Brookfields Specialist SEN School
England
Salary:
Actual salary £20,730 including SEN point (£1539 pa pro rata)
Job type:
Part Time, Permanent
Apply by:
24 December 2025
Job overview
We currently have vacancies for Teaching Assistants that we are actively looking to fill.
Closing date: Periodically throughout the year
Interview date: By arrangement
Start date: Ongoing
Salary: Actual salary £20,730 including SEN point (£1539 pa pro rata)
Hours: 33.75 hours per week, term time only + INSET days
Job description for Teaching Assistants
Application form for Teaching Assistants
We are looking to recruit enthusiastic, creative and hard-working people to our staff team. Experience within a school environment could be an advantage but is not essential, as high-quality induction and ongoing training will be provided.
You will:
* want to work with children
* have a commitment to excellence
* be flexible, reliable and positive
* be a good communicator
* be an outstanding team player
* be someone who can make a real difference
We offer:
* Training: A full induction and on the job training with a commitment to supporting and coaching you towards excellent practice
* Wellbeing: a host of wellbeing tools and advice including employee assistance with a supportive whole staff team and governing body
* A generous site in a well-established community location close to the River Thames and the beautiful surrounding countryside
* An exciting and challenging role
* A fantastic pupil population with supportive parents and families
* A highly professional staff team
* On-site parking
* A generous Local Government Pension Scheme
Please submit your completed application form to .w-
If you think you have the skills and experience, we invite you to submit an application. Please bear in mind that your application should explain fully your suitability for the role as detailed in the job description. It should also be tailored to meet the Person Specification in terms of your knowledge, experience, skills, qualities and qualifications.
"Brookfields is a remarkably friendly and welcoming school. Staff are highly skilled. They know pupils exceptionally well. Staff understand pupils' needs precisely. Pupils told us that they really like their school and described it as 'the best'. They feel happy and safe here because they know that adults care about them" (Ofsted 2019).
Part of the Ascendancy Partnership Trust family of schools, Brookfields School is an oversubscribed, thriving, vibrant and happy place of learning. We have c224 pupils on roll aged from 4 to 19 who have the primary need of a learning difficulty (MLD, SLD, PMLD). Some pupils have additional needs such as ASD, ADHD, VI, HI, PD, MSI, SLCN. We provide a personalised education and learning journey for all pupils where entitlement, opportunity and challenge are championed. We value and harness everyone's contribution in our pursuit of excellence in all aspects of our work.
Brookfields School offers a tailored and individual education that meets every child's needs. The current Headteacher and Senior Leadership Team are supported by dedicated staff that include a highly effective extended leadership team, teachers and assistants, knowledgeable administrative staff, an efficient premises team and a committed network of governors. Professional growth and career development for all are integral to our vision and values. Diversity is a real strength and all staff support an open and inclusive ethos in a school which has a real understanding of the challenges many of our families face.
As part of any recruitment process, Brookfields School collects and processes personal data relating to job applicants. The school is committed to being transparent about how it collects and uses that data and to meeting its data protection obligations.
All roles advertised have been identified as public facing in accordance with Part 7 of the Immigration Act 2016, and therefore the ability to converse at ease with pupils/members of the public and provide advice/instruction in accurate spoken English is essential for the post.
The school is committed to safeguarding children and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We are committed to securing equality of opportunity in all aspects of our activities as an employer and education provider.
All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks along with other relevant employment checks.
We are committed to securing genuine equality of opportunity in all aspects of our activities as an employer and education provider.
If you have a disability or disadvantage and would like extra support through the recruitment process, please contact us, and we will try to put you in touch with an external agency or organisation that could help.
Please refer to our Privacy Notices section to download our privacy notice for job applicants.
About Brookfields Specialist SEN School
Brookfields Specialist SEN School
Sage Road, Tilehurst, Reading
Berkshire
RG31 6SW
United Kingdom
About Brookfields Specialist SEN School
Brookfields is a special school, part of the Ascendency Partnership Trust with 224 pupils on roll. All pupils have a statement of special educational needs or an Education, Health and Care plan and are placed in the school by either the local authority or one of the neighbouring authorities. As the school is located in the East of West Berkshire we have a large number of Reading pupils on roll. The school caters for pupils from 2 to 19 years old with PMLD, SLD, MLD, ASD and Sensory Impairment covering a wide range of needs and abilities.
