SPECIAL SUPPORT ASSISTANT

Location

St Matthew's Church Of England Primary Academy, New Hall Lane, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 5XB (460 on roll)

Tel: 01772 794482
School website: www.st-matthewscofe.lancs.sch.uk

Summary

We are seeking to appoint a Special Support Assistant to work with our wonderful children. All of the children at St Matthew's are special, with some needing additional, personalised support to help them to flourish. If you're the sort of person who can provide that level of support, and you're committed to ensuring the very best for our children and you share our vision of happy, successful and confident learners then we'd love to hear from you.

We serve a richly diverse, multicultural, multifaith and multilingual community. In our SIAMS inspection (June 2021) St Matthew's was described as "a place of hope and compassion", can you join us in providing hope to our community and be compassionate to those in need? Our vision leads us to ensure each member of our community can "Be blessed by God, be happy and aspire to be..." Are you the person we are looking for to join us in delivering this for our community?

St Matthew's has been serving the local community for 150 years. Our pastoral care for our families is described as “exceptional”. We are very pleased and humbled that our care for our children and families is recognised and we expect all who seek to work with us to share this dedication.

The successful candidate will:

Have GCSE English and Maths (or equivalent) at grade C or above.

Care passionately for all our children, no matter what their barriers are, or the challenges they bring into school

Build professional relationships with children, staff, parents and outside agencies

Have some knowledge and experience of safeguarding, behaviour support and pastoral support

Lead groups and work with and support children for whom English is not their first language

Liaise with teachers to support pupils and raise achievement

We can offer:

A warm, friendly school, where children are at the heart of everything we do

Delightful and polite children who are keen to learn

Hardworking, caring and committed staff who all work to make a real difference for our children

Supportive parents

Opportunities to develop professionally

Local Government Pension Scheme.

Access to health and wellbeing support for you and your family

Employment within a Trust committed to equality of opportunity and nationally and locally negotiated pay arrangements.

Terms and conditions protected through a formal trade union recognition agreement with all the major education and support staff unions, and supported through regular JCNC meetings.

Access to employee benefits & rewards through Perkbox

Cycle to work scheme

Please ensure that you refer to the job description and person specification as only those candidates that meet the criteria will be considered for shortlisting.

Please note that in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education 2025, an online search will be carried out as part of our due diligence on shortlisted candidates.

This position is part time, term time only, please note the salary quoted is full time equivalent. If successful, the salary received will be paid on a pro –rata basis.

Please note CVs are not accepted, to apply for this vacancy you need to complete the application form attached.

. To apply for this vacancy you need to complete the online Eteach application form. If successful, pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS clearance will be undertaken.

If you wish to discuss this role further, please contact Mr Mark Mackley (Headteacher).

Essential Qualifications

Please see link - https://www.eteach.com/careers/st-matthewscofe-lancs/job/special-support-assistant-1508700

Desirable Qualifications

Please see link - https://www.eteach.com/careers/st-matthewscofe-lancs/job/special-support-assistant-1508700

Essential Experience

Please see link - https://www.eteach.com/careers/st-matthewscofe-lancs/job/special-support-assistant-1508700

Desirable Experience

Please see link - https://www.eteach.com/careers/st-matthewscofe-lancs/job/special-support-assistant-1508700

Proposed Interview Date:

17/10/2025 

Equal Opportunities statement

An Equal Opportunities Employer welcoming applications from all sections of the community

Rehabilitation

Rehabilitation The post you are applying for is covered by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). If successful you will be required to apply to the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for a 'disclosure'. Information provided by you or the Disclosure and Barring Service will be dealt with in a confidential manner in accordance with the DBS's Code of Practice. You may view the Code of Practice on the DBS website at www.gov.uk/dbs or alternatively a copy is available on request. Lancashire County Council has a Handling of DBS Certificate Information Policy and a Policy Statement on the Recruitment of Ex-offenders this is available from the recruiting manager to applicants who are asked to complete a DBS application.

 

Please note that we can only consider applications from candidates who are legally entitled to work in the UK.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.