Teaching Assistant 12 months fixed term

Compass Community; Lewes; On-site; GBP 18,000 - 23,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Extensive training and qualifications

Small class sizes with specialist TA

Staff support and safeguarding focus

Flexible pension

Wellbeing services

Job summary

Compass Community School Pinetree Park in Lewes is seeking Enthusiastic Teaching Assistants to support pupils aged 10–19 with SEMH needs. You will assist with lessons, small group work, and 1:1 sessions, manage resources, accompany students on trips, and contribute to a calm, engaging classroom while collaborating with therapists and staff.

The role emphasises resilience, communication, and flexible, person-centred approaches to foster inclusive education and social development.

Qualifications

• Strong communication skills with children and adults.
• Ability to manage behaviours and maintain safety.
• Experience or openness to trauma-informed approaches and SEMH needs.

Responsibilities

• Support teaching and learning for pupils.
• Work with children 1:1 or in small groups.
• Manage classroom resources for lessons and activities.
• Take children on educational trips and visits.
• Have lunch with children who struggle socially.
• Maintain basic English and Maths support for learners.
• Support strong behaviour management and safeguarding.
• Create and deliver engaging learning games to develop social skills.
• Produce displays to create a positive learning environment.
• Celebrate student successes and progress.
• Participate in therapeutic training sessions or reflection.

Skills

Communication

Behaviour management

Support for SEMH/Differing Needs

Job description

Deadline for application:11/09/26

Interview dates: W/C 14/09/26

Are you a Life Changer? Do you want to lean in and transform the life of a child?

Who We Are

Compass Community School Pinetree Park is an independent specialist school providing high-quality, therapeutic and child-centred education to pupils from 10 to 19 years of age in Lewes, East Sussex. Our children come from a wide range of backgrounds, but all have Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH). Many will also have other Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) such as Autism, ADHD, and communication difficulties.

Our children come from a wide range of backgrounds, but all have Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs (SEMH). Many will also have other Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) such as Autism, ADHD, and communication difficulties.

The work we do is both varied and challenging and, as a trauma and attachment informed organisation, all staff are provided with extensive therapeutic training and support.

Our closely triangulated approach places the child at the centre of decision making, ensuring that education and therapy professionals, parents/carers, local authority teams and, most importantly, our students can work together to secure outstanding outcomes for all.

The Role

Teaching Assistants at our school know that no two days are the same and that no two children are the same either. Our children require very special adults who can support children with complex and challenging behaviours.

TAs in our schools will understand that our children require lots of attention, just the right sort of communication, consistency and flexibility in equal measure, and a non-judgemental approach. They need to be resilient, persistent and solution focussed to meet the needs of our pupils and to do so they need to wear a lot of hats and be prepared to change them at a moment’s notice!

Our Teaching Assistants will

• Support teaching and learning
• Work with children 1:1 or delivering sessions with small groups of students
• Manage classroom resources
• Take children on educational trips and visits
• Have their lunch with children who struggle socially
• Have a good basic understanding or English and Maths
• Keep children safe when they are experiencing heightened behaviours with strong behaviour management skills and excellent communication
• Create, play and teach games to pupils to develop their social skills or further learning
• Create amazing displays which support teaching and create an exceptional learning environment
• Celebrate success
• Participate in therapeutic training sessions or reflecting on difficult periods

Our TAs are highly valued members of our team. We want our TAs to be part of the decision making that drives our school, provides outcomes for children and advocates for every child. We welcome their input in developing both the academic curriculum and the opportunities in our extra-curricular offer – bringing their own interests and passions to the table.

Benefits And Rewards

• The opportunity to develop and grow your career within Compass Community
• Competitive salary
• Extensive training and professional qualification opportunities
• Small class sizes with specialist TA support
• The chance to be part of an expanding, national organisation that recognises skill, effort and potential and grows its own leadership teams
• Flexible pension
• Regular therapeutic and supportive supervision
• Employee benefit service with access to wellbeing services, salary sacrifice schemes

The Values Awards

At Compass, our strength comes from the values we live by every day – Integrity, Care and Courage. These aren’t just words that we put on our website or on a poster; they’re visible in the actions you take to support children, families and each other, often in ways that go unseen.

That’s why we are launching the Compass Values Awards, to spotlight actions that embody Integrity, Care or Courage across all parts of our community.

Read on to learn about how it works, what a nomination in each category looks like, and which teams fall within each service.

We regularly review applications and reserve the right to close an advert early if we identify suitable candidates.

Safeguarding

Compass Community Schools are highly committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All staff will be expected to hold or be willing to obtain Enhanced DBS check or Enhanced check for Regulated Activity with the Disclosure & Barring Services(previously the Criminal Records Bureau) and undergo due diligence checks on social media use.

All school-based staff have the responsibility for promoting the safeguarding and welfare of children. All school staff should be aware of the school’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and work in accordance with this document at all times.

Compass is an equal-opportunity employer that is committed to diversity and inclusion in the workplace. As we continue to grow, we know that we must have the most talented employees with diverse backgrounds, cultures, perspectives, and experiences to support our children and young people.

About You

About Us

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