The school's previous 3 OFSTED ratings have been Outstanding, the last taking place in 2019. Brookfields was also the winner of Reading 'School of the Year' Award in October 2014 having been nominated by a parent.
Brookfields has 3 main buildings catering for the Primary School, Secondary School and a newer purpose built KS4/5 building. The school is situated in large grounds with areas designated for Horticulture, including 2 working allotments; one for the whole school and one for Early Years, an orchard with chickens, a wildlife area with a pond, a quiet Sensory Garden with a fountain and plants selected specifically for their sensory qualities and a Multi-Use Games Area. The school also has a hydrotherapy pool on site, a Splash Pool and 2 Sensory Rooms, one with an integrated soft play area and a dark room with specialist sensory equipment.
Pupils in the Upper School take part in overnight activities including D of E Bronze, Silver and Gold, Sports Leadership and team building activities.
Brookfields is a Total Communication Environment. All staff are trained in and use daily the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), other visual support such as Objects of Reference, photos, individual timetables and Makaton signing to support understanding. Small classes and a high level of staff support mean that pupils' individual communication can be observed and acted upon. Individual pupil motivators are used to increase engagement and all staff follow a comprehensive training programme on joining the school.
Staffing is organised within each Strand by pupil need and is largely determined by the agreed weighting given to each pupil by the authority and school. This means if a pupil is deemed to be operating at ASD4 they will attract more funding than a pupil deemed to be ASD1. These weightings are agreed by the school and authority, based on the needs of the pupil as assessed through the statementing /EHCP process. Some pupils may have an allocated member of staff working with them on a 1:1 basis or more rarely, a 2:1 basis, when behavioural needs, medical issues or sensory impairment mean this high level of support is required for the individual to access their curriculum.
Each class has a teacher or full time equivalent and a Learning Support Assistant within the class. There may then be up to 3 additional assistants within each class to enable pupils to access the educational opportunities at their own pace. Work takes place on one to one, small group and whole class basis and Strands come together regularly in an Assembly, depending on the individual's needs. Staff within each Strand are trained in Rebound Therapy enabling pupils to access trampolining as an option in PE as well as use of the hydrotherapy swimming pool or swimming facilities locally on a regular basis. The school also make good use of Thames Valley Adventure Playground, the local woods, farm and playground areas and access many other educational visits using the school minibuses.
We have access to Speech and Language Therapist (SaLT), physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist and Sensory Processing Consultant. The therapists provide on-going support as required to the staff teams and families Our Sensory Processing Consultant (SPC) advises on how to support pupils to access the curriculum and environment, providing equipment and programmes to enable sensory modulation and self-regulation.
We have PDBA (Personal Development, Behaviour and Attitudes) team on site available to help staff and families in supporting their child. The referrals are usually around toileting, sleep, diet or challenging behaviour.
A Family Support Worker is available out of hours to support families in the home or out and about in the local community working on programmes drawn up in conjunction with professionals from within school often to do with eating difficulties, toileting or behaviour. We also have a Family Support Worker who is able to signpost families to other sources of support or to provide that emotional or practical support herself. We have a part-time school nurse and access the community nursing team as required, to help offer further input in the home. The Nurse provides regular training to all staff on the use of medication including but not exclusively epilepsy medication and the use of the Epi-pen and all staff are required to attend yearly refreshers that are pupil specific.
A team of PROACT SCIPr-UK Instructors train staff in management of behaviour and are available to work individually with pupils if required. All staff have a minimum of 6 hours training on Positive Approaches to Behaviour Management each year and incidents of challenging behaviour are well managed. Behaviour and Safety was rated as Outstanding at our last inspection. We currently have 3 Emotional Literacy Support Assistants, who work across the school providing pupils with tools to overcome minor problems and working with them in conjunction with their teachers to overcome greater challenges which supports our philosophy of helping pupils manage their own behaviour evident throughout the school.
Parents /Guardians are invited to attend Progress Meetings across the year to discuss how their child has settled and the progress they are making. They are also invited to the Annual Review of their child's EHCP and other meetings such as medicals and Joint Assessment Clinics held throughout the year at school. Parents /Guardians are invited to assemblies, productions, Sports Day and coffee mornings as well as Stay and Play sessions in Early Years. We hold regular Parent / Guardian courses; Families Matter, Communication and Understanding and Managing Behaviour.
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