Job Title: Learning Support Assistant - SEN
Closing Date: 22/04/2025 23:59
Pay: Actual Salary up to £16,033.54 which includes 6.35 paid holiday
Hours: 30 Hours x 36 Weeks
Type: Part Time
Please note: HoW College reserves the right to extend the advertising period for this vacancy or close the vacancy early in line with volume of applicants. We would therefore advise interested candidates to apply promptly.
Location: Worcester
WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR:
To become a Learning Support Assistant in our SEN department, we need someone who is understanding, adaptable and committed.
The successful candidate will have the chance to acquire new skills and develop their abilities in a wide range of activities.
We have a variety of students from the surrounding area, we are a welcoming and inclusive community that champions diversity and equality across our college.
Our departments collaborate to establish and uphold the inclusive HoW culture, we keep this in mind as we manage interactions with the public, fellow employees, and nearby schools.
WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING:
You will assist students in the classroom with understanding the activities set by the tutor, as well as supporting with spelling, punctuation, and mathematics.
ABOUT US:
Heart of Worcestershire College, the county's largest further education institution, offers a diverse range of academic, vocational, and community courses throughout its campuses. In all we do, our principles of diversity, integrity, partnership, and trust come through, enabling us to offer timely and knowledgeable services both within and outside of our immediate neighborhood. By 2030, we also intend to be 90% green!
Our goal is to advance, innovate, and inspire. We're looking for people who want to come along for the journey because our growth will be your growth.
THE PERKS:
* Confidential Employee Assistance Programme (available 24/7, 365 days a year); giving access to free confidential counselling
* Regular Continuing Professional Development
* Opportunity to gain further qualifications and enhance professional development through our Awards process
* Agile and Flexible working (Dependent upon role)
* Employee discounts & benefits package including high street and travel discounts
* Fantastic progression opportunities
* A mentor to support you in your new role
* Cycle to Work Scheme
* Free onsite parking (Certain Campuses only)
* Opportunities for volunteering within local community and charities
WE HIRE PEOPLE:
Every person we hire has a different mix of experiences, cultures, and identities, as well as a unique background and physical make-up. Together, we strengthen HoW.
The College is striving to attract, develop and retain the very best people by offering a motivating and inclusive workplace in which talent is truly recognised.
We want you to know that HoW is an equal opportunity employer as you are probably applying for or considering applying for a job with us if you are reading this. This College expects everyone to share its commitment to promoting and protecting children, young people, and vulnerable adults' welfare and equality of opportunity.
For us, this means that we always work to be as inclusive as possible in all areas of employment and that we will not allow any form of discrimination.
BIT MORE INFO:
All successful applicants will be required to complete and pay for a Disclosure & Barring Service check. Along with online verification to ensure the safety of our pupils.
CLOSING DATE: 22 April 2025
For further information on the role, please contact our HR Department on 01527 572592 or hr@howcollege.ac.uk.
If you are viewing this advert on Indeed, Total Jobs or another job board, it is worth noting there is more information about the position on the Heart of Worcestershire website, this will include the role profile.
AIM AND PURPOSE OF THE JOB:
The purpose of the role is to support College attendance, retention and achievement strategies by providing a high-quality proactive support service to learners who have high needs support requirements. To ensure that all learners receive excellent support to achieve their potential. To provide learning support that contributes to an outstanding student experience from the start of their college journey to progression into further study, employment, or greater independence. To work directly with curriculum staff, tutors, student services and key external agencies to ensure services proactively engage learners and meet individual social, emotional and learning needs and to comply with relevant performance monitoring and evaluation systems across the department to ensure quality of provision.
KEY ROLES AND ACCOUNTABILITIES:
* To provide (through one to one and/or group work interventions) high quality learning support that enables learners to engage and achieve identified goals to aid their progression.
* To provide support for the delivery of specialist foundation programmes which may include those for autistic spectrum conditions, mental health, emotional and behavioural difficulties, severe, moderate and mild learning difficulties and disaffected groups (NEET – Not in Employment, Education or Training) and students accessing mainstream courses, in need of additional support.
* To ensure learners with support needs are fully engaged with student standards and to reinforce College attendance policies.
