Special Needs Teaching Assistant

Are you ready for a rewarding career working with young people with SEND?

Here at Beechcliffe Keighley, now part of the esteemed Carlton Academy Trust, we are searching for committed and driven Special Needs Teaching Assistants to join our team and support our talented teachers in helping our youngsters to thrive.

Post title: Special Needs Teaching Assistant

Pay Scale: Band 5 SCP 4-6 (Actual Salary £17584 – £18415 per annum)

Starting February 2025

This is a permanent position, 31 hours per week, Mon 8.40am - 4.15pm, Tues - Fri 8.40am - 3.10pm, term time only plus 5 training days.

Beechcliffe Keighley is an over-subscribed school which meets the needs of 180 pupils who have severe or profound and multiple learning difficulties and autism spectrum disorder, and many of our pupils have additional complex health, medical and or sensory needs.

Our school ethos is ‘to provide opportunities within a broad and balanced, therapeutic curriculum so that each child can achieve success’, and we do this through a variety of lessons and activities both in school and in the wider community. As well as structured teaching in the classroom, we have amazing facilities on site that include a hydrotherapy pool, a life skills room, specialist music, ICT and food technology rooms, a multi-sensory rebound area, and fully equipped sensory rooms. We promote outdoor learning through our forest school and in our sensory and wildlife gardens, at our allotment and within the local environment; our pupils gain work experience at a local community café and attend courses at college, and we run both day and residential visits including participation in the Duke of Edinburgh’s award scheme.

None of this could happen without our team of dedicated special needs teaching assistants, who play a vital part in ensuring we can offer these opportunities to our pupils, as well as keeping them safe and supporting their wellbeing. You’ll need to be flexible, adaptable and willing to work with pupils with a range of complex needs and challenging behaviours. The work can be physically and emotionally demanding, so it’s essential that you’re emotionally resilient, and physically able to meet the demands of the post. This is a busy hands-on role: you will be participating in lessons, activities and visits so you can support our youngsters every step of the way, but it’s as rewarding as it is challenging and we’ll make sure you’re fully trained to carry out the role with confidence. We want our staff to fulfil their potential too, so you’ll have opportunities to progress your career at Beechcliffe. As your knowledge and experience grows you will be well prepared should you choose to apply for one of our more senior specialised roles when they arise.

It’s a great time to join Beechcliffe Keighley. Our school has consistently been rated as ‘Good’ by Ofsted for over 10 years, and we’ve just joined the Carlton Academy Trust, where every school is rated as Good or Outstanding. Established in 2019, Carlton Academy Trust emerged from the outstanding success of Carlton Bolling, an inner-city Bradford secondary school. Today, we proudly oversee three secondary schools, three primary schools, and two special schools, collectively educating nearly 5000 students. Carlton staff can access a benefits package offering high-street discounts, salary sacrifice schemes, health plan membership and an Employee Assistance Programme, free use of Carlton Keighley’s on-site gym, and membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme too.

If you think you’ve got what it takes, we’d love to hear from you.

You can download the Job Description and Personnel Specification, and the Application Form from the supporting documents section below.

Visits to the school are warmly welcomed and can be arranged by contacting Kate Ashley on 01535 603041. Please note school will close for the Christmas break on Friday 20th December 2024 and will re-open on Monday 6th January 2025.

Closing date: 12 noon Monday 20th January 2025

Completed application forms should be sent to hr@catrust.uk

Alternatively, you can apply on line via the Carlton Academy Trust Vacancies page: Vacancies - Carlton Academy Trust

Please note CVs and incomplete applications will not be considered.

We look forward to receiving your application

CAT employs rolling recruitment methodologies, with shortlisting and interviews for some roles taking place as and when applications are received. This may mean that some roles are recruited to before the closing date, and we therefore advise that applications are made promptly. 

Please note: Beechcliffe Keighley is committed to safeguarding children and young people and all posts are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, appropriate references, and 6-month probationary period. All shortlisted candidates will be subject to an online search. Proof of eligibility to work in the UK will be required.

You must be fluent in English – The Immigration Act 2016 has introduced a new requirement for public authorities from October 2016 to ensure that workers in customer facing roles speak fluent English. This is a statutory requirement. 

Carlton Academy Trust is an equal opportunities employer.