Job Title: Early Years SEND Teaching Assistant – Start Small, Dream Big Location: Sunderland Salary: £89–£108 per day Contract: Full-time, Long-Term Start Date: September 2025 Is your skillset more bubbles and building blocks than worksheets and whiteboards? We’re working with a specialist early years setting in Sunderland that supports children with profound and multiple learning difficulties (PMLD), complex medical needs, and significant developmental delay. Many pupils here are pre-verbal, sensory-seeking, or just beginning to explore the world around them-and they need adults who can tune in, slow down, and celebrate every milestone. You won’t be delivering lessons in the traditional sense. Instead, you’ll be using play, sensory exploration, and communication aids to help young children engage, express themselves, and build trust. If you’re patient, practical, and ready to get hands-on (sometimes literally with paint, water, or shaving foam), this could be your perfect role. What the day might involve: Helping pupils access sensory play and early communication activities Supporting physiotherapy or movement routines led by specialists Assisting with feeding, toileting, and personal care needs Creating calm, secure environments that allow children to explore and connect You should bring: Experience in nursery, SEND, or PMLD settings A gentle, nurturing approach and excellent communication with non-verbal children Flexibility, creativity, and a good sense of humour (especially when messy play’s involved) Training like Thrive, PECS, or Makaton would be ideal—but we’ll support you with that too. Free Thrive CPD is available through Protocol to boost your confidence and toolkit. 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. Full assistance provided. For details of our privacy policy, please see visit the Protocol Education website.