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Teaching Assistant

Employer
Rutherford School part of the Garwood Foundation
Location
South Croydon, London (Greater)
Salary
Dependent on experience
Closing date
31 May 2021

Job Details

2 x Teaching Assistants – Negotiable as dependent on experience

Full time, Term time only

Thank you for your interest in working for Rutherford School (part of the Garwood Foundation).

Rutherford School is an independent special school for children with profound, and multiple learning difficulties, severe sensory impairment and complex medical needs that is part of the Garwood Foundation. We cater for children and young people from 3-25 and take a holistic and collaborative approach with our in house teaching and learning, nursing and therapy teams.  At Rutherford School, our curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of our pupils, supporting them to live fulfilling and independent lives. The curriculum is designed around an inclusive ethos which respects the dignity and the rights of the child. Student well-being and engagement are at the heart of our approach in order to motivate students to achieve to their fullest potential and make a positive contribution to life in modern Britain.

All of our pupils are wheelchair users, are medically dependent and require support with personal care. Pupils have access to fantastic facilities which include: hydrotherapy pool, sensory rooms and onsite physiotherapists and registered nurses.

We are currently recruiting for 2 dynamic Teaching Assistants. The vacancy roles will be for 5 days per week, full time, term time only (including two weeks in July for Summer Club, paid as a separate payment). The hours of work will be from 8:30am to 4:00pm, the annual salary for this role will be dependent on skills and experience.

We are looking for candidates who can embrace the working environment, have compassion and a passion, support with personal care and be flexible with age of students as things can change daily!

To apply for this role you must have:

  • Experience of supporting pupils with PMLD
  • Confident and willing to support with personal care
  • Willing to support with hydrotherapy and rebound therapy
  • Good interpersonal and administration skills
  • Eligibility to work within the UK
  • Willingness to be security checked through an Enhanced DBS and Barred List check

At Rutherford School, the Teaching Assistant job is very different to that in a mainstream school. You will support the teacher in creating opportunities for the children to learn, each in their own individual way. You will need to be creative and patient, with a keen eye for detail as you will need to write down observations for the teacher. However, as well as supporting teaching, you will be trained by nurses, therapists and senior staff to carry out many other procedures, including:

Eating and drinking - learning how different children can be helped to eat and drink safely.

  • Personal care - ensuring that the children's hygiene needs are taken care of safely and with dignity.
  • Powered mobility - learning to use powered wheelchairs and other equipment safely, and how to encourage children to learn to drive.
  • Manual handling - learning to use all sorts of equipment with the children while keeping the children and yourself safe.
  • Safeguarding - you will be trained to understand all aspects of safeguarding, with an emphasis on what this means for children with disabilities.

When you have sufficient experience, you will also be trained in the following:

  • Gastrostomies - learning how to use equipment to be able to feed a child through a tube.
  • Medicines - learning how to ensure that the children you work with receive the correct medicine at the right time.
  • Epilepsy - learning how to safely manage children who have seizures and what to do in an emergency.

For all these duties (and more) you will receive a first-class induction and ongoing training from qualified professionals. You will not be expected to carry them out alone until you have been signed-off as competent. You will be assigned a 'buddy' to mentor you and make sure that you are confident in your new role, and you will have a teacher and senior TA who will set targets for you whilst supporting you. There is a team of nurses and therapists available to support and advise staff, and manage emergencies.

What Are We Looking For?

  • Literacy & numeracy skills - you will need to write observations about the children. We don't worry about spelling but we need to be able to read and understand them. You will need to be able to read and understand instructions on equipment, medicine bottles, and syringes and so on.
  • ICT skills - many of our children rely on technology, for learning, for fun, for speaking and many more things, so you will need to be able to learn to use their technologies. Also we rely on e-mails, our intranet and the wider internet to find information.
  • Communication skills - you will need to be able to communicate effectively and appropriately with all sorts of people, as well as the children, including other professionals; parents and families; visitors.
  • Common sense - a lot of what you will do will be following teachers', therapists' or nurses' instructions. Once you are competent, you may well be working on your own with a child. We need to be sure that you will be safe and that the input you give to the child will be useful and relevant. There are also many health and safety factors to understand working with our children.
  • Team work - you will be a member of many teams. It is crucial that we work together effectively and efficiently. This means excellent communication, co-operation and respect for each other.

What We Offer

  • Hours of work are 35 hours per week (8:30am - 4pm), Monday to Friday, term time only.
  • Competitive and negotiable rates of pay.
  • Career progression opportunities within the school, for higher level TA posts with additional responsibilities.

The official closing date for the vacancy is 18th April and interviews will be held shortly after this date.

For more information and to download an application form and the job description, please visit our website on: www.rutherfordschool.org.uk.

Completed applications are to be emailed to: [email protected] or sent by post to the attention of: Mrs Pammi Ram, HR Manager, Rutherford School, 1a Melville Avenue, South Croydon, CR2 7HZ.

The vacancy advertised is subject to receiving two satisfactory references and an enhanced DBS and medical clearance check.

Rutherford School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. We are an equal opportunities employer. References and DBS Disclosure will be required for the successful applicant. Photographic identification, evidence of right to work in the UK and certificates of any relevant qualifications will need to be provided at interview stage.

Rutherford School, 1a Melville Avenue, South Croydon, CR2 7HZ

Tel: 020 8688 7560, Fax: 020 8406 8220

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.rutherfordschool.org.uk

Registered Charity No. 272905

Company

Rutherford School is an independent special school for children with profound, and multiple learning difficulties, severe sensory impairment and complex medical needs that is part of the Garwood Foundation. We cater for children and young people from 3-25 and take a holistic and collaborative approach with our in house teaching and learning, nursing and therapy teams.  At Rutherford School, our curriculum is designed to meet the individual needs of our pupils, supporting them to live fulfilling and independent lives. The curriculum is designed around an inclusive ethos which respects the dignity and the rights of the child. Student well-being and engagement are at the heart of our approach in order to motivate students to achieve to their fullest potential and make a positive contribution to life in modern Britain.

All of our pupils are wheelchair users, are medically dependent and require support with personal care. Pupils have access to fantastic facilities which include: hydrotherapy pool, sensory rooms and onsite physiotherapists and registered nurses.

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