Vacancies

Teaching Assistant

About the role

Teaching Assistant - Level 2
In order to meet the school’s current requirements, we are looking to recruit a Teaching Assistant on a fixed-term contract to expire on 31st August 2026, with scope to extend if required. The hours would be around 28 hours (term time only) working 5 days a week. Experience of working in EYFS settings is desirable but not essential.

The position would cover a variety of tasks including working in 1:1 and small group supporting roles with pupils who have different levels of need (including children with Education Health and Care Plans). There will also be scope to provide opportunities for pre-learning and over-learning of key vocabulary and concepts. You would also be supported to adopt a range of strategies to establish a purposeful learning environment, promote good behaviour, and provide targeted support to enhance learning and improve attainment.

You will need to share our commitment to support the school’s most vulnerable pupils. In return, you will be offered opportunities for shadowing existing staff and developing your own skills in this area.

These are exciting roles for individuals who relish the challenge of supporting all children to achieve.

• Do you have excellent interpersonal skills, including the ability to relate well to people on all levels, to resolve conflicts in a sensitive manner, to encourage and motivate?
• Do you have the ability work as a member of a team, to show initiative and imagination and to understand roles and responsibilities?

If so, then please complete an application for a Teaching Assistant role here at Cottenham Primary School. Visits to the school are encouraged and can be arranged for a mutually convenient time by emailing rmoore@cottenham.cambs.sch.uk . Equally, a member of our Inclusion Team would be happy to discuss these opportunities with you via Microsoft Teams or on the telephone. Please email: teales@cottenham.cambs.sch.uk to arrange this. Application forms can be downloaded from the school website at https://www.cottenhamprimary.co.uk/web/vacancies_at_cottenham/655749

Closing date for applications will be Wednesday 18th June 2025.
Interviews will take place week commencing 23rd June 2025.

At Cottenham Primary School, we are committed to providing the best possible education so that all our children thrive and achieve. We believe our children, families, staff and governors are of equal value and we respect and appreciate the diversity they bring to our school community. Through our policies and practice, we strive to foster positive relationships and a shared sense of belonging and we challenge any inequalities or barriers that exist. We welcome our duties under the Equality Act 2010 to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations.

What will you be doing?

Teaching Assistant – Job Description
The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Job Title: Teaching Assistant – Level 2

Line Manager: Assistant Headteacher/ SENCo Grade Level 2

Job Purpose
Support the classroom teacher to facilitate the active participation of children in the academic and social activities of the school. Contribute to raising standards of achievement for all pupils. Principal Accountabilities 1. Support for the children
· In conjunction with the class teacher, adapt lessons to meet the needs of individual children and small groups
· Take responsibility for delivering learning activities with small groups who would benefit from a different learning approach as agreed with class teacher
· Adopt a range of strategies, in line with the school’s Teaching and Learning Policy, and agreed with the class teacher, to help establish a purposeful learning environment and to promote good behaviour
· Establish and maintain supportive relationships with individual pupils, small groups and parents/carers to ensure they understand and can achieve the tasks
· Encourage and promote inclusion in the classroom, ensuring all pupils feel involved with tasks and activities 2. Support for the curriculum
· Support the school curriculum, including literacy and numeracy activities
· Provide targeted support to enhance learning and improve attainment 3. Support for the teacher
· Assist in maintaining class records and contribute to reports on pupil progress and development
· Monitor and track progress and provide feedback to assist in developing IEPs for children with special needs
· Contribute to the planning and evaluation of work programmes for individual pupils and groups
· Provide feedback on learning activities and contribute to school review and development planning
· Organise the learning environment and develop appropriate classroom resources as required
· Contribute to behaviour management within the class 4. Support for the school
· Develop and maintain effective working relationships with other staff and parents or carers
· Contribute to the maintenance of a safe and healthy environment
· Whenever possible, attend and actively participate in TA meetings
· Participate in and support the professional development of other teaching assistants, as required
· Provide support for school events, e.g. school plays, events

About us

Cambridgeshire is a great place to work and live with a diverse population, an urban centre in Cambridge, historic Isle of Ely, Huntingdon and St Ives as well as more rural landscapes.

Our four values are central to our culture, driving everything we do.

We are proud to serve the diverse communities of Cambridgeshire and want our workforce to be reflective of this diversity, which we firmly believe benefits our colleagues, the organisation and our communities. If you don’t meet every single requirement in the job role but think this could be you, please don’t be put off. We are committed to building a workplace that is compassionate and inclusive as well as diverse, so if you think you could be a good candidate for this role please consider applying and speak to the recruiting manager if you have any questions.

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy, along with our employee network 'IDEAL' and self-organised peer support groups help us to foster an inclusive, supportive and safe working environment where people feel valued, respected, and empowered. We collect relevant diversity data for monitoring as part of the recruitment process to understand the diversity of our applicants and monitor any trends throughout the recruitment processes so that we can take meaningful action.

We are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. We fully support providing reasonable adjustments throughout our recruitment process, as well as when you join us, and we encourage candidates to contact the Hiring Manager, whose details can be found in the advert, to discuss any adjustment needs. Some examples of adjustments could include additional time to complete an assessment or printing a document on pastel coloured paper with larger font size and line spacing. We would value talking about what might be possible to enable you to join us and thrive, so if there is something that would help you to do your best during your journey with us, please get in touch.

Visit our jobs and careers section to find out more about our wide range of learning and development opportunities; apprenticeships; our wellbeing package; staff benefits; our commitment to equality, diversity and Inclusion.

https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/council/jobs-and-careers