Communication Support Worker

Allestree Woodlands School, Derby, Derbyshire, DE22 2LW

21 days remaining to apply

• Closing date

  14 September 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  24 August 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teaching assistant
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full time equivalent salary: £21,511.00 - £23,335.00 Annually (Actual) Grade 4: 21,511 - £23,335 actual salary per annum. (£28,598 - £31,022 FTE)

Communication Support Worker job summary

Communication Support Worker

Grade and Salary: Grade 4: £21,511 - £23,335 actual salary per annum (£28,598 - £31,022 FTE)

Working pattern: 32.5 hours per week / 39 weeks per year

Contract term: Permanent

The School:

Allestree Woodlands School offers a broad curriculum at all key stages and has a thriving Sixth Form. We pride ourselves on the warm and friendly atmosphere of our school. We strive for the best achievements for our students and passionately believe that every young person deserves the chance to be successful.

The role:

Allestree Woodlands School are looking to appoint a Communications Support Worker to assist the Lead Teacher of the Enhanced Resource Facility in supporting deaf and hard of hearing students. The Enhanced Resource Facility caters to students who have a wide range of communication needs including those who use Sign Supported English and British Sign Language. The role will include supporting students in communication, the curriculum and with language.

The person:

This post requires a person who is sensitive to the needs of deaf and hard of hearing students within a secondary school setting, who are also developing into young adults. The successful candidate will have the ability to establish good working relationships with the students and a large number of staff as much of the support is based on liaison with people and sensitive handling of the necessary in-class support appropriate for the students. You will need to give the students as much independence as possible but be aware of when support is required.

The ideal candidate will have a minimum of Level 2 BSL qualification, but preferably Level 3 or above, and knowledge of working with deaf and hard of hearing students in a school setting would be beneficial.

Why join us?

There are many reasons to choose The Two Counties Trust as a great place to start or continue your career.

We recognise the importance of a happy, healthy, rewarded and well-motivated workforce and as such we have developed our HR strategy to invest in our employees. We have removed appraisal and appraisal related pay progression, changing the focus from validation to professional growth and enabling all our employees to get better all the time.

We are fully committed to supporting your career and professional growth through a range of routes both within schools and across the Trust and we offer extensive professional learning opportunities for all employees.

We offer:

Highly competitive pay and pay progression opportunities.

An array of employee benefits and lifestyle options including discounted healthcare, gym membership, and extensive high street retail discounts.

Entry to attractive career average pension schemes.

Opportunities to experience and share practice in our partner schools across the Trust.

A stimulating, supportive and rewarding working environment with a dedicated team of like-minded professionals and wonderful students.

Excellent opportunities to develop your skills and experience and to progress your career.

A range of support mechanisms and benefits to employees. The Trust has signed up to the Education Staff Wellbeing Charter, and we take the wellbeing and health of employees seriously.

Applications must arrive by: Monday 14 September 2026 at 9.00am

Interviews will be held on: Week commencing 14 September 2026

It is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from engaging in Regulated Activity relevant to children.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. An offer of employment will be subject to the receipt of a satisfactory enhanced level DBS disclosure with a children’s barred list check, two satisfactory references and successful completion of vetting procedures.

In accordance with the statutory guidance Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE), an online search will be conducted as part of due diligence on shortlisted candidates and a social media check will be required as a condition of employment.

We are committed to recruiting and retaining a diverse workforce and candidates with a disability who meet the essential job criteria will be given an opportunity to demonstrate their abilities at interview.

Further information about the job

The candidate will be required to undergo a full enhanced DBS check and must be eligible to work in the UK.

Visas cannot be sponsored.

If you're interested in teaching or training to teach in England as an international citizen, we can help you understand your next steps.

Commitment to safeguarding

At AWS we are fully committed to safeguarding our students and staff. We take notice of and adhere to all the national and local policies and guidance in regard to Safeguarding Children and Young People.
Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a responsibility to safeguard children.
All appointments are made in accordance with safer recruitment practices and KCSIE. Online checks will be carried out for shortlisted candidates, and all appointments are subject to an enhanced DBS check, satisfactory references and checks regarding suitability to work with children.

Applying for the job

This school accepts applications through their own website, where you may also find more information about this job.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

About Allestree Woodlands School

• Organisation type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• Size: 1373 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• Website: Allestree Woodlands School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/allestree-woodlands-school

At Allestree Woodlands, we pride ourselves on the warm and friendly atmosphere of the school. Relationships are important and we work to ensure that every student feels safe and happy. We strive for the best achievements for our students and believe that every young person deserves the chance to feel successful at school.

Our school aims are summed up in our mission statement:

Enabling aspiration and achievement for all, through delivery of a knowledge-rich curriculum underpinned by our CORE values:

COURAGE OPTIMISM REGARD ENDEAVOUR

This means that staff at Allestree Woodlands continue to review and improve our curriculum to ensure that knowledge acquisition is clear, coherent and that year on year learning builds on what has gone before so that students feel that they are moving forward and knowing more. As I have said to our students, this acquisition of knowledge gives power and confidence to believe in ourselves and put ourselves in new, unfamiliar, challenging and exciting situations in the future. We seek to equip all of our students to use their knowledge to plan for and achieve their next steps and to be aspirational for their futures. To do this, we must both support and challenge all young people to aspire, to dream of what might lie ahead and to work hard to make those ambitious goals possible. Why settle for less than our very best? When aspiration and hard work are combined, people achieve amazing things.

We are lucky to be a thriving school with a growing intake, a wide level 3 subject offer at post-16, superb extra-curricular opportunities in sports, technology and the creative and performing arts as well as possessing tremendous facilities. If you would like to know more, take a look at our website or arrange a visit. We have open evenings planned for this half-term for prospective students and their parents and you are most welcome to come along and get a feel for what Allestree Woodlands is all about.

Mrs G. Penny - Headteacher

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