The Pingle Academy - Teaching Assistant (Level 2) 

 The Pingle Academy

Location: Coronation Street, Swadlincote, Derbyshire, DE11 0QA

The Pingle Academy is an 11-19 co-educational, comprehensive school, became an academy in May 2017 and joined The de Ferrers Trust. Our oversubscribed academy is the academy of choice in the local area and enjoys an excellent local reputation.

We are proud of our caring and inclusive community, and our values of WORK HARD, BE KIND, CHOOSE WISELY are present in all aspects of academy life.

Our academy is a community where there is a shared responsibility for creating a safe and pleasant place to work. Staff are dedicated to ensuring that The Pingle Academy is inclusive in all areas and we are proud of our efforts to educate and care for all our students, whatever their abilities, to ensure that every students’ potential is fulfilled.

In 2019, the academy enjoyed its best ever results, both at GCSE and A Level. In October 2021 OFSTED judged the academy as GOOD in all areas.

Our priority is to help parents/carers prepare their children for adult lives in a rapidly changing world. We aim to provide a broad and stimulating curriculum, to set the highest standards of work and behaviour and to encourage students to aspire to these standards with confidence.

We value our staff, ensuring that we look after and care for their wellbeing through professional development, mental health provision and supporting staff with their workload.

Who are we?

The SEND team (mainstream) is made up of a SENDCo, two assistant SENDCos and 15 teaching assistants. We support a range of students with different needs in mainstream to ensure that they can access the KS3, KS4 and A Level curriculum. We have a specialised SEND Hub consisting of two large rooms and three offices dedicated to the needs of students.

The Pingle Academy has 2 Enhanced Resource Units (ERS). The ARC supports students with an Autism diagnosis and significant sensory needs and the LSB, students who are working significantly below their peers academically. All students have an EHCP. The ERS offers students a holistic curriculum that develops both their academic and social skills alongside life skills. The ERS has a large staff team of both teachers and TAs who support students both in the ERS classrooms, in 1-1 and small group sessions and, for some students, in mainstream lessons. 

What do we offer?

We offer a range of support and interventions for students with SEND, including literacy, numeracy, phonics and positive behaviour support, mentoring and one to one sessions.

The Candidate

The successful candidate will work alongside and under the guidance of the SENDCo and will be required to support individual students and small groups. This exciting and rewarding role requires someone who is patient, flexible, adaptable, a team player and who is also able to show initiative, both in the class situation and with groups/individuals.

Opportunities abound for professional development, including training in specific aspects of SEND such as ADHD, speech and language therapy, autism, literacy/numeracy support, assisting the development of working memory, sign language, exams access arrangements and more. Applicants will have previous experience of working with young people, either in an academic setting or as a voluntary worker. You will be educated to GCSE level (or equivalent) in English and maths.

An ideal position if you are considering a career in teaching. It will give you an opportunity to see different teaching and learning styles as well as experience and appreciate  wider school life. You will have the ability to attend  The de Ferrers Trust 'Teacher training seminars'.

Continuing Professional Development

The Trust believes that professional development is key to successful employees and offers excellent opportunities for you to grow and achieve.  We provide tailored Continuing Professional Development, mentoring, support and a range of development opportunities across the Trust.

Benefits Package

The de Ferrers Trust offers an excellent benefit package which includes:

• Cycle to Work Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Discounted Gym Membership
• BHSF Healthcare Scheme
• Eye Care Voucher Scheme

Applicants for positions are welcome to visit the Academy by contacting the Academy on 01283 216837.

How to Apply:

Start date: As soon as possible

You can apply directly to the Trust People Team via the Trust website www.deferrerstrust.com and email your application to careers@deferrerstrust.com. You must complete an application form to be considered. Due to safeguarding reasons we cannot accept C.Vs.

Please note: This is an open advert and will close once suitable candidates have been appointed. We do reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

Please ensure to regularly check your junk/spam folder for any correspondence in relation to the progress of your application. If you do not hear back after 5 working days from submitting your application, please consider your application unsuccessful. 

Due to the volume of applications we receive, it is not policy to give individual feedback at this stage.

If you would like to discuss the role, or have any other queries, please contact 01283 216837 and ask to speak to the Samantha McCauley, HR Officer.

We welcome a broad range of perspectives with a commitment to equality of opportunity by recruiting a diverse workforce, and creating an inclusive environment and a culture of belonging for everyone in The de Ferrers Trust. Therefore, we encourage applications from underrepresented communities irrespective of age, disability, race, religion and belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, marriage or civil partnership status, or neurodivergent status. We are happy to make reasonable adjustments wherever possible through the recruitment process should this be required. 

The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and this position is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure check under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

All applicants must be able to provide documentation to prove their right to work in the UK.