Are you ready for a dynamic role where every day brings new challenges and rewards? Do you have a passion for helping students thrive and reach their full potential? Thistley Hough Academy is seeking a dedicated and compassionate Teaching Assistant to join our supportive team.
Job Title: Teaching Assistant (EAL)
Location: Thistley Hough Academy, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire
Salary: Grade 5 points 6 – 11: £25, - £28, per annum (£22, - £24, actual salary).
Start Date: September
Contract Type: Full-time, fixed term until May
Working Pattern: 37 hours, term-time + 1 week (39 weeks total).
Application Closing Date: 7th June
Interview Date: Week commencing 8th June
Please note: We review applications as they are received. Successful candidates may be invited to interview before the advertised closing date, and the vacancy may close early if a suitable appointment is made. Early applications are strongly encouraged.
About You:
Thistley Hough Academy is seeking a supportive and empathetic Teaching Assistant for English as an Additional Language (EAL) to help create an inclusive learning environment where students who are developing their English skills can thrive. In this varied and rewarding role, you will work closely with teachers and the EAL team to support students both in the classroom and through targeted language interventions.
Each day will bring new opportunities to make a meaningful impact, using your initiative to help students build confidence in their English communication skills and access the wider curriculum. You will support small group and one-to-one language work, contribute to engaging and inclusive lessons, and help monitor students’ language development and progress. Building positive relationships with students, staff, and families will be central to the role. Strong communication, organisation, and a proactive attitude are essential, alongside a genuine passion for helping learners succeed academically, socially, and emotionally as they develop their English proficiency.
Our ideal candidate will have:
1. Good reading, writing, and maths skills, with GCSEs at grade C/4 or above (or equivalent).
2. The ability to build positive, professional relationships with children from a range of cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
3. Confidence working independently and as part of a team.
4. Clear, friendly communication skills when working with students, parents, and staff.
About the EAL Team:
The EAL Team at Thistley Hough Academy is a dedicated and inclusive group of professionals committed to supporting students who speak English as an additional language. The team works collaboratively to remove language barriers and ensure all students feel welcomed, valued, and able to fully access school life.
Drawing on a wide range of skills and experiences, the team provides both classroom-based and targeted language support, while also offering pastoral guidance to help students settle and succeed. A strong culture of collaboration, ongoing training, and professional development makes the team a supportive and rewarding environment in which to grow and make a lasting difference.
About Thistley Hough Academy:
Thistley Hough Academy is a vibrant, inclusive, and high-performing secondary school in Stoke-on-Trent. Proudly celebrating our best-ever GCSE results in, we are one of the city’s highest achieving non-selective schools.
Significantly oversubscribed, our success reflects expert teaching, high expectations, and a culture of kindness. Our core values, Respect, Resilience, and Responsibility are central to everything we do.
We offer a broad, ambitious curriculum in a disruption-free environment, supported by passionate staff and a strong sense of community. As part of the Creative Education Trust, we benefit from a collaborative network committed to excellence.
Recognised by Ofsted as a ‘Good’ school, we nurture the whole child, academically, socially, and emotionally, and build strong partnerships with families and the wider community. Join us in shaping a school where every child is empowered to reach their full potential. To find out more please visit our
About Creative Education Trust:
Creative Education Trust is a growing network of 17 schools, educating over 13, children and young people across England. Since, we’ve worked in partnership with communities to deliver an education that inspires ambition, promotes equity, and unlocks opportunity for every learner.
We believe every child has talent, every community has strength, and every school can be a place where excellence thrives. Our curriculum is rich, broad, and inclusive - designed to build knowledge, nurture creativity, and prepare students for the future.
We are united by a shared purpose: to transform lives through education. Our schools are places where students feel safe, supported, and empowered to lead their own lives with confidence. Through collaboration, high expectations, and purposeful leadership, we ensure that success is both expected and achieved - together.
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Essential Information:
Creative Education Trust (CET) is committed to Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people by keeping them safe, we expect all our colleagues to share in this responsibility.
All shortlisted candidates are subject to online checks prior to interview.
The CET Recruitment Policy follows the guidance set out by Keeping Children Safe in Education, where all offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS Check, separate Barred List Check, References and where appropriate a Prohibition from teaching search.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA).
CET is committed to developing, maintaining, and supporting an inclusive culture and environment for the benefit of its employees and the communities it serves.