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SEN TEACHING ASSISTANT (ASD UNIT)
Grade 3 (scp 7-11) £25, 584 - £27, 269 Pro Rata (full time, term time only, Permanent)
Dear Applicant
We are looking to appoint an outstanding practitioner to work in our ASD provision. The successful candidate will be joining a highly skilled and committed team of staff and governors, who work together with our parents to provide the very best education we can offer for our children. The role is to support children with a statement for Special Educational Needs (Autism) within our specialist provision.
You will join a team of teachers and teaching assistants who, lead by our SENCO, work across the three ASD classes. You will be working with children from across the Local Authority, who have an educational health care plan for ASD, but also supporting children from our mainstream setting who also have an ASD diagnosis. Our provision offers specialist small group teaching (indoors and outdoors), as well as access to mainstream classrooms where appropriate. The curriculum and timetables are tailored towards the individual children. Your day will always be varied and challenging but rewarding.
We are inviting interested candidates to look around school on
Friday 13th December 9am
Monday 16th December 9am or 3pm
Visits to our school are warmly welcomed. Please contact the school to book an appointment.
Applicants can also contact me via the school email with any questions regarding the positions.
Alongside your completed forms, you should submit a letter of application, no more than 2 sides of A4, indicating what makes you an excellent candidate for our school. This should include relevant experience, special qualities and skills you could offer if appointed.
Completed application forms and accompanying letter of application should be returned to Alison Forster, Headteacher 9am Wednesday 8th January 2025
Interviews will take place week beginning Monday 13th January 2023.
There will be a 2-stage interview process. You will be provided with a 10-minute activity to deliver to a group of children from one of our ASD classes and then reflect upon your session by providing short written feedback. Applicants who have been successful at this stage will then be invited to a formal interview.
Thank you for your interest in the vacancy. Everyone at Usworth Colliery Primary is extremely supportive, committed and hardworking. We are looking for candidates, who are highly motivated and challenged by the prospect of working in this well regarded and friendly school. We are a school that expects extremely high standards from all staff and pupils. We have a philosophy of team work and a clear vision for continued success.
We look forward to receiving your application and meeting you.
Kind Regards
Alison Forster (Headteacher)
School information
Usworth Colliery Primary school opened in 1929. The school is a traditional building that has undergone significant refurbishment over the last ten years, and we continue to make changes to meet the needs of Education in the 21st Century. This has improved security, access and the general quality of environment for staff, pupils and the wider community.
We have two-form entry intake from reception through to Year 6 as well as a 26 commissioned place ASD Provision. We also run a Thrive Provision in school to support children who struggle to fully access mainstream lessons. There are currently 359 pupils on roll.
There are twenty-three members of teaching staff including the Headteacher. Teaching staff are supported by fourteen teaching assistants.
In addition to this we employ a business manager, a school administrator, a family liaison officer and a finance officer. We have a site supervisor and five lunchtime supervisory assistants. Cleaners and kitchen staff are employed through external companies. We employ an ICT technician for half a day a week and a counsellor for two days a week. All of the above make a significant and valuable contribution to the overall work and success of the school.
The school is fortunate to have a dynamic and supportive governing body that plays an important role in the life of the school. Parental and community support for the school is good, but we are always looking at ways to develop links.
The senior management team currently consists of headteacher, deputy headteacher, assistant headteacher and three other staff, including SENDCo and core subject leaders.
Following our Ofsted Inspection in January 2020, we have been identified as a good school and we have a clear plan for further development.
You can find further information about the school through our website (particularly our weekly newsletters).
Salary: Grade 3 (scp 7-11) £25, 584 - £27, 269 Pro Rata
Closing Date: 8 January 2025, 9.00am
Other Information
Information to Candidates
Thank you for applying for a job with us.
This information is to help you to understand how our recruitment process works and how to best fill in your application form.
About the information you have received
A Job Description: Outlines the purpose of the job and the main duties involved.
A Person Specification: Lists the essential criteria an applicant needs to meet. It is this document that applicants are measured against during recruitment.
An Application Form: A standard form on which we collect information about you. We use this, instead of a C.V., to be more consistent.
Other information: You may have received other specific information about the job, and the stages of your recruitment process.
How our recruitment process works
A selection panel is formed, made up of at least two people, usually including the Headteacher or members of the Governing Body. Next, they agree the content of the Job Description and the essential criteria for the Person Specification. A job advert is then written.
Part A and Part B are separated. The Equal Opportunities Monitoring information is collected from Part A. Only Part B is given to the shortlisting panel. This panel does not see personal information about you. This is designed to reduce the chances of unfair discrimination. If you do not submit all parts of the application form you will not be able to be considered for the position.
Each panel member then compares the information on Part B of your Application Form with the criteria on the Person Specification. They each read all of the forms and then record their views. Next they discuss and agree who will go through to the next stage. If there are a lot of applicants who meet the requirements, the panel will consider the successful pile again, keeping only those who best meet the requirements.
References are then requested from referees you have provided in advance of the interview and may be referred to during the interview in line with Safer Recruitment practices. In relation to work with children we will seek information about any past disciplinary issues relating to children and/or child protection concerns you may have been subject to.
