Pay: £21,800.00-£22,500.00 per year
Job Description:
Sports Specialist Needed
(To become a 1:1 SEN Teaching Assistant)
Looking for a role that actually makes a difference?
Want to be the one person a child trusts, listens to, and looks up to?
Ever thought about bringing your sports background into a school setting?
Classroom Recruiters are looking for a Sports Specialist to work 1:1 with a child who struggles in a mainstream environment, supporting them throughout the school day and helping them re-engage with learning.
The Basics
Location: Burton on Trent
Age Range: Varies
Pay: £21,800 - £22500 (equivalent)
Contract: The rest of the academic year (with a permanent contract on offer)
Hours: Full-time, 08:15–16:15, Monday to Friday (Part time available 3 days minimum)
Start Date: ASAP (flexible)
Availability: Full-time or part-time
Background: Sports-related qualifications or experience (coaching is a big bonus)
About the Role
This role is about far more than academics.
You’ll be working 1:1 with a child who needs a positive role model — someone consistent, patient, and encouraging. Your job is to build trust, form a strong relationship, and help him feel safe enough to re-engage with school.
Progress won’t happen overnight. This is a long-term project. It takes patience, humour, resilience, and the ability to stay calm on tough days. But when it clicks, it really clicks.
Sports specialists often excel in this role. The energy, creativity, and mindset you bring from sport are exactly what’s needed to motivate children who find school challenging.
What You’ll Be Doing
You’ll be the key adult in this child’s school life. Supporting him daily, encouraging positive behaviour, adapting activities around his interests, and helping him grow in confidence. You’ll work closely with teachers, senior leaders, and parents, with the Headteacher personally involved in tracking progress.
Your sports background will help you create engaging, confidence-building activities that promote teamwork, resilience, and self-belief — both in and out of the classroom.
Why We Love Sports Backgrounds
We’ve seen fantastic results placing people from sports backgrounds into SEN support roles. You bring a different perspective. You bring energy. You bring consistency. And most importantly, you bring belief.
Whether you’ve coached, mentored, or led teams, you already have the skills this role needs — patience, motivation, adaptability, and the ability to stick with someone through the hard days as well as the good ones.
If you’ve got a good sense of humour, a calm head under pressure, and the commitment to really get to know one child properly, this could be a brilliant fit.
Next Steps
The Headteacher is keen to meet candidates quickly. You’ll have the chance to visit the school, meet the class teacher, and fully understand the role before committing.
This isn’t just a job.
It’s a chance to be the mentor who makes the difference.
If you want a role where every day counts, click APPLY today and speak to Classroom Recruiters.
Job Types: Full-time, Permanent, Temp to perm
Application question(s):
* Are you aware that this is to work 1:1 with a child in the classroom?
* Can you work 08:15 till 16:15 for 3 - 5 days a week?
Experience:
* Sports: 1 year (preferred)
* working with children: 1 year (preferred)
Work Location: In person