6 days remaining to apply

  • Start date details

    As soon as possible

  • Closing date

    12 February 2026 at 11:59pm

  • Date listed

    6 February 2026

Job details

Job role

  • Teaching assistant

Visa sponsorship

Visas cannot be sponsored

Key stage

Key stage 3, Key stage 4, Key stage 5

Working pattern

Full time: Actual salary £24,748,-£25,102 (37.5 hours per week, 38 weeks per year)

Contract type

Permanent

Full-time equivalent salary

£29,436 - £29,856

Pay scale

Grade 3 (Outer London)

Additional allowances

Performance and Loyalty Bonus + Pension Scheme (LGPS) + Harris Wellbeing Cash Plan + Additional Harris Benefits

What skills and experience we're looking for

Harris Academy Purley is looking for a Graduate Teaching Assistant to support teaching staff/tutor in class. You will play an important role in improving the outcomes of students with a variety of needs, including those with EHCPs and additional needs.

The actual salary for this role will be £24,748,-£25,102 (37.5 hours per week, 38 weeks per year).

We would like to hear from you if you have:

  • Qualifications to degree level or equivalent
  • Some knowledge of strategies in working with young people with challenging behaviours
  • Knowledge of some of the social issues facing students from disadvantaged backgrounds
  • Awareness of Health and Safety issues in the workplace.
  • Experience of working directly with young people in an education or training environment, supporting the learning of students.
  • Experience of establishing and maintaining positive working relationships with a range of stakeholders, at all levels.
  • Experience of managing and being responsible for own workload.

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.


What the school offers its staff

Working at Harris Academy Purley, you will make a real difference to the lives of young people and their families in South London who value the learning and school environment we offer. Our school is oversubscribed; we have families, from a number of boroughs, who choose us for the high standard of education we provide, and staff come from across London as well as Sussex and Surrey to come and work with us.

You will be given ample opportunities to develop and progress your career, and all staff are encouraged to develop their interests and areas of expertise. Our professional development is tailored to ensure all staff are able to continue learning regardless of their role or stage of career.

We strive for excellence and have high ambitions for the future whilst ensuring we maintain a clear focus on staff wellbeing and work-life balance. Our motto: To Learn, To Think, To Act is as true for our staff as it is for our students, and we are committed to investing in your experience with us.

Our people are at the heart of our success. We have developed a strong culture of collaboration and best practice, with professional development and career planning at its centre. We invest in our staff with support, coaching, mentoring, and a wide range of top-quality training programmes delivered at every level to senior leadership.

Benefits

In addition to the opportunities for career development and progression, we also offer a competitive rewards and benefits package which includes our Harris Allowance (usually £2,000 for Inner London and £1,500 for Outer London), a Performance and Loyalty Bonus, Teachers Pension Scheme, a Wellbeing Cash Plan, Employee Assistance Programme, and many other benefits. Learn more about our benefits on our website.


Flexible working opportunities

We are committed to fostering a positive and supportive working environment for our staff, recognising that achieving a balance between professional and personal responsibilities is essential. We understand that each individual's circumstances are unique, which is why we offer flexible working options that can be adapted to meet the needs of both the academy and our employees.

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.

Your responsibilities will include:

  • Working collaboratively with the class teacher and the SEN Department to enable students with a variety of SEN needs to positively engage in a classroom environment and with learning
  • Demonstrating a proactive approach to supporting all students in the classroom,
  • Understanding students' individual needs and the differentiation needed to meet their targets, while ensuring that students retain ownership over their learning
  • Engaging positively and proactively in CPD opportunities offered within the SEN Department and the wider Academy
  • Demonstrating a level of subject knowledge and applying this effectively in supporting teachers and students
  • Using academy behaviour management strategies to promote positive behaviour.
  • Liaising with relevant staff to make them aware of problems experienced by students

For a full job description and person specification, please download the Job Pack.

Commitment to safeguarding

The Harris Federation and all our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All offers of employment are subject to an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, references, an online search, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check will be completed.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

View advert on school website (opens in new tab)

Additional documents

If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.

About Harris Academy Purley

School type
Academy, ages 11 to 19
Education phase
Secondary school
School size
1022 pupils enrolled
Age range
11 to 19
Ofsted report
View Ofsted report
Phone number
0208 681 1141

Harris Academy Purley is an oversubscribed 11-19 co-educational academy with currently 1050 students on roll, situated on the Croydon/Surrey border. Open since September 2009, we are judged Outstanding by Ofsted, and moved into a state-of-the-art new building in September 2012.

We are a happy, hard-working and highly ambitious community in which students and staff treat on another with care and respect, combining traditional values of discipline and good manners with contemporary best practice in teaching and technology. The academy’s leadership team and staff share an expectation that each and every student who joins Harris Academy Purley achieves his or her “personal best”. With an emphasis on Enterprise, the academy strives each and every day to create a culture and ethos which promotes curiosity, initiative and leadership in all our young people.

School location

Similar jobs nearby

Cover Supervisor

Coombe Boys' School

College Gardens, Blakes Lane, New Malden, Surrey, KT3 6NU

Teaching Assistant

Heathside School

Brooklands Lane, Weybridge, Surrey, KT13 8UZ

Learning Support Assistant

Glyn School

The Kingsway, Epsom, Surrey, KT17 1NB

Teaching Assistant

Rosebery School

Whitehorse Drive, Epsom, Surrey, KT18 7NQ

Get a job alert when similar jobs are listed

Find more school jobs in Surrey