SEN Teaching Assistant

Are you an experienced Teaching Assistant, SEN Teaching Assistant or support professional looking for your next opportunity working with children and young people?

Starfyn Education is looking for caring, enthusiastic and resilient SEN Teaching Assistants (SENTAs) to join schools across the local area.
We specialise in SEN recruitment, working closely with schools to provide dedicated staff who understand the individual needs of pupils and can make a genuine difference to their education, development and wellbeing.

The Role
As an SEN Teaching Assistant, you will support pupils who require additional help with their learning, communication, behaviour, emotional development or day-to-day access to education.
Depending on the school and individual pupil, you may provide 1:1 support, small-group support or classroom-based assistance.
You could be supporting children and young people with needs including:

• Autism (ASD)
• ADHD
• SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health)
• Learning difficulties
• Communication and interaction needs
• Behavioural needs
• Complex or additional learning needs

Your responsibilities may include:

• Providing 1:1 and small-group support
• Supporting pupils to access the curriculum
• Helping children overcome barriers to learning
• Supporting social, emotional and behavioural development
• Encouraging independence, confidence and positive behaviour
• Building positive and trusting relationships with pupils
• Supporting pupils with emotional regulation and communication
• Assisting teachers with classroom activities and learning tasks
• Working alongside teachers, SENCOs and other professionals
• Creating a safe, positive and inclusive learning environment

Experience
We are ideally looking for candidates who have previous experience working within a school or educational setting.
However, we also welcome applications from candidates with transferable experience from areas such as:

• Care and support work
• Residential care
• Youth work
• Children's services
• Sports coaching
• Nursery and early years
• Behaviour support
• Mental health support
• Social care
• Community support
• Working with vulnerable children or adults

The most important thing is that you can demonstrate patience, empathy, resilience and a genuine desire to support children and young people.
What We're Looking For
The ideal candidate will have:

• Previous experience supporting children or young people, ideally within an educational setting
• An understanding of or interest in Special Educational Needs
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills
• Patience, empathy and resilience
• A calm and consistent approach
• The ability to build positive relationships with pupils
• A proactive and flexible attitude
• The confidence to work as part of a wider school team
• A genuine commitment to helping pupils achieve their potential

Relevant qualifications are beneficial but experience and the right attitude are equally important.