Learning Support Assistant - Ferndown Upper School

Learning Support Assistant

Salary - £17,964 - £18,838 pro rated per annum (pay award pending). 

1-year Fixed Term Contract (with the possibility to extend)

Monday to Friday 8.15 a.m. to 3.00 p.m.  29.6 hours a week

Job Ref:  XS10.4s Grade 6 SCP 6-9 - £13.47 to £14.13 per hour

Term time only plus 5 Staff Training Days

Do you have an interest in supporting young people with complex communication needs to achieve their full potential? 

If so, then read on to find out more......

An exciting opportunity has arisen for an enthusiastic, conscientious Learning Support Assistant to join our school community working within our Specialist Resourced Provision supporting students with Complex Communication Needs.

Starting September 2026, we are looking to appoint a team member who is hardworking, enthusiastic, compassionate and can relate well to young people. Ideally you would have experience in inclusion and working with students with additional needs. 

This is a varied role, supporting specific students within the Inclusion Hub and within mainstream classes.

Applicants should:-

• Relate well to young people
• Be dedicated to ensure the students’ needs are met
• Be understanding of students’ additional educational needs
• Have high expectations; demonstrating a commitment to excellence to supporting young people to achieve their potential
• Able to work as part of a small team
• Demonstrate qualities of discretion, empathy, good personal organisational skills and time-keeping
• Excellent communication skills, patience and a positive approach
• A reflective practitioner, willing to collaborate with others and seek and accept advice
• Ability to be flexible with their approach, as no two days are the same
• Able to remain calm in the event of sudden changes; modelling and promoting emotional regulation and the ability to co-regulate to support our students
• Willing to engage in ongoing professional development
• Be advised this can be a physically demanding role
• Have GCSE (or equivalent) Maths and English A*-C/9-4 (essential requirement)

What Ferndown Can Offer You:

• CPD opportunities and training and development programmes.
• Personalised induction, supported by a mentor.
• Eligibility to join the Local Government Pension Scheme.
• Access to health and wellbeing support.
• Private Healthcare Cashback Plan including 24/7 access to a GP by phone, gym discounts, cashback for optical, dental and other appointment expenses for employees and their children.
• Access to staff benefits and discounts portal through Dorset Council.

To find out more about this role or to arrange a visit, please email:

Inclusion Hub Lead; Claire Stephenson:

[email protected]  

Closing date for applications: midnight, Sunday 28^th June 2026

This school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.  The successful candidate will be required to have an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check (formerly CRB) in line with the Governments safer recruitment guidelines.

Ferndown Upper School values the diversity of our workforce and welcome applications from all sections of the community.

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.

Ferndown Upper 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. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not be on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.