Graduate Opportunity, Cover Supervisor & SEN Support Assistant
Location: Newham
Pay: £90–£110 per day
Full-time and part-time opportunities available
Start Date: Immediate and September starts available
Thinking about teaching, but not quite ready to dive straight into a PGCE?
This could be your perfect first step.
We’re looking for graduates who want to gain hands-on experience in schools as Cover Supervisors and SEN Support Assistants. Whether your degree is in Psychology, English, Sport, Drama, Maths, or something completely different, if you enjoy working with young people and want a role that genuinely makes a difference, we’d love to hear from you.
No two days are the same. One day you could be leading a classroom while a teacher is away, the next you might be supporting a pupil with SEND to help them thrive. It’s real school experience, the kind that gives you confidence, classroom skills, and a proper feel for what teaching is actually like.
Think of it as your “try before you train” moment.
What does the role involve?
As a Cover Supervisor:
Leading pre-planned lessons across different subjects
Keeping pupils engaged and learning on track
Building classroom confidence and behaviour management skills
Becoming that calm, capable adult every school needs by 8:15am ☕️
As SEN Support:
Working 1:1 or in small groups with pupils who need extra support
Helping children feel safe, understood, and included
Supporting learning, routines, and emotional wellbeing
Learning from experienced SEN teams and teachers
Why graduates love this role
Because it gives you the chance to:
✅ Build real classroom experience
✅ Develop confidence before teacher training
✅ Explore different schools and age groups
✅ Strengthen your CV for PGCE or teacher training applications
✅ Make a genuine impact every single day
And honestly? There’s nothing quite like the moment a student finally gets something because you helped them believe they could.
What we’re looking for
You don’t need teaching experience already. Just:
A degree or graduating this year
Confidence communicating with young people
A positive, can-do attitude
Reliability, resilience, and a sense of humour helps too
An interest in education, teaching, psychology, youth work, or SEN
Any previous experience working with children, tutoring, coaching, mentoring, or volunteering is a big bonus.
Why Protocol Education?
We’ll support you from day one, whether you’re testing the waters or fully set on becoming a teacher in the future.
You’ll get:
Weekly PAYE pay, no umbrella companies
FREE access to our CPD Academy
Ongoing training in behaviour, safeguarding, and SEND
Dedicated consultant support from people who genuinely get schools
Opportunities in mainstream and specialist settings
Flexible work to fit around your goals and schedule
Interested in SEN? Ask us about our FREE Thrive training too. Schools love it, and it’s a brilliant addition to your skillset.
Ready to step into the classroom?
If you’re looking for a role that’s meaningful, varied, and a proper introduction to teaching, this could be the start of something big.
All applicants will require the appropriate qualifications and training for this role. Please see the FAQs on the Protocol Education website for further details.
All pay rates quoted will be inclusive of 12.07% statutory holiday pay. This advert is for a temporary position. In some cases, the option to make this role permanent may become available at a later date.
Protocol Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We undertake safeguarding checks on all workers in accordance with the DfE statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, this may also include an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted applicants.
We offer FREE online safeguarding and Prevent Duty training to all our workers. All candidates must undertake or have undertaken a valid enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and subscribe to the DBS Update Service.
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