[241115] Therapy Assistant

The Springfields Academy, Reach South Academy Trust is seeking to appoint an experienced Therapy Assistant to join the School in January 2025

Role: Therapy Assistant

Location: The Springfields Academy, Curzon Street, Calne, Wiltshire, SN11 0DS

FTE Salary Range: £30,559 - £32,654 per annum pro rata

Actual Salary: £22,968 - £24,543 per annum

Contract Type: Permanent, part-time, term-time only (39 weeks per year)

Contract Hours: 31.25 per week, Monday to Friday

For this role we are open to discussing the possibility of reduced hours, job share, compressed hours, or staggered hours. Please wait until the job offer stage before asking us about flexibility, and we will explore what’s possible for the role.

About the role

Under the direction of the Head of Therapy, the Therapy Assistant will provide therapeutic support to all students. You will promote and model therapeutic practice throughout the school, embedding practice; deliver one-to-one and group sessions as directed by Therapists to ensure that students are receiving high quality input, ensuring that they are developing the skills needed to lead safe independent life’s; complete additional duties to support the therapy team, as directed by the Head of Therapy.

About the successful candidate

We are looking for someone with.

• A passion for making communication accessible for the autistic learner
• A child-centred practitioner who responds to the individual needs of each child
• A Therapy Assistant with good knowledge and understanding of autism and social communication needs and appropriate communication strategies to support pupils with this need
• A creative and flexible therapeutic approach that builds success through challenge, personalisation and innovation
• The confidence and skills to build positive relationships that help to break down barriers and build self-esteem
• A commitment to enabling all our pupils to overcome their challenges and achieve their potential

About the School

The Springfields Academy is a Reach South Academy for young people aged 4-19 with autism. We have 250 pupils attending our Calne site . Our goal is to build safe independent lives for autistic young people through support, understanding and enablement.

We aspire to build safe independent lives for autistic young people through support, understanding and enablement. Additionally, we hold the National Autistic Society Advanced specialist award and are recognised as an Ofsted good school.

We are an acknowledged centre of excellence for Autism; we are highly reflective in our practices, and are continually working to improve our provision and practices. We provide a personalised curriculum journey that enables leaners with a diagnosis of autism to develop skills in areas of need and to overcome their barriers to learning. The drive to build ‘safe Independent lives’ shapes this curriculum and everything else that we do. 

About the Trust

Reach South is a young and developing Trust which operates across the South West of England with the aim of delivering all through 3-19 education. We operate 17 academies in Plymouth, Bournemouth, Dorset, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. We are building this Trust on a clear set of

values, behaviours and curriculum principles. At the heart of those values and principles is a belief in our young people and a determination to support them to develop the knowledge, skills and attitudes to become the successful citizens for today and all of their tomorrows.

Our core business is delivering exceptional education for children and young people with a mission to help all pupils aspire to achieve beyond the expectations that others put on them. We do this through the development of a talented and committed workforce. In order to deliver exceptional opportunities for learning, we need highly motivated staff across all parts of the organisation.

Those we recruit are able to demonstrate that they share our values, are highly motivated to work with colleagues, within and beyond their school, to continuously develop their skills and pursue professional excellence.

Next Steps

If you think this role may be for you and want to be involved at this exciting time in our development and have any questions about the position, please get in touch by calling the Recruitment team on 07759365064 or emailing us at recruitment@reachsouth.org.

Closing date: for applications is 01/12/2024

Interview Date: Interviews are provisionally booked for w/c 9/12/2024

To apply for this opportunity, please complete our online application form at: Reach South Academy Trust - Vacancies.

We reserve the right to interview and appoint prior to the closing date. Therefore, an early application is strongly advised.

Opportunities and Benefits

We offer a competitive salary plus LGPS pension, great career progression and development opportunities, access to our Employee Assistance Programme with many other benefits.

We’re proud of how we support our staff in order that you have high levels of job satisfaction, are aware of the difference you are making for the children and families you work with and can see your contribution towards our community. There are regular opportunities for professional development and training, and a wider community of staff to network with within Reach South Multi Academy Trust. You will have the chance to visit other local schools, work alongside a range of outside professionals and take part in a variety of e-learning and face-to-face training.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Each post is subject to an enhanced DBS check.

Reach South Academy Trust has an Equal Opportunities Policy for selection and recruitment. Applicants are requested to complete the Equal Opportunities Monitoring section of the application form before submitting.