Learning Support Assistant
The Sydney Russell School, Dagenham, Essex, RM9 5QT36 days remaining to apply
Closing date
2 June 2026 at 12pm (midday)
Date listed
27 April 2026
Job details
Job role
- Teacher
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Full time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £26,721.00 - £27,888.00 Annually (Actual)
Learning Support Assistant job summary
The LSA will be required to:
To provide support for students, teachers and the school in order to maximise the progress of all students.
To support those identified as having additional learning needs, complex needs and or social emotional and mental health, by utilising their levels of knowledge and skills when assisting with planning, monitoring, assessing and managing students’ progress and attainment within our alternative provision.
To encourage students to become independent learners, to provide support for their welfare, and to support the inclusion of students in all aspects of school life.
To provide and support a personalised programme for students with complex needs to further develop their behaviour for learning.
To support with intimate care needs as required.
To keep abreast of current legislation in relation to special educational needs, approaches to student learning and attend training where appropriate.
To work collaboratively with teaching staff and assist teachers in the whole planning cycle.
To complement teachers’ delivery of the curriculum and contribute to the development of students, school policies and strategies.
Key Responsibilities:
Main Duties and Responsibilities
Support for the Students
Implement strategies that enable students with special educational needs including social emotional, mental, and health needs to meet their learning objectives and progress targets. This will include providing individual support to students and groups of students both in lessons and in other contexts.
Set challenging and demanding expectations that promotes self-esteem and independence.
Create and maintain a purposeful, orderly and supportive environment, in accordance with lesson plans and assist with the display of students’ work.
Act as a reader/scribe/invigilate for identified students.
Use gap analysis data to inform and deliver interventions/focus groups.
Plan, deliver, adapt and customise curriculum materials for intervention and focus groups.
To act as a Thrive Practitioner for allocated students, delivering structured Thrive sessions across the school day in line with individual profiles and action plans.
To monitor, review and record the impact of Thrive interventions, adapting provision to meet students’ changing social and emotional needs.
Support for the Teacher:
Undertake student record keeping and updating records, information and data, producing reports as required.
Monitor students’ responses to learning activities and accurately record achievement/progress as directed.
Adhere to the Teacher/Learning Support Assistant agreement.
Support for the Curriculum:
Undertake structured and agreed learning activities/teaching programmes, adjusting activities according to student responses.
Use equipment/resources required to meet the objectives of the lesson.
Provide information for discussions and meetings with teachers.
Attend relevant meetings/training.
Support for students in the absence of the teacher:
To ensure that students whose teachers are absent follow the agreed next steps of learning.
To create a calm and purposeful environment in which students can meet expected outcomes for the lesson.
To liaise with teachers, Heads of Department, Heads of Year and Phase Leaders, where appropriate regarding cover work and follow up any issues that may have arisen.
To register and record student attendance.
Support for the School:
Contribute to the overall ethos and culture of the school.
Participate fully in the wider life of the school.
Be aware of and comply with child protection procedures, health and safety and security, confidentiality and data protection.
Assist with the supervision of students out of lesson times, including before and after school and at lunchtime.
Liaise with parents/carers of identified students; ensure that there is regular communication with and reporting to parents/carers and that all paperwork is completed accurately and in a timely manner, in particular for review purposes.
To undertake additional or other duties as may be appropriate to achieve the objectives of the post and as directed and deemed appropriate by the Line Manager.
Maintain good relationships with colleagues and work together as a team.
Participate fully in the School’s Self-Review, Appraisal/Staff Review and School Improvement Plan procedures.
Experience in any of the following areas would be an advantage
Thrive Approach Training
Training on Neurodiversity.
Intimate care.
All staff are responsible for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of students by always ensuring compliance with the school’s Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy. All staff must report any actual or potential risks to the safety or welfare of students to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. This document summarises the main responsibilities of the post. No Job Description can be fully comprehensive and this is, therefore, subject to review and modification, as necessary.
Review Arrangements -
The details contained in this job description reflect the content of the job at the date it was prepared. It should be remembered, however, that over time the nature of individual jobs will change, existing duties may no longer be required and other duties may be gained without changing the general nature of the duties or the level of the responsibility entailed. Consequently, the school will expect to revise the job description from time to time and will consult with the post holder at the appropriate time.
Conditions of Employment
The above responsibilities are subject to the general duties and responsibilities contained in the written statement of conditions of employment
The post holder is required to support and encourage the school’s ethos and its objectives, policies and procedures as agreed by the governing body
The post holder is required to uphold the school’s policy in respect of child protection matters
The post holder will be subject to the National Agreement on Pay and Conditions of Service, supplemented by local conditions as appropriate and all relevant statutory and institutional requirements
The post holder may be required to perform any other reasonable tasks after consultation
This Job Description allocates duties and responsibilities but does not direct the particular amount of time to be spent on carrying them out and no part of it may be so constructed
This Job Description is not necessarily a comprehensive definition of the post. It may be subject to modification at any time after consultation with the post holder
Further information about the job
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.
View advert on external website (opens in new tab)About The Sydney Russell School
- School type
- Academy, ages 4 to 18
- Education phase
- All through school
- School size
- 2640 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 4 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- The Sydney Russell School website
School location
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