Specialist Teacher or provider of Specialist support
Each student comes on a bespoke package determined by their education budget holder, which may be a school, an LA or an individual parent. Contracts are either linked to specific students or to a subject area or skill set across multiple subjects and are valid term by term with plans and outcomes planned on a termly basis.
Specialists are important members of the team in two key ways. They support our student's aspirations and areas of interest, allowing them to develop a sense of mastery in areas they wish to study. This is supported by a carefully curated progression of work designed to provide the correct amount of challenge and stimulation and scaffolded to support the areas of least confidence or practical skill. Our students often have very spiky profiles and intense areas of interest and before they are willing to branch out into a broad and balanced curriculum as can be delivered in school, we are able to support specific areas of interest for development to build self-confidence and resilience.
Working alongside the learning mentors, planning and delivering lessons for small groups of between 1 and 4 students, carefully considering each child's profile, you will liaise with the Director of Education and the Setting Leads to move each student forward in their studies. Where there is a goal of examinations by a set date, this will be taken into consideration and your ongoing assessment should keep the team informed as to progress to that goal and preparation for exam entry.
The second key role for specialists is to support the development of a key skill across many areas of the curriculum. You may be asked to support the roll out of aspects of your specialty more widely across the setting. This may include cascade training learning mentors to support the students ongoing work in your area outside of your working times or helping to develop setting wide plans.
In addition to your Specialist Teacher role, this position includes acting as Setting Lead one day a week, where you will be the overall pastoral lead in our new setting. Your duties will include overseeing the general day-to-day running of the centre, communicating with parents, students and other contractors and professionals, while ensuring our ethos and child/young person-centred approach is embedded throughout our working.
Providers of specialist support include Speech and Language practitioners, Occupational Therapists etc. Their role is different but at a similar professional level to a specialist teacher, in that specific skill sets are being supported and similar professional skills employed to work with the students.
Further professional development is offered as a key part of this role. This includes significant training in supporting neurodivergent young people and recognizing and supporting a range of risk-raising experiences our students may have experienced. The focus, even within a specialist lesson is the support of the student above the delivery of content, but with a goal to maximize what the student can access by using appropriate teaching methods and recoding methods are part of your base planning, differentiating where necessary for each student in the group.
Pay is by hourly rate, negotiable depending on curriculum areas/ skill set offered by the candidate and experience level.
Main Responsibilities and Duties
*to offer a calm, welcoming and consistent presence in the learning space. The learning mentors will be helping the young person recognize and respond effectively to their emotional state to allow them develop self-regulation, but you will need to be able to respond to their lead if necessary.
* to lead the development of our students in your specialist area through planning, activities and observations. You may be asked to feed into team-based problem solving meetings for each child, and through liaison with a wider pool of professionals including teachers, Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists and Occupational therapists (among others) with the aim of identifying individual's challenges and providing practical support to find solutions.
* information will be shared as to each student's challenges and regulatory strategies. Many of these students have school/formal teaching traumas and so we ask for you to consider this in your teaching style. Our learning mentors are trained to support the child or young person to identify their own emotions and reactions and offer solutions through co-regulation techniques, moving towards self-regulation and the identification of appropriate strategies in different times and places. Sometimes you are working with a child without a learning mentor and we would ask that you adjust your style to support the information provided. Clear communication with the rest of the team if you have any questions or notice anything about the student or their learning is vital.
* to support the child's learning journey at an appropriate level of challenge. Where this level is will be discussed and agreed collaboratively with the team and lead ultimately by Ellie Hunt. You may be asked to support children with similar learning styles but at different levels of challenge, or the same level of challenge but different learning styles in a group, but you will have additional support to do this.
*to support the student's study skill development from their point of entry towards skills suited to their developmental stage and personal best efforts. For example, this might be moving from solely child led exploration to adult led tasks, or from single attention in a quiet space to shared attention or ability to join in group activities.
*to support the student's communication skills at an appropriate level of challenge. Depending on subject, this could be very specific around how to structure answers or understand what response a question needs, but it could also be around recording or methods of working to demonstrate process or outcome.
* to use the appropriate record keeping and communication tools to track and monitor progress.
Qualifications, skills and previous experience
Candidates who are successful in their applications will understand and respect the ethos of this setting and how it differs from other educational settings. Modelling the skills and qualities outlined in this document is an every-day part of this role. Wider skills, whether in teaching specific subjects or in personal skills from lived experience will be considered and each team member will bring a different combination to the setting, and all will be valued. Respecting the skills of others in the team and the contribution each person brings is an important cornerstone of our setting.
* Interpersonal skills are key to this role. Being an active and curious listener to the child's experience and being able to communicate this within the team to aid our understanding is important. This will include being confident and willing to communicate both formally and informally within the team and to wider professionals.
* Communication with a child or young person will be holistic in approach and not just verbal in basis. Receptive skills and an understanding of how communication may come from a range of sources is important, as is the ability to recognise and moderate your own expressive communication, including body language and vocal tone and model these skills within the setting.
* Personal self management and regulation skills are necessary in a successful applicant. The children we work with require their key team to be consistent in their approach and use of language. An ability to bring this consistency to the setting, to meet the daily challenges and non linear development of the student with unconditional positive regard is crucial to building the trusting relationships which underlie our ability to support a child on their learning journey. Within that consistency, punctuality and attendance are important.
* An understanding and respect for following procedures, policies and guidance from professional sources is vital.
Qualifications demonstrate our ability to present a skill on cue. As a specialist, it can be assumed you have a passion for and an ease with your subject/s. We would like you to bring your enjoyment of the subject to the students as well as the necessary skills to access the assessment progression for that subject. The desire to continue to develop skills useful to the needs of the children we work with, and to undertake mandatory training in key areas such as safeguarding are as important as your qualifications on application. Proof of qualifications declared is required as part of our safeguarding and recruitment duties.
* Specific qualification for your skills set which may include qualifications, practical experience in a field or wider teaching qualifications depending on the post.
* Mathematics and English to a level 4 GCSE (C equivalent) is required, unless there is a specific learning barrier to this being achieved that can be shared at application.
* Further professional development and qualifications including Pediatric First Aid and Safeguarding training are desirable but not essential.
* Ability to use or learn appropriate computer skills including familiarity with Microsoft Office is desirable
Wider professional development including Prevent training, FGM training and Food Hygiene are useful, but training will be given if a successful candidate
Job Types: Fixed term contract, Freelance
Pay: £18.50-£28.00 per hour
Work Location: In person