Learning Support Assistant Term Time Special Needs Position

Job Description

Start Date: Immediate Pay: KR3 Palm Bay Primary School requires an experiencedLearning Support Assistant to support individual and small groups ofchildren with additional needs. Hours will be 25 per week, term-time only.We wish to appoint a committed, enthusiastic andexperienced Learning Support Assistant to join our supportive team. We arelooking for an LSA who has adaptability, experience in learning support andabove all, someone who shares our ethos of putting the children at the centreof all we do. Experience of working with children with significant learningchallenges, including autism, dyslexia, ADHD etc, is vital as well asexperience of delivering interventions including speech and language, Teacch,RWInc, numicon. Being able to work as part of a team is anessential quality, as is empathy and flexibility and a sense of humour!The School and its Governors are committed tosafeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and accordingly the successfulcandidate must be subject to an Enhanced Criminal Records check and receipt ofsatisfactory references. The successful candidate will:

have a good understanding of childrens needs,both pastoral and educational

have good levels of literacy andnumeracy

have excellent communication skills

have the highest expectations of childrensbehaviour

have a strong empathy with childrens diverseneeds

have good initiative and be flexible

have experience of supporting children in alearning environment

be able to liaise with the class teacher,providing feedback and keeping records of progress and behaviour asrequired

support the social, emotional, behavioural andmedical needs of pupils as necessary

prepare resources and undertake administrativetasks

display childrens work creatively

work as part of the team with a sense ofhumour

The responsibilities will include:

supporting individual and small groups of pupilsand address their specific needs

working in collaboration with the class teacher toset personalised targets

delivery of interventions, as directed by theclass teacher

supervision of pupils at break times

We offer:

A unique and inspirational environment to workin

A fantastic cliff-top location with beautifulschool grounds

A professional and collaborative school with acommitment to continued professional development

Enthusiastic and well-behaved children with a loveof learning

The opportunity to join a strong staff team, whereour values are integral to all we do

A happy place to work!

Come and see for yourself what a welcoming andfriendly school we are. Visits are warmly encouraged and can be arranged bycontacting the school office on. Previous candidates need not apply Closing Date: 03/11/2020 at 12:00 Interviews: TBC Information about the school At Palm Bay, we have very high expectations andstandards of teaching, learning and behaviour as well as a strong commitment totraining and developing our staff. We welcome innovation; our leadership teamsupport all staff to discover, develop and promote their own passions andinterests within the school. Career progression at Palm Bay is very good: inthe past three years, six teachers have been supported to gain their NPQSLqualifications and four middle leaders have moved on to Head of School orDeputy Head roles at other schools. Our innovative work on teaching andlearning, including our commitment to action research, was recognised andpraised by Ofsted (2018). We offer a broad and rounded curriculum, withplenty of opportunities for outdoor learning in our beautiful grounds andnearby beach. As an Eco School we seek to promote care and responsibility forthe environment and we have an active Eco Council. Our commitment to sports andthe creative subjects is strong and we have a well-equipped music room, aspecialist music teacher and two sports coaches. Reading and oracy lie at theheart of our curriculum; we are committed to developing a love of reading inall children through Reading for Pleasure and our pupils enjoy a spacious andwell-stocked library. Over the past three years, we have been developingour curriculum using a creative, topic-based approach. The creative artscontinue to remain a priority: we have five artists-in-residence who are basedin our on-site studio space, close links with the Turner Contemporary ArtGallery and have recently gained the Gold Artsmark. Committed to raising theaspirations and life-chances of the children we serve, we are launching anexciting global citizenship programme in September, which will incorporatepolitics, careers-related learning and personal development, helping our pupilsto become caring, active members of their community. Committed to collaborative professional learning,we work closely with two local schools: St Peters in Thanet Juniors andRamsgate Holy Trinity Primary School. This hub enables teachers and leaders towork together on school development and enrichment opportunities. In additionto this we are a Maths Hub school. Testimonial from a current teacher: "Palm Bay Primary School offers a welcoming andfriendly community culture. Our school values of teamwork, perseverance,enthusiasm, achievement and creativity are not only shown by the children, butby every member of staff too. I completed my NQT year in July 2019 and have sincetaken on the role of staff governor and outdoor learning lead after training asa Forest School Leader. As an NQT I had weekly meetings with my mentor,supportive lesson observation feedback and I was always welcome to observeteaching practices in other classrooms. This support has continued into mysecond year of teaching at Palm Bay, and it is part of the ethos of our school.All staff are continually supported with their professional development throughweekly CPD meetings, coaching and collaboration with other members of the team.The senior team involve the staff in key decisions and our ideas andsuggestions are valued. Pupil and staff wellbeing is also a key focus for<