Teaching Assistant

Harris Junior Academy Carshalton is looking for a Teaching Assistant to support individuals and groups of children at the academy, including those with SEND.

This will involve supporting learning in the classroom and attending to children’s personal needs where required, including social, health, physical, hygiene, first aid and welfare matters.

Harris Junior Academy Carshalton (HJAC) opened in September 2013.

We are a three-form entry school situated in Carshalton, which is part of the London Borough of Sutton. Our children, aged between 7 and 11 years of age, bring a wonderful amount of energy and enthusiasm to our school.

HJAC is very much a community school. We are inclusive and we strive to ensure that every child feels happy, valued and safe. At HJAC we know that a close partnership with parents is vital if children are to learn and grow as individuals. We therefore do all we can to keep parents informed and involved in school life.

We believe that through expert teaching and support all children can achieve to a high standard.

Our aim is to make sure that our pupils leave us thoroughly prepared for Secondary School and feeling that they have succeeded both academically and in the extracurricular aspects of Academy life.

We want all of our children to have a truly happy experience of school. Our pupils’ achievements are celebrated every day in their lessons and we are proud that they are kind, caring, self-assured and eager to learn.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Supervising and supporting identified children in 1:1, group or whole class situations, ensuring their safety and access to learning in a purposeful and supportive learning environment.
• Assisting in developing resources, schemes of work and teaching strategies, working with the teacher to ensure the provision supports learning needs.
• Assisting in evaluating identified children’s progress and providing feedback on their achievements, progress and needs.
• Leading small group sessions and interventions as appropriate.
• Attending to children’s personal needs where required.
• Supporting with behaviour management.
• Undertaking learning activities/teaching programmes, adjusting activities to ensure achievement of learning goals.
• Assisting with the supervision of children out of lesson times, including playtimes and undertaking lunchtime duty.
• Supporting children with their learning and development in respect of local and national learning strategies.
• Preparing the classroom for lessons, clearing afterwards and assisting with the display of children’s work.
• Preparing and maintaining resources and assisting children in their use.
• Undertaking record keeping as requested.
• Establishing and maintaining positive relationships with parents/carers, gathering and reporting information as directed.
• Providing administrative support as required.
• Accompanying teaching staff and children on visits, trips and off site activities as required.

The successful candidate will have:

• Qualifications to degree level or equivalent
• Basic knowledge of SEND and learning barriers
• Some knowledge of strategies in working with young people with challenging behaviours
• Knowledge of some of the social issues facing children from disadvantaged backgrounds
• Awareness of Health and Safety issues in the workplace
• Experience of working directly with children in an education or training environment, supporting learning
• Experience of establishing and maintaining positive working relationships with a range of stakeholders, at all levels
• Experience of managing and being responsible for own workload
• Good literacy and numeracy skills
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, with an excellent standard of written and spoken English
• Good administrative and organisational skills
• Ability to interest, encourage, motivate and engage children
• Ability to work effectively with team members across a wide range of levels and responsibilities
• Good ICT skills, including a working knowledge of Microsoft packages and the ability to update records and databases.
• Ability to work using own initiative, exercising good judgement where unsupervised
• Flexibility of approach to work
• Ability to maintain confidentiality, exercising tact and diplomacy

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please send us an email, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. This will be helpful for you when completing your application, and throughout the recruitment process.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we may interview and offer to a candidate before the closing date. Please note that we only accept applications submitted before the closing date via our careers website.

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan including access to a virtual GP, electric car scheme, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.