Teaching Assistant (Shuttleworth)

Location: Shuttleworth College - Old Warden

Benefits: People’s pension, Retail and Leisure Discounts, excellent professional and personal development opportunities, accessing college courses.

Contract Type: Permanent - Term Time

About the role:

Are you looking for a fulfilling career supporting students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities within a vibrant college environment?

Then come and join our friendly and supportive team, feel inspired by our students and support them to achieve their dreams and aspirations.

As a Teaching Assistant you will be supporting students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities accessing courses across the college from level one to level three. It is an exciting role where no two days are the same! One day you may be notetaking within a level three equine lesson, the next providing prompts and reassurance to a student within a field as they herd alpacas.

As a Teaching Assistant within the team, you will be well supported and have excellent staff development opportunities to continually update and develop your own professional practice.

Whilst we value qualifications and experience, we are keen to attract staff who share our passion and place the student at the heart of what they do, who have a caring nature but wish to support and promote opportunities to enable students to develop their independence. We are a student-centred team who are passion in supporting students to reach their full potential and achieve their aspirations, we are looking for staff who share our passion.

If you are interested in supporting students to gain the most from their college experience and wish to contribute to their development as individuals, we would love to hear from you!

About you:

• Be educated to Level 2 in Maths and English
• Hold a relevant Level 3 qualification or willingness to work towards
• Have working knowledge of Special Educational Needs and Disabilities
• Have experience of providing support to young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities in an educational or care setting
• Possess the ability to contribute to a high-quality learning experience and welcoming environment for all students
• Possess the ability to make a positive contribution to the team, valuing colleagues’ particular professional expertise and respecting other members of the team as individuals
• Be willing to work on all sites if necessary
• Possess the ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships and personal boundaries with children and young people

Interviews to be held: 06 February 2025

Successful candidates must also be able to demonstrate alignment to our organisational VISION values:

• Valuing Teamwork - We are one team who by working together can achieve great things, respecting the opinion and valuing the contribution each of us makes.
• Improving Continuously - We challenge ourselves to always do better by trying new things, sharing knowledge, reflecting on practice and learning from others.
• Student Centred - At our heart is always doing what is best for our students. We consider students in all of our decision making to create positive outcomes and memorable experiences for every student.
• Inclusive - We celebrate differences and diversity, recognising that we can learn from each other.
• Open and Caring - We care about the wellbeing of our staff, our students, our community and wider society, creating an environment built on trust where we listen, engage with and support each other.
• Nurturing Education Excellence - We promote educational excellence by delivering programmes that challenge our students to achieve their ambitions.

About Shuttleworth College

Shuttleworth College is set within the stunning location of Old Warden Park, near Biggleswade.  It's a specialist land-based college, offering agricultural and environmental education, alongside animal sciences, equine studies and outdoor adventure all delivered within acres of parkland, farmland, lakes and woodland.

About The Bedford College Group

The Bedford College Group was formed in 2017 following the merger of Bedford College and Tresham College and is now the largest provider of education in the South East Midlands, with over 15,000 students passing through our doors each year.

Today, the Group is made up of a family of colleges across Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire: Bedford College, Central Bedfordshire College and Tresham College in the towns of Bedford, Dunstable, Leighton Buzzard, Corby, Kettering and Wellingborough; Shuttleworth College, a specialist land-based college; The Bedford Sixth Form, (the only dedicated sixth form in Bedford); The Corby Sixth Form, (opened in September 2023); and the National College for Motorsport alongside Silverstone race circuit. To widen accessibility to education and training, the Group also has community-based Learning Centres in Bedford, Corby and Kettering which offer IT training.

Safeguarding our Students

The Bedford College Group 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 subject to thorough vetting process which includes, an enhanced DBS check and satisfactory references.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. 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. The Bedford College Group's policy on Employment of Ex-Offenders is attached to this vacancy.
Candidates who are barred from working with children are reminded it is a criminal offence to apply for this post.

Job Description:

Teaching Assistant Feb 2023.doc

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