Learning Support Assistant

Full Job Description

How would you like to be paid for five days but only work four*?

Our colleagues’ wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do at OFG, so we’re always looking for new ways to improve everyone’s work/life balance. We’re taking part in a trial of the 4-Day Working Week, meaning that you could be working one day less a week (or equivalent).

4DWW will be rolled out within our school, when we have a full complement of staff, and within the next year – so there’s never been a more exciting time to join us #teamOFG!

Location: Heath Farm School, Ashford

Salary: £18,118.75 per annum (not pro-rata)

Hours: 32.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Contract: Permanent, Term Time only

UK Applicants only. This role does not offer sponsorship.

Join us today to receive a £500 Welcome Bonus. *£250 paid once you start employment and £250 after successful completion of final probation (6 months) – there has never been a better time to join us’* T&Cs apply! *

As part of our continued growth, we now have a fantastic opportunity for a Learning Support Assistant to join our close-knit team at Heath Farm School, part of Acorn Education.

We are looking for experienced Learning Support Assistants to join our fantastic team at Heath Farm School. As a Learning Support Assistant, you will support our teachers to take a creative approach to teaching pupils according to their educational needs, maximising pupil’s achievement, and ability to develop.

This is a great opportunity for a Learning Support Assistant who is looking to start or continue their career in Education and is motivated to inspire learning in pupils with varied and complex needs. Your work will be challenging and rewarding in equal measure, and you will be working in a school where we maintain a strong safeguarding culture, where pupils are listened to, respected and involved in as many decisions as possible.

Quality is always top of our agenda, and we pride ourselves on the quality of what we do. We are looking for a Learning Support Assistant, who can work with individual and small groups of pupils, preparing classrooms and materials, and building positive relationships with pupils to promote interaction and learning. Our Learning Support Assistants offer essential support to our teachers and have the opportunity to assist in the planning and delivery of lessons in a creative and positive setting.

Whilst previous experience of working in an SEN/ASC environment would be desirable, excellent support skills and the right motivation, personal qualities and levels of resilience are just as important. These roles are ideal for people working in customer facing industries including retail, hospitality, and leisure, looking for a new role that makes a real difference to pupil’s lives and futures.

We need people who share our vision to build incredible futures by empowering vulnerable young people in the UK, to be happy and to make their way in the world.

Educated to GCSE grade C or above in Maths and English, you will be calm, engaging, resilient, enjoy working as part of a team, and be genuinely motivated by helping every pupil to reach their potential.

About us

We are an independent SEN school that offers a unique and stimulating environment, where every pupil is able to make outstanding progress in their personal development and enjoy success in their education.

Our students present with a wide range of needs, including social and emotional issues, learning difficulties, mental health problems and associated conditions. However, they are able to enjoy extraordinary outcomes and be happy at school. All classes have excellent ratios of at least 2:1, students to adults. Typically, classes have between 6-8 students.

As an independent SEN school, we are far removed from the bureaucracy found in so many other schools and we are able to abandon ineffective and traditional methods in favour of new, highly effective and tailored initiatives – essentially, we do what we know is right for the students in our care.

Acorn Education is the UK’s leading independent provider of specialist education and care for vulnerable pupils and young people. As part of Outcomes First Group, we are leading our sector in setting and delivering new approaches that provide measurable outcomes for those in our care.

We are really proud to say that in 2024, Outcomes First Group were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the fifth year running.

Why join Acorn Education?

Benefits

Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:

• Life Assurance
• Pension scheme with options to increase your contributions
• “Your Wellbeing Matters” – access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services and physical health checks

And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you, including:

• A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits
• 100’s of discount options valid in the UK and abroad
• Cycle to Work Schemes
• Electric Car Purchase Scheme
• Critical illness cover
• Family Growth Support - inclusive benefits package covering enhanced maternity and paternity leave, along with paid fertility treatment support.

And that’s not all, we place the outcomes of the pupils and vulnerable young adults in our services at the heart of everything we do, so you’ll wake every day in the knowledge that your role will have a significant positive impact on the lives of others.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils and young people. All applicants will be subject to social media checks and successful applicants to a fully enhanced DBS.

• You’ll work 80% of your contractual hours for 100% of your pay, giving you more time to do the things that make you happy.

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