P/T Teaching Assistant

The essence of the school 

Thames Ditton Junior School aims to offer a wide-ranging and balanced curriculum to children of all abilities. It is a friendly and welcoming place where all children are encouraged to achieve, to behave well and to participate. We aim to stretch all of our children, from those with statements of SEN to the most able. The school has been oversubscribed for many years due to its popularity with local parents, and most children live close by. There is a very active and well-supported Friends’ Committee that the Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher sit on and which runs fun as well as fundraising events for children, their parents and the local community. The governors are all local people and many have had children attend the school. The very good links with the local community were identified as a particular strength of the school during our last Ofsted inspection.

How the school is organised 

The school has a senior leadership team comprising the Headteacher, Deputy Headteacher, the Head of the Specialist Centre, the Inclusion Manager, three Senior Curriculum Leaders and the bursar. The Deputy Headteacher and the Inclusion Manager have some teaching commitments but are not class based. We are a 3-form entry junior school, with the vast majority of our intake coming from the nearby Thames Ditton Infant School. Each year group is taught in class bases but set for Maths in years 5 and 6. As well as the class teachers (including some job shares) we have additional teachers who allow us to provide PPA cover. We also have an experienced group of LSAs who work across the school supporting specific teachers and a growing number of TAs who support teachers in class. In all, there are over 40 staff employed by the school. Although there is some natural turnover of staff, recruitment of quality staff has not been a problem, despite our proximity to higher-paying London boroughs.

The school’s resources 

The school sits at the end of a quiet cul-de-sac and enjoys large and attractive grounds running up to a railway embankment. There is ample staff parking, although parking by parents can cause some local difficulty and children are encouraged to walk or cycle to school. There is a large tarmac playground, all-weather enclosed tennis courts, an Astroturf pitch and extensive grassed areas, and sport plays an important part in our school. Additional amenities include a wildlife pond, sports pavilion, raised decked area and large, mature trees. The building is a 1970s, flat-roofed, single-storey building in need of some improvement and increased accessibility. It has been extended over the years, with the extensions providing much better quality accommodation than the original building. A programme of window replacements and a new boiler have helped, but in the longer-term major work will be required. Inside, there is a specialist SEN centre with 2 classrooms and an office, and a large meeting/resources room, a reasonable-sized staffroom and variably-sized classrooms. Outside there is a music/drama lodge and a library in separate buildings. There is an air conditioned IT suite that can accommodate a full class at a time and interactive whiteboards are in the majority of classrooms. Curriculum areas are well-resourced. The Headteacher and the Deputy Headteacher share a large office.


Thames Ditton Junior School Governors
January 2008


Thames Ditton Junior School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment