Teaching Assistant at Sandford St Martin's CE Primary School

Dorset Council; Wareham; On-site; GBP 11,000 - 14,000; Part time

Job summary

Sandford St Martin's Primary School in Dorset is seeking a committed teaching assistant for a fixed-term contract starting October 2026. The role is 17.5 hours per week, 5 mornings, during term-time.

The successful candidate will support English and Maths, work well in a team, and assist children of all abilities, including those with SEND, with high energy and clear communication. DBS and safeguarding checks apply.

Qualifications

• Strong vocational commitment to improving life chances for children.
• Excellent teamwork and collaboration skills.
• Ability to work on own initiative while following direction.
• Flexibility and resilience in a primary school setting.

Responsibilities

• Support groups of children in English and Maths activities.
• Contribute to a positive, inclusive classroom environment.
• Assist teachers with planning and delivering learning activities.

Skills

Teamwork

English support

Maths support

SEND experience

Job description

About the role

Fixed term contract from October 2026 – 5 mornings per week - 17.5hrs, term-time only

The governors and leadership team of our school wish to appoint a committed, enthusiastic and excellent teaching assistant. The successful applicant will be someone with a strong vocational commitment to improve the life chances of children, excellent team work skills, able to work on own initiative but also under direction. You will be flexible and understand the combination of pressure and sheer joy that comes from working in a primary school! You will be committed to children of all abilities and backgrounds. Experience working with groups of children to support their English and Maths is an advantage, as is any experience supporting children with SEND.

You will need boundless energy, patience, understanding, natural kindness, clear communication skills (both verbal and written) and a willingness to pull together in crucial team work. Our Christian Values of Learn Love, Laugh are central to our school community and we expect our staff to model and advocate these at all times.

The position is to commence as soon as possible and initially runs to 31/12/2026 with a possibility to extend. The Closing Date for this role will be Friday 9th October and interview dates will be confirmed with the successful applicants.

Further Information

Sandford St Martin's Primary School values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people; this is a commitment which we expect all staff and volunteers to share. The successful candidate will be required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service check in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines.

The pro rata salary shown is based on the number of hours and weeks worked and includes appropriate paid annual leave and bank holiday entitlements.

The salary quoted is the annual salary for the position at the time of advert. The salary will be paid in equal monthly instalments and will be adjusted at the start of employment and again if leaving part way through the school year to ensure the correct salary is received for the work completed in an academic year.

This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

Keeping Children Safe in Education

Sandford St Martin's Primary School will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This check will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. All aspects of social media and internet searches will be conducted. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.

About Us

If you would like further information or have any questions please contact the school office on [e-mail] or on 01929 552949