teaching assistant

Thank you for showing an interest in the vacancy at East Preston Junior School. Ours is a growing school at the heart of the East Preston village community, with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. This is an exciting addition to the school team to provide additional support for pupils with Special Educational Needs. About the post This role will largely be focused on providing support to individuals or small groups of children, either in the classroom, or working toprovide structured interventions to support children to 'catch up and keep up' with theirpeers. It also includes playground and lunch supervision duties.The role would suit an individual who has experience of working with children in aneducational or similar environment and enjoys supporting children's learning. It may alsosuit someone who is looking to start a career in the education sector. We are open tocandidates who wish to work fewer hours/days than the full post.About the application processBefore submitting an application, you are encouraged to visit the school, or to contact theschool office to discuss the post with the headteacher.Candidates should ensure that they meet the criteria set out in the person specification.Shortlisting for interview will be based closely on how well candidates' applications andsupporting letters match the criteria. Where appropriate, candidates are encouraged torefer to specific examples to illustrate their understanding of experience of therequirements., As a headteacher, I want to work in a school where staff enjoy their work, and are free to prepare great lessons and provide exciting opportunities for our pupils. Wherever possible, we work to minimise workload for staff, and ensure that colleagues want to be here. Current staff at the school describe a friendly and supportive team with a good work-life balance, and where we laugh every day., To work under the direct instruction of teaching staff, usually in the classroom with a teacher,to support access to learning for children including those with additional and/or specialeducational needs and provide general support to the teacher in the management of childrenand the classroom.Areas of Responsibility and Key Tasksa) Support for Children

• Attend to the children's personal needs, and implement any related personal
programmes, including social, health, physical, hygiene, good eating habits and welfare matters
• Supervise and support children ensuring their safety and access to learning
• Establish good relationships with children, encourage good behaviour, acting as a role
model and being aware of and responding appropriately to individual needs
• Promote the inclusion and acceptance of all children encouraging pupils to act towards
each other in an appropriate and acceptable manner.
• Encourage children to interact with others and engage in activities led by the teacher
• Encourage children to act independently as appropriate
• Provide first aid (at an appropriate level for the first aid certification held), pastoral care
and assistance for children who are upset, ill, injured or require hygiene related care in order to minimise distress.b) Support for the Teacher
• Prepare classroom as directed for lessons and clear afterwards and assist with the display
of children work
• Be aware of individual children and their individual needs, progress and achievements and
report to the teacher as agreed
• Assist with the planning of learning activities
• Undertake record keeping as requested
• Promote good pupil behaviour, dealing promptly with conflict and incidents in line with
established policy and encourage children to take responsibility for their own behaviour
• Gather and report information from and to parents/carers as directed
• Provide some clerical/admin. support e.g. photocopying, typing, filing, collecting money
etc.c) Support for the Curriculum
• Support children to understand instructions
• Support children in respect of local and national learning strategies e.g. literacy, numeracy,
early years, as directed by the teacher
• Support children in using basic ICT as directed
• Prepare and maintain equipment/resources as directed by the teacher and assist children
in their use, d) Support for the School
• Maintain a professional approach at all times and be aware of and comply with policies
and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person
• Be aware of and support difference and ensure all children have equal access to
opportunities to learn and develop
• Contribute to the overall ethos, work, aims and developments of the school
• Appreciate and support the role of other professionals
• Attend relevant meetings as required
• Participate in training and other learning activities and performance development as
required
• Assist with the supervision of children out of lesson times, including before and after
school and at breaktimes
• Accompany teaching staff and children on visits, trips and out of school activities as
required, There will be other duties and requirements associated with this post and, in addition, as aterm of this employment the post holder may be required to undertake various other dutiesas may reasonably be required without changing the general character of the duties or thelevel of responsibility entailed. This is a common occurrence and would not justify areconsideration of the grading of the postThe post holder must carry out their duties in accordance with current UK and European lawand Schoolsworks Academy Trust's/the school's policies, procedures, requirements andstandards

We are looking for a positive, caring and well-motivated teaching assistant to workwithin this friendly and supportive school. The role will involve classroom support,working with small class groups or individuals, and break and lunchtime supervision.The successful applicant will join a team of teaching assistants who provide academicand pastoral support in each year team of the school. We are happy to considerapplicants who wish to work fewer hours than advertised; please express your requestin a covering email when submitting an application. Further details and Applicationforms can be downloaded from this advertApplicants should clearly state on the application form their current expertise andprevious experience. Training and support will be provided for the successful applicantto work in the role, but prior experience of working with children is essential in the firstinstance. Please refer to the Person Specification when completing the Skills andCompetencies part of the application., Experience & Qualifications Essential Desirable Experience of working with children Previous experience as a Teaching Assistant NVQ 3 Teaching Assistant or Higher Qualification English and Mathematics GCSE Grades 4 - 9 or equivalent Grade C or above Experience of working in educational setting First Aid qualification and / or experience Skills Good literacy and numeracy skills Good oral communication skills Good ICT skills Understanding of factors affecting children's behaviour Knowledge & understanding of safeguarding requirements in schools Attributes Have a passion and desire to want the best for all children, as well as a belief that all children can succeed. Be an inspirational, positive, enthusiastic, professional and supportive colleague. Be proactive and have a desire to improve their own practice, whilst being open to advice, feedback and guidance from colleagues. Demonstrate excellent emotional intelligence and be able to establish excellent professional relationships with children, staff and parents. Patient, calm and friendly manner. Good organisational skills, be able to work efficiently and to meet deadlines. Respect for confidentiality

