OPAL Play Assistant

Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School, Solihull, West Midlands, B92 7EG

16 days remaining to apply

• Job start date

  1 September 2026

• Closing date

  19 June 2026 at 12pm (midday)

• Date listed

  18 May 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teacher
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Part time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £5,463.00 Annually (Actual) Band A3

OPAL Play Assistant job summary

Our Lady and All Saints Catholic Multi Academy

OPAL Play Assistant

A3 - £5,463 pro-rata

Permanent, Part-time position

9.75 hours, 38 weeks per year (TTO)

Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School

Start Date: September 2026

Our Lady of Compassion Catholic School, part of Our Lady and All Saints MAC, is seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and committed OPAL Play Leader to join our dedicated and vibrant team.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who is passionate about children's play, wellbeing and development. The successful candidate will play a key role in supporting the development of our Outdoor Play and Learning (OPAL) provision, ensuring that all children experience high-quality, engaging and inclusive play opportunities during lunchtimes.

We are looking for a professional, energetic and creative individual who is committed to making lunchtimes a positive, enriching part of the school day and who is keen to work collaboratively with a supportive and hardworking staff team. If you are committed to making a real difference in children's lives, embodying Catholic values, and fostering a love for learning, we are keen to hear from you.

The successful applicant will:

Be committed to the values and Catholic ethos of the school

Have experience of working with children in a school, childcare or play setting

Be enthusiastic, creative and committed to delivering high-quality play opportunities

Build positive relationships with children and respond sensitively to their needs

Be able to support other lunchtime staff in developing effective play provision

Have a good understanding of behaviour management and promoting positive relationships

Be able to work on their own initiative and demonstrate strong organisational skills

Be reflective, flexible and solution-focused

Bring energy, vision and innovation to the development of outdoor play

Uphold and implement the school’s behaviour, safeguarding and health & safety policies

Support the wellbeing, safety and inclusion of all pupils at all times

Key aspects of the role include:

Supporting the development of our OPAL play provision

Supporting lunchtime staff to deliver high-quality play

Ensuring a wide range of engaging play opportunities are available

Managing and maintaining play resources

Supporting pupil leadership and pupil voice in play development

Ensuring pupils are safe, happy and engaged during lunchtimes

For further information regarding this post, please contact the school office on 0121 706 9508 or email office@olc.solihull.sch.uk.

You can find out more about our school at: https://www.olc.solihull.sch.uk/

Safeguarding Statement

Our Lady of Compassion School, part of Our Lady and All Saints Multi Academy Company, has a responsibility for, and is committed to, safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable groups. All employees and volunteers are expected to share this commitment and to obtain an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) and where relevant, a childcare disqualification check. Any offer of employment will be subject to satisfactory pre-employment checks including two suitable references, evidence of Right to Work, Medical Clearance and where applicable a prohibition check and evidence of qualifications. All successful candidates will be required to present their birth certificate along with evidence of any name changes.

This post is exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2020. Further information can be found in the DBS filtering guide.

This post is covered by Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016). Therefore, the ability to speak fluent and spoken English is an essential requirement for this role.

An online search will also be carried out as part of due diligence on all short-listed candidates.

We reserve the right to close the online vacancy when we are in receipt of sufficient applications. Therefore, should you wish to apply for this post you are advised to complete and submit your application form as soon as possible.

Closing Date: 19th June 2026

Interview Date: 24th June 2026

*Please note the MAC reserves the right to change this date.

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 Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School

• School type: Academies, Roman Catholic, ages 3 to 11
• Education phase: Primary school
• School size: 335 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 3 to 11
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Our Lady of Compassion Catholic Primary School website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/our-lady-of-compassion-catholic-primary-school-b92-7eg

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