Senior Teaching Assistant - Westfield Arts College

Westfield Arts College - Senior Teaching Assistant

34.50 hours per week – Monday to Friday 8.30 to 3.45 (8.30 to 4.30 on a Tuesday)

Permanent – Term Time Only 39 weeks per year                          

We are looking for 2 highly motivated, enthusiastic  Senior Teaching Assistants to join our friendly team and support EYFS/KS1 aged children with a range of special educational needs and disabilities.

As part of this role you will:

• Have a significant role to play in complementing the professional work of the class teacher through the planning, delivery and monitoring of learning activities, tailored to individual EHCP outcomes.
• Support and maintain a therapeutic classroom environment that promotes regulation, safety and engagement.
• Use Therapeutic Thinking approaches to understand and support behaviour, fostering resilience and personal development.
• Support the personal care and health needs of children and young people, as appropriate
• Work closely with families, teaching staff, teaching assistants, therapists and external agencies to ensure holistic support for each young person.

The right person will

• Have successful classroom experience working with EYFS/KS1 pupils with special educational needs and disabilities.
• Have strong literacy and numeracy skills and have achieved (or are working towards) a qualification in English/literacy and mathematics/numeracy, equivalent to at least Level 3 of the National Qualifications Framework
• Be passionate about helping young people develop confidence, independence and self-esteem.
• Demonstrate excellent communication and relational skills with children, young people families and colleagues.
• Be creative, reflective and solution focused, able to adapt and differentiate to meet diverse needs.
• Be committed to ongoing professional development and to contributing positively to Westfield’s ambitious Broadening Horizons curriculum.

Further Information

Why Join Us?

• A highly supportive and collaborative staff team that values therapeutic practice and emotional wellbeing.
• Ongoing training and development in Therapeutic Thinking, communication approaches and SEND pedagogy.
• Excellent facilities, beautiful grounds and welcoming learning environment
• A school community that celebrates progress in all its forms – academic, social and emotional.
• A real opportunity to make a lasting difference to the lives of extraordinary young people.

About Us

Westfield is a highly regarded 4-19, 230 pupil Dorset special school. All pupils have significant learning difficulties, some with additional complex needs. The successful candidate will be joining a vibrant and successful school. They will also receive the full support of an exceptionally committed and skilful staff team.  Ofsted judged us as outstanding in February 2023.

Further information about Westfield can be found at www.westfield.dorset.sch.uk.

Closing Date:     13 May 2026

Interviews:         21 May 2026

Contact: Julie Rook, Admin Officer (HR)

[email protected] 

Westfield Arts College values the diversity of our workforce and welcomes applications from all sectors of the community.

Westfield Arts College is 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

Westfield Arts College 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.