Play Assistant
Orchard Hill College Academy Trust, Sutton, SM1 1DA5 days remaining to apply
Start date details
to be confirmed
Closing date
6 January 2026 at 11:59pm
Date listed
11 December 2025
Job details
Job role
- Other support roles
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Working pattern
- Part time: 14.58 hours Per Week, Term Time Only, Monday – Friday 11.00 – 13.55
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- OHCAT Outer London Business Support Scale, Grade B, Point 7-9, Actual Salary: £9,650.09 - £9,786.03 (FTE £27,826 - £28,218)
What skills and experience we're looking for
We are looking for enthusiastic Play Assistants with drive and creativity to join our dedicated and welcoming team to support the lunch time sessions for our pupils. You will provide support for our pupils at lunchtime, both with eating and drinking, and joining in leisure activities. You will also be required to support their personal care. It is essential that you have experience of working with or caring for children. Working within a school and with children with disabilities is desirable, however not essential.
Key Responsibilities:
- To assist in preparing the dining hall for lunchtime.
- To help move pupils, following the advice of therapists
- To serve pupils lunch, and assist them with feeding, including gastrostomy as required.
- To encourage social interaction with pupils.
- Assist with the personal care needs of pupils.
Key Requirements:
- Experience of working with, or caring for children
- Basic IT skills
- Good range of communication skills and ability to follow instructions
- Willingness and ability to learn new skills in relation to SEN, including medical and personal care needs
What the school offers its staff
OHCAT is an exciting, forward-thinking organisation, and we offer many benefits to attract and keep our staff, contributing towards maintaining and improving wellbeing, and encouraging our required behaviours, achievements, values, and skills. Below is just a selection of the benefits available to our employees:
Rewards & Benefits: Pathways for progression within the trust, ensuring you can grow and thrive in a supportive and inclusive environment.
- Pension Scheme - you will be enrolled in either the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) or the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS), both offering life cover and financial protection for your family.
- Salary Sacrifice Schemes (Cycle Scheme and Home Electronics Scheme)
- Employee Wellbeing - We support employee wellbeing with access to counselling, mental health support, generous leave, flexible working, and enhanced parental leave including Employee Assistance Programme, MyGym Discounts, Corporate Eyecare Scheme
- Employee Discounts (Blue Light Card, Costco Membership, Discounts for Teachers, and more)
- Other (Season Ticket Loan and Employee Referral Scheme)
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
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)Upload additional documents
If you need these documents in an accessible format, please contact the school.
About Orchard Hill College Academy Trust
- Type
- Multi-academy trust
- Email address
- MHartzenberg@bedelsfordschool.org
Orchard Hill College (the College) and Orchard Hill College Academy Trust (the Trust) together form Orchard Hill College and Academy Trust (OHC&AT), a family of specialist education providers for pupils and students from nursery to further education across London, Surrey, Sussex and Berkshire. As an Outstanding provider (Ofsted 2019) and Academy sponsor, Orchard Hill College has a strong track record for making a positive impact within the local communities it serves.
Pupils and students within the OHC&AT family have a wide range of learning abilities and additional needs including autistic spectrum disorder; speech, language and communication difficulties; social, emotional and mental health; profound and multiple disabilities; and physical disabilities including multi-sensory impairment and complex health needs.
Our ambition is to contribute further to improving the education offer for all pupils and students in our communities, including those with SEND. The College offers specialist educational programmes for students aged 16 and over in College centres and satellite provision in London and the South. The Academy Trust enables us to build on and extend scope of our work in these geographical areas, so that Academy pupils can also benefit from our expertise and access a greater range of opportunities arising from our strong community and stakeholder networks.
Supporting our College and Academies, OHC&AT also operates a range of services and support including Quality and Standards, Learning Support and Business Support.
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