Learning Mentor - Vocational at Dorchester Learning Centre

At Dorchester Learning Centre, we seek to employ the very best people to work with our amazing students. Are you at a point in your career where you want a new challenge? Are you good at building and maintaining excellent relationships with young people? Do you want to work in a learning community that puts the wellbeing of its students and staff first? This could be job for you. You will be joining the DLC team at a time of expansion and opportunity!

We are seeking an exceptional individual to join our expanding team as a Vocational Learning Mentor. This is a rewarding opportunity to support learners in developing practical skills and confidence in vocational areas such as Construction/Trade Skills, Motorbike Mechanics and Catering, while also offering occasional support in the classroom.

Dorchester Learning Centre provides education for the most vulnerable students in Dorset. We are the only school in Dorset that has the Trauma and Mental Health Informed School accreditation.  We are a learning community that is child centered, putting the needs of our students first. We look to appoint dynamic, creative and resilient individuals to the role of Learning Mentor within our school. We know from Ofsted and our experience that we get the best out of our students when they have secure and positive relationships with staff and that they are able to learn most effectively when these are in place.

We passionately believe that happy, highly respected employees make for good teaching and support staff.  We therefore take the wellbeing of our staff very seriously and ensure that they all maintain a healthy work-life balance. Successful candidates will be prepared to work hard and respond to the daily challenges of school life but won’t have any unreasonable demands placed upon them.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible if you are interested in this post as we will shortlist and interview as applications are received and might bring forward the closing date. Please don’t upload a CV. Applications should be made using the online form.

“There are secure and trusting relationships between staff and pupils at Dorchester Learning Centre. These are vital to the success and positive experiences of the pupils who attend. Staff are ambitious in their vision to get the best possible outcomes for pupils during their time at the school. Staff encourage pupils to be aspirational and leaders work to make sure that pupils receive the support they need towards achieving their goals.” Ofsted report (Good) – May 2022

The Dorchester Learning Centre has a main teaching base close to Dorchester (Monkton Park). The cohort ranges in age from 5 – 16. 

Dorchester Learning Centre 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

Dorchester Learning Centre 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.