Teaching Assistant

Ministry of Justice; St. Ives; On-site; GBP 40,000 - 60,000; Part time

Job summary

A provider of alternative education in St. Ives is seeking a caring and adaptable Teaching Assistant to support children with SEMH/SEND needs. The role involves helping students with structured sessions and outdoor learning activities. Candidates should have experience working with such children, relevant training, and a passion for animal care. Offering part-time or full-time hours during term-time, with pay starting from £15 per hour based on experience.

Qualifications

• At least 1 year of experience working with children with SEMH/SEND needs.
• Relevant training in supporting SEMH/SEND students.
• A passion for working outdoors and caring for animals.

Responsibilities

• Support learning sessions for children with SEMH/SEND needs.
• Assist with animal care and outdoor activities.
• Encourage positive behaviour and social skills.

Skills

Patience

Resilience

Positive approach

Animal care

Social skills encouragement

Job description

We are seeking a caring and adaptable Teaching Assistant to support children and young people in an Alternative Education Provision. This role involves helping students who may struggle socially or academically, supporting their development and engagement through structured sessions and outdoor learning activities.

Responsibilities

• Support and deliver learning sessions for children with SEMH/SEND needs
• Assist with animal care and outdoor activities
• Encourage positive behaviour, routines, and social skills
• Maintain a safe, clean, and engaging learning environment
• Follow safeguarding procedures and professional boundaries

Qualifications

• At least 1 years' experience working with children with SEMH/SEND needs
• Relevant training in supporting SEMH/SEND students
• Patience, resilience, and a positive approach
• A passion for working outdoors and caring for animals

Hours & Pay

• Part‑time or full‑time, term‑time only (39 weeks)
• Monday – Friday, 09:00 – 15:30 (sessions 09:00‑12:00 & 12:30‑15:30)
• Hourly pay: from £15 per hour (based on experience)

Safeguarding Priority Statement

The provider of alternative education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of vulnerable children. The provider of alternative education strictly abides by their Safer Recruitment policy including right to work checks, identification checks, referencing checks, and DBS checks. All applicants should be aware that they must undergo child protection screening appropriate for each job role. It is an offence for any organisation to offer employment that involves regular contact with young people under the age of 18 to anyone who has been convicted of certain specified offences, or those who are included on lists considered unsuitable for such work held by the Department for Education. It is also an offence for people convicted of such offences to apply for work with young people.

Responsive to the role, you will be subject to satisfactory completion of an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service before the appointment is confirmed. Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice website. Employees of the provider of alternative education are expected to abide by the provider of education's safeguarding policy, codes of conduct, and will attend Safeguarding training through Cambridgeshire County Council. By applying for this Teaching Assistant role, you are agreeing to your CV being held on our database, stored confidentially and securely. Your CV details will be used and kept only to provide recruitment services from us. We will only send your details to clients once discussed with you and your data will not be shared with any other third party. You can ask for the deletion or correction of your data, or to opt out of this service at any point by informing Exact Sourcing.

We look forward to hearing from you and will be reviewing all applications over the next 2 to 3 weeks. If you are selected, we will be in contact and if not, we will be keeping your details on file for any future vacancies.