Senior Teaching Aide

Salary

Grade 5\6, spine points 21.1 – 28, For Uxbridge = Outer London £25,347.18 - £28,916.37 (FTE £32,064 - £36,579)

Location

Uxbridge

Working Pattern

36 hours per week, Term Time only (36 working weeks), 8.45 am – 4.30 pm Monday to Thursday and 8.45 am to 4.15 pm on Friday

Orchard Hill College is an Outstanding Specialist College (Ofsted, November 2019) offering life-changing learning opportunities to young people and adults with a range of special education needs and/or disabilities. We have nine vibrant community based College Centres across London and Surrey where committed, specialist teams deliver a range of programmes to meet the needs of over 400 students.

Students who study with us have a wide range of needs including profound and multiple learning disabilities, communication and behavioural difficulties and specific medical needs. All students are individual and their learning programme is designed to support and empower them to achieve their aspirations and goals, whilst developing skills to become more independent members of their community.

We are looking for a Senior Teaching Aide (STA) to join our busy team, where our committed workforce is dedicated to empowering and enabling students to achieve. As STA you will support the Lecturer to plan lessons, providing and delivering excellent support for teaching and learning activities for individuals and groups. You will be required to deputise for the Lecturer, which will involve preparing, planning and implementing a range of educational activities. You will also be required to ensure that an effective level of support and care is on offer to encourage and enable students to participate fully in activities.

Key Responsibilities

(see Job Description for full list)

• To engage with students during lesson and break times, promoting their independence

and communication as directed by the class Lecturer. (Listed here)

• To support the lecturer to plan lessons, providing and delivering excellent support for

teaching and learning activities for individuals and groups. (Listed here)

To deputise for the lecturer, and in their absence plan and deliver learning activities.

• To prepare and deliver lessons up to 350 hours per year of acting up to cover lecturers’ non-contact and/or running of programmes, ensuring high quality of provision. Including assessing, recording and reporting on development, progress and attainment linked to individual EHCP’s.
• Demonstrate commitment to collaborative and cooperative working by effectively managing Learning Support Assistants in the absence of the lecturer / when running a session.

Key Requirements

(see Person Specification for full list)

• You must hold level 2 Maths and English qualifications or be willing to enrol on our internal functional skills course within your first year of employment and complete the course within 2 years.
• Experience of working with or caring for children or adults who have barriers to learning and/or special educational needs
• Proficient use of

ICT such as

some Microsoft Office Packages and basic understanding of tablet use (iPads). (Qualifications/Experience Listed here)

• Able to communicate (receive and transmit) with students and staff using a variety of media, spoken, sign, written, gestural and intuitive.
• Able to take responsibility for individual and small groups of students, with a range of needs, including behaviours of concern, in different settings.

Orchard Hill College is an exciting, forward-thinking organisation, and we offer many benefits to attract and keep our staff, contributing towards maintaining and improving wellbeing, and encouraging our required behaviours, achievements, values, and skills. Below is just a selection of the benefits available to our employees:

Rewards & Benefits

• Pathways for progression within the trust, ensuring you can grow and thrive in a supportive and inclusive environment.
• Pension Scheme - you will be enrolled in either the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) or the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), both offering life cover and financial protection for your family.
• Salary Sacrifice Schemes (Cycle Scheme, Employee Car Lease Scheme and Home Electronics Scheme)
• Employee Wellbeing - We support employee wellbeing with access to counselling, mental health support, generous leave, flexible working, and enhanced parental leave including Employee Assistance Programme, MyGym Discounts, Corporate Eyecare Scheme
• Employee Discounts (Blue Light Card, Costco Membership, Discounts for Teachers, and more)
• Other (Season Ticket Loan and Employee Referral Scheme)

Our Trust

The College is an Academy sponsor and established Orchard Hill College Academy Trust in 2013 which is home to 13 special schools. Together Orchard Hill College & Academy Trust provide for over 1500 pupils and students with SEN across London, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire. To find out more about us, and what makes us a special place to work please visit our vacancies page.

Working together to transform lives is what we do and across the whole organisation we have a range of experts and practitioners who advocate for children and young people with SEND to ensure they receive the best possible opportunities to achieve their full potential.

As a large specialist education provider we employ over 1500 people across our schools, college and central support team. There is a wide range of job roles available, ranging from teaching and therapy to business support roles and significant career progression opportunities.

It is an exciting time to be part of OHC and we are keen to recruit talented people who can play a key role in realising our mission and who want to make a difference. In return, we offer training and development, competitive pay and benefits in a positive and inclusive working environment.

We are committed to promoting and advancing equality of opportunity by attracting and retaining the most diverse range of students, staff and partners.

If you wish to discuss this opportunity before or after submitting an application form, please get in touch with the college directly. Visits to the College in advance of applications are encouraged.

Your application form will be scored according to each of the requirements laid out in the person specification for this role. Please demonstrate in your statement how your experience, skills and knowledge match the criteria that are required for the role.

Please read the full job description and person specification for further details on the role and the skills, experience and knowledge we are looking for.

For an informal discussion about the role, candidates are invited to contact David Pells To apply for this role, please click ‘Fast Apply’, you will then be directed to a ‘Login’ page, once signed in, please complete and submit the Application Form.Please note your application will be scored against each of the criteria listed in the person specification. Please ensure you demonstrate in your application how your experience, skills and knowledge meet the criteria that are required for the role.

Please note that CV applications cannot be considered.

Closing date

8th June 2026

Interview date

week of 15th June 2026