Dorset Council
TEACHING ASSISTANT - Westfield Arts College
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Westfield Arts College
Teaching Assistant
XS 10.4 Dorset Grade 6 SCP 6
31.65 hours per week – Monday to Friday (8.40 – 3.30)
Fixed Term - Term Time Only
We are looking for a highly motivated, enthusiastic Teaching Assistant to join our friendly team and support children and young people with a range of special educational needs and disabilities. All our teaching assistants are expected to be flexible and able to work across the school as required. Supporting the personal care and health needs of our children and young people is an equally important part of the role.
The right person will
- Be passionate about helping young people develop confidence, independence and self-esteem.
- Have some experience and/or training to support children of all ages with special educational needs and disabilities.
- Use therapeutic approaches to understand and support behaviour, fostering resilience and personal development.
- Have good literacy and numeracy skills.
- Demonstrate excellent communication and relational skills with children, young people, families and colleagues.
- Be creative, reflective adaptable and draw on a range of skills to meet diverse needs.
- Be committed to ongoing professional development and to contributing positively to Westfield’s ambitious Broadening Horizons curriculum.
Why Join Us?
- A highly supportive and collaborative staff team that values therapeutic practice and emotional wellbeing.
- Ongoing training and development in Therapeutic Thinking, communication approaches and SEND pedagogy.
- Excellent facilities, beautiful grounds and welcoming learning environment.
- A school community that celebrates progress in all its forms – academic, social and emotional.
- A real opportunity to make a lasting difference to the lives of extraordinary young people.
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About Us
Westfield is a highly regarded 4-19, 230 pupil Dorset special school. All pupils have significant learning difficulties, some with additional complex needs. The successful candidate will be joining a vibrant and successful school. They will also receive the full support of an exceptionally committed and skilful staff team. Ofsted judged us as outstanding in February 2023.
Westfield is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. The successful candidate will be required to have an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check in line with the Government’s safer recruitment guidelines. We value the diversity of our workforce and welcome applications from all sections of the community.
Further information about Westfield can be found at www.westfield.dorset.sch.uk.
Closing Date: 31 August 2026
Interviews: 17 September 2026
Contact:
Julie Rook, Admin Officer (HR)
[email protected]
The pro rata salary shown is based on the number of hours and weeks worked and includes appropriate paid annual leave and bank holiday entitlements.
The salary quoted is the annual salary for the position at the time of advert. The salary will be paid in equal monthly instalments and will be adjusted at the start of employment and again if leaving part way through the school year to ensure the correct salary is received for the work completed in an academic year.
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This role is UK based and your Right to Work will need to be established as part of the appointment process.
This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (ROA) 1974. The amendments to the ROA 1974 (Exceptions Order 1975, (2013 and 2020)) provide that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected’, so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. The MOJ’s guidance on the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the Exceptions Order 1975, provides information about which convictions must be declared during job applications and related exceptions and further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS filtering guide.
Keeping Children Safe in Education
The school will conduct online searches of shortlisted candidates. This check will be part of a safeguarding check, and the search will purely be based on whether an individual is suitable to work with children. All aspects of social media and internet searches will be conducted. As care must be taken to avoid unconscious bias and any risk of discrimination, a person who will not be on the appointment panel will conduct the searches and will only share information if and when findings are relevant and of concern.
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