Teaching Assistant

About Us

We are an 'Outstanding' (Ofsted 2023) secondary academy, established in 2018 to provide an excellent education for children in Wimbledon.

Two years after opening, we moved into our brand-new building which is modern, bright and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities in every area of the curriculum. We are oversubscribed and fortunate to have an amazing level of support from the community with waiting lists for entry into every year group of our academy.

Our academy is an exceptional place to learn, providing an ambitious but happy and inclusive environment. We have high expectations of our students of all starting points and abilities. We know that our students will leave us academically successful, but we also want them to be well-rounded individuals with a highly developed social conscience, ready to lead in their communities and beyond. Our motto is 'make a difference' and our students and staff give nothing except their very best in pursuit of making a difference to their lives and the lives of others around them.

Three words are crucial to how we guide students to be able to 'make a difference': independence, integrity and resilience.

• Independence means we support students to develop their skills and attributes, so they have everything they need to succeed. We set challenging targets and raise aspirations so every single one of our students reaches their potential.
• Integrity means staff and students must be fair and truthful and have the courage to take the right action in every situation, even when no-one is looking.
• Resilience means we give students the tools to recover from difficulties. We show students how taking risks and making mistakes is all part of the learning journey. We also show students how hard work brings success, and support them to persevere with all challenges.

We are looking for a hardworking, ambitious and dynamic Teaching Assistant to join Harris Academy Wimbledon at this exciting time.

There is a great deal of collaborative working and sharing of good ideas about what works within secondary academies at Harris. The successful candidate will be joining a friendly and outward looking group where professional development and progression opportunities are second to none.

Summary

We are looking for a hardworking, ambitious and dynamic Teaching Assistant to join Harris Academy Wimbledon at this exciting time.

The working hours each week for this role will be 8am to 3pm on Monday, 8.30am to 4pm on Tuesday and 8.30am to 3pm from Wednesday to Friday. This equates to 34 hours per week and is a term-time only position.

Main Areas of Responsibility

As a teaching assistant at our academy, you will:

• Be responsible for a small group of students who are on the reading recovery programme to improve their reading ages
• Support in the school library as and when needed
• Establish good relationships with students, acting as a role model and being aware of and responding appropriately to individual needs
• Encourage students to interact with others and engage in activities led by the teacher
• Set challenging and demanding expectations, promoting self-esteem and independence
• Prepare and maintain equipment/resources as directed by the teacher and assist students in their use
• Undertake student record keeping as requested
• Attend relevant meetings as required
• Accompany teaching staff and students on visits, trips and off-site activities as required

Qualifications & Experience

We would like to hear from you if you have:

• Experience working with children of relevant age
• Experience of working with students with additional needs
• Experience of delivering literacy and reading/writing recovery programmes
• Understanding of the school curriculum.
• The ability to assess progress and performance.
• The ability to understand and support the importance of physical and emotional wellbeing
• The ability to maintain intervention records

Rewards & Benefits

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level.

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance for teachers on MPS/UPS, a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Pension Scheme with generous employer contributions, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, electric car scheme, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.

Safeguarding Notice

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Equal Opportunities

The Harris Federation is an equal opportunities employer and welcomes applications from all suitably qualified candidates.

We value the diversity of our staff and students, and everyone at the Harris Federation is equally valued and respected. We aim to be an inclusive employer that reflects the communities we serve. We are committed to providing a fair, equitable and mutually supportive learning and working environment.

Next Steps

If you have any questions about this opportunity, please send us an email, or call to arrange a conversation.

Before applying, please download the Job Pack for full details on the job responsibilities and person specification. This will be helpful for you when completing your application, and throughout the recruitment process.

We encourage you to apply as soon as possible as we may interview and offer to a candidate before the closing date. Please note that we only accept applications submitted before the closing date via our careers website.