Study Skills Specialist (AS & SpLD) and Autism Mentor Contract Type: Permanent Term Time Only/Full Year: Term time only No of Hours per week: Freelance Location: Plymouth Salary: £35 per hour We are looking for a keen and dynamic new member of the team to provide Disabled Students Allowances Non-Medical Help (NMH) Specialist One-to-One Study Skills (AS) and Specialist Mentoring (AS). About us dBs Institute is on a relentless mission to empower creative people by providing the experience, education and opportunities needed to pursue a life in the creative industries. For 25 years we’ve been focused on providing an exceptional educational experience that equips you with the technical skills, theoretical knowledge, and entrepreneurial mindset needed to succeed in a constantly evolving industry. Our goal is to empower you to think critically, approach your work with curiosity, experiment, and take risks to push the boundaries of creative technology. We're big believers that innovation flourishes in a community that's diverse and collaborative. That's why we're dedicated to creating an environment that celebrates and supports a wide range of voices and perspectives. We encourage creativity and the sharing of ideas; a space where everyone is valued and treated with respect, where every member of our community has the opportunity to contribute their unique talents and ideas. At dBs Institute, we’re nurturing a new generation of creative professionals who will use their skills and passion to make a positive impact on the world. dBs Institute was acquired by ‘Access Creative College’ (ACC), formerly known as Access to Music, who were founded in 1992. dBs Instite as such are part of Access Education Group which boasts 32 campuses nationwide with over 5,000 students & apprentices across ACC, Access Sport and Access Industry. This allows for a perfect synergy in offering end-to-end post-16 education in the creative industries which allow us to continue making a real difference in the lives of our students. What we offer? Generous Holiday Allocation Wellbeing Benefits: Health Cash Plan, Doctorline GP Service, Employee Assistance Programme, Access to Counselling and Cycle to Work Staff Discounts & Benefits: access to Accolade, our benefits platform which offers discounts at over 800 retailers! Paid Leave: Enhanced Maternity, Paternity and Sick pay. About The Role The candidate will be required to address the issues which some students might have in acquiring, recalling and retaining information in written and spoken language as well as the range of memory, organisational, attention and other difficulties that students with ASD often face when working in an HE context. You will develop and assess the effectiveness of strategies that enable the participation of students in their studies and university experience and management of their individual difficulties. These difficulties may have been identified already but they may only become evident when a student faces the academic challenges of HE work. Your support should aim to develop students’ skills for autonomy in the learning environment. It should be tailored to a student’s individual needs and you will use your professionalism and experience to deliver support where clear goals and timescales are of paramount importance. Specialist mentoring (AS) You will provide highly specialist, specifically tailored, one-to-one support which helps students address the barriers to learning created by a particular impairment, in this case, autistic spectrum disorder. This could include a range of issues, for example, coping with anxiety and stress situations, how to deal with concentration difficulties, time management, prioritising workload and creating a suitable work-life balance. You should not act as advocates or counsellors. Your role is to help students recognise the barriers to learning created by their impairment and support them in developing strategies to address these barriers, particularly at times of transition, e.g. when starting at university or when planning to move on from it. For some students, this support will need to be ongoing while for others it might be gradually phased out or only be required at certain points of their course. The role is freelance and hours will be dictated by student needs. This role could work alongside a similar role elsewhere that an applicant may already be working in. About you Essential Experience Experienced and qualified as a DSA-funded Non-Medical Helper for Specific Learning Difficulties (SS-SpLD), Autistic Spectrum Condition Mentor and Autism Study Skills (SM-ASC and SS-ASC) (DSA mandatory criteria 2023, Pages 9-12 Planning, implementing and monitoring the efficacy of sessions for individualised learning needs Confident in providing the pastoral care that comes with the above roles Working with assistive tech to assist with learning Excellent communication skills Excellent administration and record-keeping skills Highly proactive Able to advocate for students clearly and confidently Knowledge of how and when to signpost to others Good working knowledge of adult and child safeguarding GDPR aware Desirable The teaching of group study skills in HE Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team Experience working with students on creative courses A full job description and person specification is available for download alongside our full benefits booklet. Diversity and open expression are fundamental to creativity. We are committed to promoting a culture of diversity and inclusivity for all our employees and potential employees. DBS Checks: Enhanced DBS clearance will be required.