* To support a flexible caseload of individual and/or groups of supported learners, with a specialist need.
* To assist in pre-entry activities such as recruitment, enrolment and assessment of support needs.
* To assist in the delivery of entry screening and initial diagnostics and use results to inform Personal Learning Plans, set targets and monitor progress.
* Liaise with tutors, lecturers and other lead delivery staff prior to the start of learning to ensure support can be targeted and managed within the learning session.
* To assist in the planning, implementation and measurement of the impact of one to one and group work carried out in order to evaluate its effectiveness and work towards continual improvement of the service.
* To maintain accurate records of all information and interventions, ensuring all administration is completed promptly and efficiently within agreed timescales.
* To contribute to the negotiation, monitoring and support of individual learning objectives.
* To enable learning support procedures to be carried out in line with best practice guidelines with regard to Safeguarding, Prevent, Equality and Diversity themes.
* To make an active contribution to the attainment of English and math for supported learners.
* To provide incidental personal care support where necessary.
* To support learners to access and engage in all learning activities including trips and visits which may require pushing learners in wheelchairs.
GENERAL ACCOUNTABILITIES:
* To commit to the safeguarding and promotion of the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults.
* To participate in the College’s Performance Management Scheme and attend such training events as are necessary to enable him/her to carry out the duties of the job description.
* To continually improve teaching, learning and assessment through proactive CPD and sharing best practice.
* To actively participate in the College’s Quality System, including quality improvement strategies and initiatives.
* To undertake such other duties as may be assigned commensurate with the grade and purpose of the post.
* To take reasonable care for the health and safety of him/her and for others affected by his/her work.
* To actively support College Safeguarding, Equality and Diversity policies.
* To operate/conduct all HR tasks and functions within the principles of GDPR.
This Job Description is current at the date shown below and is a guide to the work you will be required to undertake. In consultation with the post holder, it may be changed from time to time by the College to meet changing circumstances.
September 2024
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE:
The appointment is subject to the Conditions of Service for Business Support Staff.
All successful applicants will undergo the following checks:
* Enhanced DBS
* 2 x References, one of which must be your current or most recent employer
* Qualification validation check
SALARY:
The salary range for this post is from £22,074 to £22,865 per annum pro rata. Your starting salary will be dependent upon your qualifications and experience. Once you have successfully passed your probationary period, your salary will increase within the salary band on an annual incremental basis, until you reach the top of the salary scale.
HOURS OF WORK:
The hours of work will be based on 30 hours per week for 36 weeks per year.
ANNUAL LEAVE:
As this is a term time only appointment you will receive a payment in lieu of holiday, which is in addition to your salary. You will also be paid for any Statutory Bank Holidays and concessionary days which fall within your working week.
PENSION SCHEME:
The College operates an occupational pension scheme, namely the ‘Local Government Pension Scheme’.
PROBATIONARY PERIOD:
All newly appointed staff have to serve a 6-month probationary period. During the probationary period you will have to complete the corporate staff induction, a Teaching and Learning Induction session if you deliver learning and additional mandatory courses on: Equality & Diversity session, Keeping Children safe in Education, Safeguarding Training session, Prevent, GDPR, Cyber Security and Health & Safety training session. Failure to complete these will prevent you from successfully completing your probation.
FIRST AID & FIRE MARSHALL:
As defined in the person specification of the job description, those staff with these responsibilities are required to undertake first aid and or fire marshal duties across the College, when called upon to do so. Staff must ensure they are up to date with the relevant training.
REFERENCES:
Please note that without 2 satisfactory references being received before the end of the probationary period, new staff will not be able to successfully pass their probation.
LOCATION:
The successful applicant will be based at Worcester but may be required to work at other locations from time to time.
VALIDATION OF QUALIFICATIONS:
The College will undertake qualification validation by writing to the appropriate educational institute. Only those qualifications which are essential for the post will be followed up.
CONTRACTUAL REQUIREMENT TO OBTAIN A QUALIFICATION:
If you are required to obtain a qualification as a contractual requirement, the College reviews its CPD budget on an annual basis regarding availability of funds, and cannot therefore guarantee that newly appointed staff will receive either part or full funding for the course fees. However, student loan facilities are available.
