sen teaching assistant.

£90 - £95 per day

Near Quidenham

Are you an experienced, exceptionally resilient, and adaptable Learning Support Assistant (LSA) or Teaching Assistant (TA) looking for a specialist role within a school that integrates education and residential care?

Do you possess the specific skills needed to support pupils with complex and high-level Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) needs and challenging behaviours across both the school day and a structured residential setting?

We are seeking a highly committed professional to join a dedicated therapeutic school environment near Quidenham. If you are ready to be a crucial part of a 24-hour care team, ensuring consistency and safety for vulnerable young people, this demanding and rewarding role is for you.

The Opportunity

An extremely valuable and intensive opportunity exists for a specialist SEN Teaching Assistant to work within a well-regarded SEN School near Quidenham. This role is focused on supporting pupils whose primary needs stem from severe Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) difficulties and significant life trauma, which results in complex and sometimes volatile challenging behaviours.

Your role extends beyond the classroom. You will be instrumental in ensuring a consistent, therapeutic, and safe environment across educational activities and possibly aspects of the residential day (depending on specific shift patterns). Your expertise in behavioural de-escalation and trauma-informed practice will be essential in facilitating emotional regulation and educational re-engagement. You will work primarily on a 1:1 basis or within a small, highly supervised group.

Core Responsibilities

• Provide direct, intensive emotional and educational support to named pupils, ensuring their individual therapeutic and academic targets are met consistently.
• Masterfully implement complex behaviour management strategies and crisis intervention techniques, always adhering to established care and risk management plans.
• Collaborate closely with both teaching staff and residential care staff to maintain a unified and consistent approach to the pupil's schedule, boundaries, and goals.
• Assist in adapting and delivering curriculum content, providing scaffolding that addresses significant gaps in learning often associated with prolonged school absence due to SEMH issues.
• Act as a reliable Key Worker/Mentor, helping pupils develop self-regulation strategies, positive coping mechanisms, and improved social skills.
• Maintain meticulous, detailed, and sensitive records on pupil behaviour, incidents, emotional state, and engagement, contributing essential data to clinical and safeguarding reviews.
• Participate actively in relevant training, team meetings, and supervision sessions to ensure high levels of emotional support and professional practice.

Essential Profile

• Significant professional experience supporting children or young people with severe SEMH needs and complex, challenging behaviours (e.g., in a PRU, SEMH School, or residential care setting).
• Proven ability to use de-escalation techniques effectively and maintain exceptional calmness and consistency during periods of high stress or crisis.
• Strong working knowledge of Trauma-Informed Practice and a deep understanding of the underlying emotional and psychological factors driving challenging behaviour.
• Exceptional personal resilience, reliability, high energy, and an unwavering commitment to safeguarding.
• Excellent ability to communicate and liaise professionally with a multi-disciplinary team, including teachers, care workers, and therapists.
• Up-to-date certification or willingness to complete training in Team-Teach, MAPA, or similar physical intervention/de-escalation training is highly desirable.
• Possession of an Enhanced Child DBS on the update service (or willingness to complete one promptly).

Benefits of Joining Us

• A high specialist daily pay rate of £90 - £95, reflective of the complex needs and integrated nature of the role.
• Placement within a highly therapeutic, integrated school and residential care setting near Quidenham.
• Access to extensive, specialist training in therapeutic interventions, advanced behaviour management, and trauma-informed care.
• A deeply impactful role offering the opportunity for genuine long-term influence on a vulnerable young person's life trajectory.
• £300 Refer A Friend scheme (terms apply).

How to Apply

If you are a dedicated, specialist support professional ready to make a significant positive impact in a Banham SEN school, please apply immediately with your CV or contact Neeraj at neeraj.kommaravalli@randstad.co.uk for more information.

We are the UK market leader for recruitment in education. We have nearly two decades of experience helping teachers and support staff find temporary and permanent roles in schools, colleges, and nurseries. We partner with over 2,500 schools each week, supporting more than 135,000 children every day across the country, which allows us to find the right match for your skills.