Higher Level Teaching Assistant (Horizons)

John Smeaton Academy, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS15 8TA

14 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  As soon as possible

• Closing date

  31 August 2026 at 12pm (midday)

• Date listed

  17 August 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: 37 Hours Per Week, Term Time Only + 1 Working Week
• Contract type: Permanent
• Pay scale: SO1 (SCP 23-25) £35,570 - £37,562, Actual Salary: £30,728 - £32,449

What skills and experience we're looking for

John Smeaton Academy is seeking to recruit an inspirational colleague to the role of Higher-Level Teaching Assistant. This role is of great importance to our work as an Academy - the successful applicant will be expected to complement the professional work of teachers by taking responsibility for agreed learning activities under an agreed system of supervision. This may involve planning, preparing and delivering activities for individuals/groups or short term for whole classes (PPA cover) and monitoring pupils and assessing, recording and reporting on pupils’ achievement, progress and development. A key deployment of this role will be to our onsite Resource Provision known as Horizons. Horizons caters for 40 young people with an EHCP where their primary need is communication and interaction.

Potential applicants should have:

• Higher Level Teaching Assistant status or working towards this (Level 4).
• Level 2 Numeracy/ Literacy (or willingness to work towards).
• Working knowledge and experience of implementing national/ foundation stage curriculum and other relevant learning programmes/strategies.
• Good understanding of child development and learning processes.

What the school offers its staff

What we offer you:

As a trust, we want to ensure that professionals at every stage in their careerhave the opportunity toenjoy expert support and training. We are pleased to offer a generous benefits package to our team – as we work together to create a rewarding future for all including:

• Membership of a teacher or local government pension scheme, depending on the role.
• A commitment to continued investment in our professionals, supporting every member of staff throughout their career in the trust.
• Access to an Employee Assistance Programme which provides confidential professional advice and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
• £2k Cycle to work scheme.

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

Our organisation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults. We expect all staff, volunteers and trustees to share this commitment.

Our recruitment process follows the keeping children safe in education guidance.

Offers of employment may be subject to the following checks (where relevant):
childcare disqualification
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS)
medical
online and social media
prohibition from teaching
right to work
satisfactory references
suitability to work with children

You must tell us about any unspent conviction, cautions, reprimands or warnings under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975.

Applying for the job

Apply for the job by following the link below.

CVs will not be accepted for this application.

Additional documents

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

SO1 Higher-Level Teaching Assistant.pdf - 381 KB (opens in new tab)

About John Smeaton Academy

• Organisation type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• Size: 677 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• Website: John Smeaton Academy website
• Email address: enquiries@johnsmeatonacademy.org.uk
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/john-smeaton-academy

I am delighted to welcome you to our John Smeaton Academy page.


Our school website found at www.johnsmeatonacademy.org.uk provides useful information for students, parents/carers & our community and gives a sense of the truly exceptional transformation that we embarked upon on 1 September 2021 when we joined The GORSE Academies Trust.


When we did so the Ofsted ratings of previous years became formally a part of the past and our new, fresh-start future began, a future in which the students and community of John Smeaton Academy will work together in partnership to ensure our students achieve outcomes aligned with their top performing peers nationally. These outcomes will, in turn, give them access to progress into their chosen, high-quality destinations in Education, Employment and further Training (EET) and ultimately to go on to study in some of the best universities in the world.


At the heart of all that what we do is our core values. Through the values of: Kindness, Ambition, Dedication and Respect, our students, their parents/ carers and our colleagues are committed to the mission of the academy; one where we together ensure that all young people ‘Secure the Gift of Choice’ regardless of socio-economic background.


John Smeaton Academy aspires for all young people to leave their time with us having secured ‘The Gift of Choice’. Our key drivers that enable us to achieve this are centred around five key areas within the curriculum. Our curriculum is designed to instil exceptional standards, equipping our students with ambitious standards. It is designed to remove barriers so our students can maximise progress and access appropriate challenge, build resilience by ensuring that students are routinely exposed to challenging and difficult concepts and ideas (the Purple Zone). It is carefully crafted so that students can apply the knowledge they have acquired to different and challenging contexts and is designed to deliver awe and wonder. This is fundamental to promote creativity in the classroom; to inspire and engage our students so that they develop a passion and enthusiasm for learning not just in the classroom, but beyond. It develops the skills necessary to fulfil individual potential; developing independence and autonomy so that students are not over reliant on the support of others, including their teachers.


The academy is a truly exceptional place for students to study and for colleagues to work. We take pride in making decisions that are needs based and context specific, doing the right thing at the right time. Whether you are accessing our website as a prospective student, a parent/carer or a prospective colleague I hope you find this information useful.


I encourage you to join us for one of our annual Open Events or arrange a visit to look around our academy and see for yourself our exceptional school which enables all students to ‘Secure the Gift of Choice’.

Principal

Mr. Andrew Moncur

School location

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