MATHS AND ENGLISH:
All staff are required to have a minimum level 2 qualification in both English and Maths. If you are not already in receipt of one or both of these qualifications, you will be expected to obtain it (them) during your employment at the College.
SAFEGUARDING:
The College is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All newly appointed staff will be required to undertake safeguarding training following their appointment.
Heart of Worcestershire College adheres to the Department of Education’s guidance on ‘Keeping children safe in Education’. As part of your induction, you will be required to read and understand part 1 of this document.
ONLINE CHECKS:
Candidates shortlisted for interview and then subsequently become successful in the recruitment process and prior to a formal offer of employment being made will be subject to online checks being carried out by a neutral party not directly involved in the recruitment process. Consent for these checks was requested at application stage.
DISCLOSURE & BARRING CHECK:
All successful applicants will be required to complete and pay for a Disclosure & Barring Service check. The costs of this check will be deducted from the applicants first salary payment from the College. The College adheres to the DBS Code of Practice and has policies covering the Recruitment of Ex-Offenders and the Secure Storage, Handling, Use, Retention and Disposal of Disclosures and Disclosure Information. Copies of these are available on request.
RECRUITMENT OF EX-OFFENDERS:
The College is committed to the fair treatment of its staff, potential staff or users of its services, regardless of race, gender religion, sexual orientation, responsibilities for dependants, age, physical/mental disability or offending background. As an organisation we use the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) to assess the suitability of all prospective appointments. We undertake not to discriminate unfairly against any subject of a Disclosure on the basis of conviction or other information revealed.
Applicant/employees are required to declare any unspent conditional cautions or convictions under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 or any adult cautions (simple or conditional) or spent convictions that are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020.
The only exception to this requirement is that applicants/employees do not need to disclose any ‘protected’ cautions, or convictions as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2013.
Please read the ‘Guidance Note to applicants on disclosing information about cautions and convictions in their application’ document before you complete your application form.
Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position and the circumstances and background of any offences.
TRAINING:
All successful applicants will be required to undertake any appropriate training and development as required, including Health and Safety.
NO SMOKING POLICY:
HoW College is a Smoke Free environment from the effects of direct/indirect contact with smoking, including using the following:
* Cigarettes
* E-cigarettes
* Vaporisers
* Pipe smoking
* Cigars
* And all other associated smoking products
APPLICANTS WITH DISABILITIES:
Candidates with a disability should contact the HR Department before interview if they require any adjustments to be made for the interview and/or selection tests.
APPLICATIONS:
A completed application form should be submitted.Curriculum vitae will not be accepted as a substitute.
It would greatly assist the shortlisting panel if the information submitted on your application clearly identifies and demonstrates how your qualities match those listed under the essential requirements on the person specification.
Please remember that it is not sufficient to merely repeat what is in the specification – you must show how you meet each requirement. You must also provide details under ‘previous employment’ which must include all employment undertaken since leaving full time education.
Completed application forms should be submitted by 22 April 2025 via our website at www.howcollege.ac.uk.
INTERVIEWS:
The Interview date for this post is TBC; short-listed candidates will be notified with the details for interview. In view of the high cost of postage, it is not our intention to notify unsuccessful applicants. If you have not heard from us within four weeks of the closing date, please assume that your application has been unsuccessful and accept our thanks for your interest in applying. College reserves the right to withdraw a position before the closing date if the appointment has been arranged or no longer required.
DATA PROTECTION/GENERAL DATA PROTECTION REGULATION (GDPR):
Please be aware that HoW College complies with the current Data Protection Act and is currently developing systems to ensure that we will be fully compliant with GDPR when this comes into force in May 2018. GDPR is a European wide update to the Data Protection Act, with more requirements and stronger enforcement. As such we expect all staff to fully comply with the requirements of these legislation. Failure to do so will lead to formal disciplinary action.
Members of staff will be provided with guidance in relation to GDPR to ensure that full compliance is achieved and maintained within the College.
Further information can be obtained by using the following link: https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/guide-to-data-protection/guide-to-the-general-data-protection-regulation-gdpr/
Updated March 2021
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