Learning Support Assistant - Cognition and Learning

Chipping Norton School, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, OX7 5DY

15 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  1 September 2026

• Closing date

  2 July 2026 at 9am

• Date listed

  17 June 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teaching assistant
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £25,584.00 - £29,065.00 Annually (FTE)

Learning Support Assistant - Cognition and Learning job summary

Build the structured strategies that help students master independent learning and achieve their true potential.

A specialised pastoral and academic role within a highly collaborative team focused on building lifelong student independence.

"Our learning support environment is built on clarity and progress. Instead of just helping a student complete a task, we design the scaffolding they need to solve problems on their own. Seeing a student move from requiring constant reassurance to navigating a lesson independently is incredibly rewarding."

Why This Role Matters (About the Role)

At 10am on a normal Tuesday, you will walk into a learning support space filled with students who are eager to learn, guided by a team of highly skilled professionals. In this role, you are not just providing classroom assistance; you are the architect of a student's cognitive independence. By implementing tailored literacy, numeracy, and executive-functioning interventions, your day-to-day work directly ensures that children with specific learning needs overcome barriers and find sustainable success across the curriculum. The ultimate impact of your work will be seen directly in the growing success and independence of our students.

What You’ll Bring (Skills & Experience)

• A reflective, evidence-informed mindset regarding secondary education and cognitive learning needs.

• Experience delivering structured interventions (such as targeted literacy or numeracy frameworks) that build independent working habits.

• Strong interpersonal skills to collaborate effectively with teachers, parents, and external professionals.

• An analytical approach to student progress, tracking small-step improvements accurately.

• Resilience and calm authority, maintaining consistent expectations in line with our shared behaviour routines.

The "Why Us" Difference (The Professional Promise)

• True Professional Agency: We trust our learning support teams as the experts in their domain, providing you with the autonomy to implement interventions that work best for your students.

• High-Quality CPLD: Access to targeted development pathways alongside collaborative networking opportunities across the Trust's wider secondary network.

• A Workload-Sensitive Culture: We align our processes to the DfE Workload Reduction Toolkit, actively auditing our systems to eliminate admin-heavy tasks that do not add direct value to student outcomes.

The RLT Connection (Our Shared Foundations)

"Education has the power to change lives... we are better, faster, stronger together."

• Professional Security: Recognised continuous service across the public sector and access to the government-backed Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) with built-in life cover.

• Shared Growth: Funding pathways for formal professional qualifications and apprenticeships to support your long-term career progression.

• The Whole Person: 24/7 confidential Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) offering telephone and face-to-face counselling for you and your immediate family.

This role includes regulated activity relevant to children.

River Learning Trust and Chipping Norton School are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all children and preventing extremism. We conduct checks and online searches in accordance with Keeping Children Safe In Education guidance. It is an offence to apply for certain roles within schools if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.

For documentation, please see RLT Safer Recruitment Documents Visit our website www.riverlearningtrust.org for up-to-date policies including our Child Protection and Behaviour policies.

This post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. For further guidance for applicants, click this link: List of offences that are not filtered

We don't just accept difference; we celebrate "different contributions" and are dedicated to building an inclusive environment where every colleague can thrive. If you require any reasonable adjustments during the recruitment process, please let us know so we can support you to be at your best.

The school reserves the right to consider and interview candidates ahead of the closing date if appropriate. An offer may be made to an exceptional candidate in this instance.

All staff must ensure that the highest priority is given to following the guidance and regulations to safeguard children and young people. The successful candidate will be required to undergo an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and obtain any other statutorily required clearance. Employment will also be conditional on the receipt of at least two acceptable references (1 from current/latest employer) and evidence of the formal qualifications required for the role.

Please note: We do not accept CVs; please apply via My New Term.

Call to Action (The Three Pathways)

• Discover Your Impact: see full Job Description on MyNewTerm

• Start a Conversation: To arrange an informal conversation or a tour of the school, please contact [Insert Contact Name/Email].

• The Future Path: Not the right time? Register with our Talent Pool to hear about future opportunities first - https://mynewterm.com/sch_talent_pool

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

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 Chipping Norton School

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 18
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 1029 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 18
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Chipping Norton School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/chipping-norton-school

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