Shortlisted applicants for all posts are required to declare all criminal convictions whether “spent” or “unspent” and include any cautions and pending prosecution, with the exception of those spent convictions or cautions that are ‘protected’ (e.g. filtered). Shortlisted candidates will be asked to complete a self-declaration of their criminal record or information that would make them unsuitable to work with children. The purpose of a self-declaration is so that candidates will have the opportunity to share relevant information and allow this to be discussed and considered at interview before the DBS certificate is received.
** NEW - Keeping Children Safe in Education states the need for schools to conduct an “online search as part of their due diligence on the shortlisted candidates.” The purpose of the online check is to help identify any incidents or issues that have happened, and are publicly available online, which the school / setting might want to explore with the applicant at interview, to establish their suitability to work with children.
The online check forms one part of the school’s pre-employment checks process.
Shortlisted applicants may then have an interview or may be asked to take part in other selection activities, e.g. work tests, occupational tests etc. You will always be told about these activities in advance. For some vacancies, it may be appropriate for the selection process to include an appropriate activity with pupils. In such cases, pupils will be involved in the recruitment process in a meaningful way. Observing short listed candidates and appropriately supervised interaction with pupils/students is common and recognised as good practice.
In line with Safer Recruitment, the interview will be used to explore potential areas of concern to determine an applicant’s suitability to work with children. You will be asked questions relating to safeguarding children, e.g.:
- finding out what attracted you to the post being applied for and your motivation for working with children;
- exploring your skills and asking for examples of experience of working with children which are relevant to the role; and
- probing any gaps in employment or where you have changed employment or location frequently, asking about the reasons for this.
What do we value on Application Forms?
We are only looking for the things we have listed on the Person Specification. We strongly value the achievement of, and progress towards, academic, professional, and vocational qualifications.
We also believe, however, that there are extremely talented people in the jobs market. People who, for one reason or another, have not developed their skills and abilities through an academic route and gained a qualification. So, we also value other things such as previous job experience, research projects or personal study, work placements, voluntary work, social experience or personal life experience.
For some posts, a professional qualification is essential. In this case we will ask for the relevant qualification and you will be asked to provide certificates to verify your qualification.
How to best fill in your Application form
The panel are looking for those candidates who can give real examples of how they meet the essential criteria on the Person Specification. It is quality, not quantity that is important. We only want information on the application form. C.V.’s will not be considered.
Here are some helpful hints when completing the form, and remember to have the Person Specification at hand throughout:
· Use a spare sheet of paper to make notes first.
· Prepare answers to all questions but leave the ‘How you meet the essential requirements’ until last. Most candidates find this the hardest part to complete.
· If a box is not relevant to your personal circumstances, mark it ‘not applicable’.
· Give details of your employment history. If you have a gap in your employment, you are required to give an explanation for this.
· Give details of any referees who we can ask for information about you. One should be your current or most recent employer. If you are not currently working with children but have done so in the past, the second referee should be the employer by whom you were most recently employed in work with children. If you are unemployed, you must give details of a previous employer. If you have never been employed, please give details of a school, college or university tutor, or put a line through the box. References will not be accepted from relatives, or persons who only know you as a friend. We reserve the right to seek additional references.
Now focus on the ‘How you meet the essential requirements’. Take each of the criteria on the Person Specification in turn. Take time to think about all of your previous experience and give examples of where you have best displayed the things that are asked for. Simply stating that you have each requirement will not be considered as suitable evidence and may disadvantage you at the short-listing stage. Remember you can use examples from your work life, study, personal life, voluntary work, social experience, vocational training etc. Answer the points in the same order as on the Person Specification. You can present this as a list and use numbering if you wish. Remember – Quality over Quantity.
How we acknowledge receipt of your Application Form
We do not write back to every candidate who submits an Application Form to us. The information pack will outline how and when you will be informed. We will give you a Fair and Equal Opportunity to work for us. We are fully committed to providing a fair recruitment process for all. To do this, we need to know if you feel anything may prevent you from demonstrating your full potential. We will make any reasonable adjustments or arrangement to any part of the recruitment process.
Equal Opportunities
We are committed to equal opportunity in employment and will treat people fairly regardless of age, disability, gender, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief and sexual orientation. This means that we will not unfairly discriminate against a candidate. Applicants are encouraged to include requests for reasonable adjustments on their application form or to tell us at any stage during the process. Whenever this happens we must make every effort to make adjustments as far as reasonably possible. Reasonable adjustments can include providing documents in other formats, accepting applications in other formats, allowing people extra time to complete applications or to take tests at interview, providing a support worker or other aid at interviews and tests, providing communication support and ensuring the interview venue is accessible.
Complaints about the Recruitment Process
If you feel you have been treated unfairly or are unhappy with any part of the recruitment process, we want to know about it! You can make a complaint by contacting the headteacher/school office and explain that you wish to make a complaint. Please see your Application Pack for contact details.
Data Protection
The information you provide on the application form will be used to assess your suitability for the post and will be viewed only by those involved in the recruitment process. If you are appointed, the information will be used to create your employment record. If you are not appointed, it will be destroyed after 8 months, except in the event of a dispute. Personal information that you provide in the ‘Equal Opportunities Monitoring’ section of the form will only be used for the purpose of equal opportunities monitoring and statistical analysis. This helps us to continually improve our equal opportunities policies and practices. By submitting this form, you are consenting to the recording and use of the information for the purposes mentioned above.
Any other questions
If you have any questions or comments about any aspect of the recruitment process, please contact the headteacher/school office as directed by the appropriate advertisement/information in your application pack.