Higher Level Teaching Assistant at Sandford St Martin CE Primary School

32.5 hours per week (Likely hours of work Mon-Fri 8:30-3:30 (with 30 mins unpaid lunch break)

Grade 9 (SCP 9.19.- 9.25) Full time, permanent contract, 39 weeks, Term Time only

Start date - ASAP

Required for Sandford St. Martin’s Primary School. Learn – Love – Laugh.

Are you a qualified HLTA with experience of teaching and supporting key stages 1 and/or 2 including those with Special Educational Needs?

Do you have a passion for helping children overcome barriers to learning and experience of teaching pupils with complex communication needs (especially ASC but including those with ADHD, PDA and other complex needs?)

Are you ambitious for pupils with SEND, passionate about them achieving their potential and do you have the confidence to cover our specialist teacher and supportively lead a team of support staff in our specialist resource provision?

We are looking for a proactive, resourceful, and energetic SEND HLTA to support children in key stages 1 and 2 across the curriculum. This SEND HLTA Support Staff position has come about to support our expanding Specialist Resourced Provision and the needs of our pupils; it is a great opportunity to be part of a team providing the very best possible educational opportunities for our pupils within a flexible, nurturing and supportive (therapeutic) setting. The role would require you to support in both the resourced provision and in the mainstream classes. You should be self-motivated and organised, with a creative approach to supporting teaching, learning and behaviour. All support roles require individuals to have the skills to continuously improve the learning experience for our pupils. You should have experience of working with pupils with Autism and other complex communication needs and understand what approaches work well and how building positive relationships are key.

A passion for inclusion - teaching and supporting pupils with ASC challenges as their primary need - is essential. This role involves close working with vulnerable children and requires a resilient and skilled HLTA who can support our children, SENDCo, lead teacher and TA team in the Hub spaces.

Sandford St Martin CE Primary School values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people; this is a commitment which we expect all staff and volunteers to share. The successful candidate will be required to have a Disclosure and Barring Service check in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines.

The pro rata salary shown is based on the number of hours and weeks worked and includes appropriate paid annual leave and bank holiday entitlements.

The salary quoted is the annual salary for the position at the time of advert. The salary will be paid in equal monthly instalments and will be adjusted at the start of employment and again if leaving part way through the school year to ensure the correct salary is received for the work completed in an academic year.

This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

Keeping Children Safe in Education

Sandford St Martin CE Primary School will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This check will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. All aspects of social media and internet searches will be conducted. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.

Our Specialist Resource Provision ‘Silver Birch’

Our Specialist Resources Provision is named Silver Birch.  It was newly opened as of September 2025 to provide education for pupils aged 5 to 11 with Complex Communication Needs (and associated difficulties) in accessing a mainstream classroom successfully. Pupils on roll have an EHCP with complex communication needs listed as their primary need. The Silver Birch Hub team use a therapeutic approach in line with school policy to support pupils with their individual needs and difficulties. Everything we do is based on the formation and maintenance of positive relationships in order to build the skills and resilience needed to successfully access and thrive in their mainstream classroom in our school. The goal is for children to access their mainstream class at least 50% of the time across the week.

As an SEND HLTA, you will work in an immensely rewarding, although challenging environment. You will contribute to supporting the development of communication skills, social and emotional knowledge/ skills; as well as facilitating smooth transitions into class and access of the relevant curriculum.

Your contribution to the success of individual pathways will be an important part of this role; working within a specialist/SEND teacher led provision. We believe passionately in supporting and nurturing our pupils as well as aspiring to provide them with outstanding and creative learning opportunities.

If you are seeking to be at the forefront of Complex communication need/ASC provision in Dorset and have a desire to create an individualised approach to learning as a SEND HLTA, please complete the application process. If you would like more information about Silver Birch and our provision before applying, then please arrange an appointment with Miss Hannah Colley (SENDCO and Hub lead) or Paul Beveridge (Head teacher).

What our Silver Birch Hub can offer you:

• A full time HLTA salary with group sizes of up to 8 pupils (14 children across 2 adjacent, adaptive class spaces - when full)
• The chance to make a huge impact on our children’s learning and life journey
• A workplace set in fantastic grounds
• A team of skilled and passionate staff led by a SENDCo/specialist teacher
• Continuous professional development and training, inc multi agency working
• Newly designed area of the school building incorporating therapeutic teaching spaces, dedicated outdoor areas and an interactive sensory room
• Highly supportive leadership team and colleagues
• Opportunities to work under your own autonomy and initiative to get the best for and from the children in your care
• A ‘shared team’ approach to support you, the staff and the children in the best ways possible
• Half termly group supervision from outside agencies to support well being and help problem solve