Teaching Assistant Ely, England
Job description
Teaching Assistant
April 2023
Contents
Information for Applicants
- About the School
Teaching Assistant
- Job Description
- Person Specification, Qualifications and Experience
Terms and Conditions
- Hours of Work
- Salary and Benefits
Information for applicants
About the School
King’s Ely can trace its origins from at least 970AD, making it one of the oldest schools in
Europe. Originally a monastic foundation and then a grammar school by Royal Charter, today it is a thriving independent day and boarding school for around 1000 boys and girls aged from 2-18, offering a broad range of GCSEs and A-levels and from which almost all pupils go on to good universities in the UK and abroad. Most students are day pupils from
Ely, Cambridge and the surrounding area, and there are also about 200 boarders with over 40 nationalities represented overall.
The School is subdivided into three sections: King’s Ely Senior (age 13-18) and King’s Ely
Junior (age 7-13), which occupy adjacent campuses and shared facilities, and King’s Ely
Acremont and Nursery (ages 2-6) which has its own self-contained campus about 400m from the main site.
The main campus extends to around 70 acres in total and comprises several historic buildings adjacent to Ely Cathedral as well as more recent, purpose-built facilities spanning the thirteenth to the twenty-first centuries, and almost 40 acres of playing fields.
King’s prides itself on being an academic school but not an academic hothouse. There is a great emphasis on personal development through an extensive co-curriculum of sporting, creative and performing arts and service opportunities as well as through building positive relationships with others in a tight-knit but outward-facing community. The safety, wellbeing and pastoral care of the whole community is central in what is a happy and purposeful school where our diversity and breadth of talent and ability is valued and nurtured.
King’s Ely also plays a key role in the local community. The School is one of Ely’s largest employers and also educates the boy and girl choristers of Ely Cathedral. King’s is also a proud founder member of the Cambridgeshire Educational Partnership, which numbers twelve local schools working together to improve educational attainment, especially for disadvantaged children. The School also offers a number of bursaries to enable pupils from all walks of life to benefit from the education it offers.
King’s Ely is a registered charity administered by a Board of Governors. The Principal is a member of HMC and the School is also affiliated to the Society of Heads, IAPS, the Boarding
Schools’ Association and the Choir Schools’ Association.
Teaching Assistant
Main Responsibilities of the Role
- To support the class teacher in class activities with the children
- To offer learning support when appropriate and as directed by a teacher in the same room
- To assist children on a one-to-one basis with work such as reading
- To assist with general classroom duties
- To assist with the supervision of children during morning, lunch, and afternoon breaks
- To care for children in the event of accident and illness
- To assist with the mounting of classroom displays
- To help ensure that all classroom resources are kept in order and ready for use
- To assist, on a rota basis, with wrap around care before and after the school day
- To attend INSET training days, Open Day events and staff meetings as requested
This description is not exhaustive and may well be subject to change over time. The intention is to offer candidates an accurate impression of the expectations commensurate with the post and an outline of the role as it is envisaged at this time.
Person Specification
Person Essential: Desirable:
Specification:
➢ Possess a proven ability to empathise ➢ HLTA qualification
Specialist skills and relate positively to young
and Experience people, having a desire to make the experience of school positive for each child;
➢ Have a thorough understanding of
Safeguarding and Child Protection
Issues;
➢ To be alert and vigilant regarding risks and hazards to children;
➢ To understand that children require support as they play and learn in many different ways;
➢ Show a lively and energetic approach to working with children, balanced by an ability to empathise, support and nurture children at school;
Essential: Desirable:
➢ Possess the flexibility to ➢ Enthusiasm to develop
Personal accommodate the needs of teachers self and subject area;
Qualities and children;
➢ Have a patient and reassuring manner;
➢ A good team player who is willing to be flexible when unexpected changes occur;
➢ Possess the personal initiative to head off any difficult issues that are preventable, but able to be assertive when required;
Training:
King’s Ely recognises the value of ongoing training its staff to enable them to fulfil their potential and to maintain a happy and committed workforce. Some Safeguarding and Health and Safety training would be essential to this role.
Terms and Conditions
- Hours of work
- Hours: 08.15-16.00 with an additional 7 hours across the week, to support the Wrap
Around Care supervision which is open 08.00-18.00 (40 weeks per year over a complete year). King’s Ely term dates are available on the website
- Salary: Will be competitive and based upon qualifications and experience
- Place of work: The role is normally based at the School in Ely.
- Probation: There will be a probationary period of six months during which one month’s notice is required by either party. Thereafter, the notice period will be 6 weeks.
Benefits
- Enrolment in the statutory auto-enrolment pension scheme. The contribution rates for the auto-enrolment pension scheme are Employee contribution of 5% and Employer contribution of 3%.
- Members of staff may educate their own children in any of the three parts of the school or at
Fairstead House, subject to availability of places and successful admissions procedures. Staff currently enjoy a discretionary discount on fees for children in Reception year onwards, details of which will be provided upon request.
- The school offers a private healthcare insurance scheme, which staff may opt to join at their expense shortly after the start of each academic year (the policy year starts on 1 November).
The scheme can only be joined at the start of the policy year, not part-way through the year.
- Limited free on-site car parking.
- School lunch provided when at work over lunch time and tea and coffee throughout the day.
- A cycle to work scheme available (presently administered by Evans Cycles).
- Limited use of school gym facilities and use of the swimming pool at specific times (during summer school holidays – small fee applies).
The above benefits are non-contractual and may be amended or withdrawn at any time.
There is limited residential accommodation available suitable for a single person or couple (1- bedroom units). Rent, utilities and Council Tax would be the responsibility of the occupant under a Shorthold Tenancy Agreement but the rental would be a little under market value for a period of time to allow relocation on cost effective terms.
How to apply - Completing your application form
- All sections of the form should be completed as fully as possible.
- You may support your completed application form with a CV, however this is not a requirement. On the CV, you may include a third referee if you wish.
- Please accompany your application form with a covering letter explaining your reasons for applying for this position. Please briefly describe within the letter details of how your skills, qualities and experience meet the requirements of the job description and/or person specification. This letter should be no longer than one side of A4.
- King’s Ely is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, and applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure & Barring Service.
- If you are selected for interview, you will need to provide and bring with you photographic proof of identity (eg passport or photo driving license), birth certificate, documentation confirming your National Insurance Number or your right to work in the United Kingdom, proof of address (eg recent bank statement/HMRC correspondence/utility bill) and certification of declared qualifications.
The final closing date for applications will be noon on Monday 20th March 2023.
Interviews will be held on Monday 27th March. The selection process will comprise of a job- related panel interview and separate Safeguarding specific interview.
We appreciate your effort in completing this application and for your interest in working for
King’s Ely. Please email your completed application form to [email protected].
Website: www.kingsely.org Charity Number: 802427 Company Number: 2440509
Job Type: Full-time
Salary: £19,000.00-£24,000.00 per year
Benefits:
- Discounted or free food
- Free parking
- On-site parking
Schedule:
- Day shift
- Monday to Friday
Work Location: One location
Application deadline: 20/03/2023
Expected start date: 20/04/2023