Schoolsworks Academy Trust is a growing multi-academy trust based in Littlehampton, currently working with eleven schools along the West Sussex coast :-
• Downsbrook Primary School
• East Preston Junior School
• Edward Bryant School
• Hawthorns Primary School
• Medmerry Primary School
• River Beach Primary School
• Rose Green Junior School
• Rustington Primary School
• Summerlea Primary School
• Westbourne Primary School
• Whytemead Primary School
We educate over 4000 pupils and employ over 550 brilliant staff. In creating Schoolsworks, our aim has been to create a partnership of schools that work together to ensure all our schools deliver a high-quality education to our young people. Our school leaders collaborate closely, combining their skills and knowledge to tackle challenges and find solutions. Sharing what works well and jointly developing good practice makes our schools stronger and more effective. We have an excellent shared services team which supports our schools with school improvement, finance, HR, IT, premises and legal issues. This enables school leaders to focus more on developing teaching and learning in their own schools.

The school has a long history in the village, beginning 180 yearsago. In the 1950s a new school was opened on our current site,with the infants being separated out in the 1970s.In recent years the school has grown to meet the needs of thelocal community, growing from a 2-form to a 3-form juniorschool. We now have 12 classes across the school, with around350 pupils in total. The school has a good reputation amongparents and the village community, and our Ofsted inspectionin April 2025 confirmed that East Preston Juniors is a welcoming and inclusive school, wherestaff feel valued. As a school, we have a strong team of Teaching Assistants who support learning across their year teams, complementing a core pastoral team who provide support and guidance to staff and work closely with children in small groups or individually. New members of the team will be supported by a colleague to 'learn the ropes' and will find themselves part of a happy and collaborative team who are keen to support one another.EPJS is part of Schoolsworks Academy Trust, a small MAToperating 11 schools along the Sussex coast. We use ourpartnership with these schools to share experience andpractice, and to provide opportunities for jointprofessional development. The trust also has a strongsecondment programme, offering opportunities for careerdevelopment., Continuous Professional Development and Secondments: We are committed to providingthe highest quality professional development to all our employees . This includes a variety ofCPD opportunities from ECT induction sessions and continuous support during the 2-yearECT programme to leadership development sessions and opportunities for further study i.e.NPQSL , HLTA or similar courses. We also aim to provide opportunities for collaboration andnetworking to learn from each other and embed outstanding practice in their own schools aswell as secondment opportunities across all our schools.Flexible Working: We are committed to providing equality of opportunity in employmentand to developing work practices and policies that support work-life balance. Schoolsworksrecognises that there are sometimes occasions when employees may be able to work flexiblywithout compromising the needs of the organisation. In these circumstances this can helpSchoolsworks to deliver high-quality education and enable employees to achieve a healthywork-life balance.Mental Health First Aiders: Our mental health first aiders are here to support all ouremployees , connecting with colleagues who understand and promote well-being within ourorganisationEmployee Assistance Programme: Access confidential counselling and support servicesthrough our free Employee Assistance Programme which supports employees and theirfamilies with a number of different, challenging situations they may be experiencing at anytime. The Wisdom wellbeing app, available to all employees, is designed to support mentaland emotional health.Long service recognition: We are proud to celebrate our staff members reaching servicemilestones such as 10 and 20 years and to show our appreciation we endeavour to awardservice certificates, gifts / gift cards and wellbeing days off, which vary according to length ofservice.Pension Scheme: Our pension schemes ensure that you can plan for a secure financialfuture. All employees are automatically enrolled on either the Teacher's Pension Scheme(TPS) or the Local Government Pension Scheme( LGPS) pension scheme.AVC's Salary Sacrifice: Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) provide an opportunity foremployees who are members of the LGPS to pay additional contributions in order to increasetheir pension benefits at retirement. AVCs are an efficient way to save for retirement becausethey attract full tax relief.Vivup: Enjoy exclusive discounts and offers. Employees can access a wide variety oflifestyle benefits, e-vouchers and reloadable cards including discounts on travel bookings,high street vouchers, gift cards, restaurants, cinema tickets, days out, leisure activities andday to day spending. We've also secured local offers such as discounted gym memberships.