individual needs, progress and achievements and report to the teacher as agreed.
• Assist with the planning of learning activities.
• Undertake record keeping as requested.
• Promote good pupil behaviour, dealing promptly with conflict and incidents in line with established policy and encourage children to take responsibility for their own behaviour.
• Gather and report information from and to parents/carers as directed.
• Provide some clerical/admin support e.g. photocopying, typing, filing, collecting money etc.
• Support children to understand instructions.
• Support children in respect of local and national learning strategies e.g. literacy, numeracy, early years, as directed by the teacher.
• Support children in using basic ICT as directed.
• Prepare and maintain equipment/resources as directed by the teacher and assist children in their use.
• Maintain a professional approach at all times and be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person.
• Be aware of and support difference and ensure all children have equal access to opportunities to learn and develop.
• Contribute to the overall ethos, work, aims and developments of the school.
• Appreciate and support the role of other professionals.
• Attend relevant meetings as required.
• Participate in training and other learning activities and performance development as required.
• Assist with the supervision of children out of lesson times, including before and after school and at breaktimes.
• Accompany teaching staff and children on visits, trips and out of school activities as required.
• There will be other duties and requirements associated with this post and, in addition, as a term of this employment the post holder may be required to undertake various other duties as may reasonably be required without changing the general character of the duties or the level of responsibility entailed. This is a common occurrence and would not justify consideration of the grading of the post.
• The post holder must carry out their duties in accordance with current UK and European law and Schoolsworks Academy Trust's/the school's policies, procedures, requirements and standards.

We are looking for a positive, caring and well‑motivated teaching assistant to work within this friendly and supportive school.

The successful applicant will join a team of teaching assistants who provide academic and pastoral support in each year team of the school. We are happy to consider applicants who wish to work fewer hours than advertised; please express your request in a covering email when submitting an application.

Training and support will be provided for the successful applicant to work in the role, but prior experience of working with children is essential in the first instance.

Experience & Qualifications

Essential

• Experience of working with children
• Previous experience as a Teaching Assistant NVQ 3 Teaching Assistant or Higher Qualification
• English and Mathematics GCSE Grades 4 - 9 or equivalent Grade C or above
• Experience of working in educational setting
• First Aid qualification and / or experience
• Good literacy and numeracy skills
• Good oral communication skills
• Good ICT skills
• Understanding of factors affecting children's behaviour
• Knowledge & understanding of safeguarding requirements in schools

Desirable

• Experience of working with children
• Previous experience as a Teaching Assistant NVQ 3 Teaching Assistant or Higher Qualification
• English and Mathematics GCSE Grades 4 - 9 or equivalent Grade C or above
• Experience of working in educational setting
• First Aid qualification and / or experience
• Good literacy and numeracy skills
• Good oral communication skills
• Good ICT skills
• Understanding of factors affecting children's behaviour
• Knowledge & understanding of safeguarding requirements in schools

Attributes Have a passion and desire to want the best for all children, as well as a belief that all children can succeed. Be an inspirational, positive, enthusiastic, professional and supportive colleague. Be proactive and have a desire to improve their own practice, whilst being open to advice, feedback and guidance from colleagues. Demonstrate excellent emotional intelligence and be able to establish excellent professional relationships with children, staff and parents. Patient, calm and friendly manner. Good organisational skills, be able to work efficiently and to meet deadlines. Respect for confidentiality

Schoolsworks Academy Trust is a growing multi-academy trust based in Littlehampton, currently working with eleven schools along the West Sussex coast :-

• Downsbrook Primary School
• East Preston Junior School
• Edward Bryant School
• Hawthorns Primary School
• Medmerry Primary School
• River Beach Primary School
• Rose Green Junior School
• Rustington Primary School
• Summerlea Primary School
• Westbourne Primary School
• Whytemead Primary School

The school has a long history in the village, beginning 180 years ago. In the 1950s a new school was opened on our current site, with the infants being separated out in the 1970s. In recent years the school has grown to meet the needs of the local community, growing from a 2-form to a 3-form juniorschool. We now have 12 classes across the school, with around350 pupils in total. The school has a good reputation among parents and the village community, and our Ofsted inspection in April 2025 confirmed that East Preston Juniors is a welcoming and inclusive school, where staff feel valued. As a school, we have a strong team of Teaching Assistants who support learning across their year teams, complementing a core pastoral team who provide support and guidance to staff and work closely with children in small groups or individually. New members of the team will be supported by a colleague to 'learn the ropes' and will find themselves part of a happy and collaborative team who are keen to support one another.

EPJS is part of Schoolsworks Academy Trust, a small MAT operating 11 schools along the Sussex coast. We use our partnership with these schools to share experience and practice, and to provide opportunities for joint professional development. The trust also has a strong secondment programme, offering opportunities for career development.

Benefits

• Flexible Working: We are committed to providing equality of opportunity in employmentand to developing work practices and policies that support work-life balance. Schoolsworksrecognises that there are sometimes occasions when employees may be able to work flexiblywithout compromising the needs of the organisation. In these circumstances this can helpSchoolsworks to deliver high-quality education and enable employees to achieve a healthywork-life balance.
• Mental Health First Aiders: Our mental health first aiders are here to support all ouremployees , connecting with colleagues who understand and promote well-being within ourorganisation.
• Employee Assistance Programme: Access confidential counselling and support servicesthrough our free Employee Assistance Programme which supports employees andtheirfamilies with a number of different, challenging situations they may be experiencing at anytime.
• The Wisdom wellbeing app, available to all employees, is designed to support mentaland emotional health.
• Long service recognition: We are proud to celebrate our staff members reaching servicemilestones such as 10 and 20 years and to show our appreciation we endeavour to awardservice certificates, gifts / gift cards and wellbeing days off, which vary according to length ofservice.
• Pension Scheme: Our pension schemesensure that you can plan for a secure financialfuture. All employees are automatically enrolled on either the Teacher's Pension Scheme(TPS) or the Local Government Pension Scheme( LGPS) pension scheme.
• AVC's Salary Sacrifice: Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) provide an opportunity foremployees who are members of the LGPS to pay additional contributions in order to increasetheir pension benefits at retirement. AVCs are an efficient way to save for retirement becausethey attract full tax relief.
• Vivup: Enjoy exclusive discounts and offers. Employees can access a wide variety oflifestyle benefits, e-vouchers and reloadable cards including discounts on travel bookings,high street vouchers, gift cards, restaurants, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities