SEND Specialist Assessor

Raise Education Trust, Southampton, SO30 4EJ

18 days remaining to apply

• Closing date

  1 December 2025 at 11am

• Date listed

  13 November 2025

Job details

• Job role:
  • Other support roles
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £27,779.00 Annually (FTE) Grade D - Step 1 Actual Annual Salary £23,825.88 (which is equivalent to a full-time salary of £27,779)

SEND Specialist Assessor job summary

SEND Specialist Assessor - 37 hours per week, Monday to Thursday 8:30am to 4:30pm and Friday 8:30am - 4:00pm, term time only (39 weeks). Grade D - Step 1 Actual Annual Salary £23,825.88 (which is equivalent to a full-time salary of £27,779).

A SEND Specialist Assessor is responsible for overseeing and managing the process of providing exam adjustments for students with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), ensuring compliance with the regulations set by the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ). This role will be split between Wildern School and Deer Park School (2.5 days at each site) and is crucial in ensuring that students receive the support they need to demonstrate their abilities fairly in exams.

Key Responsibilities:

The main duties of an SEND Specialist Assessortypically include:

• Administration & Management: Managing the access arrangement process from initial referrals and screenings to the final submission of applications. This involves organising and maintaining meticulous student records and files, ensuring all necessary evidence is collected and stored securely for potential JCQ inspections.
• Assessment & Identification: A key part of the job is identifying students who may need access arrangements. This can involve liaising with teachers, parents, and students, as well as conducting assessments (e.g., for reading speed or comprehension).
• Liaison & Communication: You'll act as the main point of contact for all stakeholders regarding access arrangements. This includes communicating with students and their parents, providing guidance to teaching staff on the "normal way of working" for students, and working closely with the school's exams officer and SENCO (Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) to ensure a smooth process.
• Compliance & Training: The role requires a deep understanding of the JCQ regulations, as well as any other relevant legislation, like the Equality Act 2010. You'll be responsible for ensuring all applications and procedures adhere to these rules and for staying up to date with any changes. You may also provide training to other staff members, like invigilators, readers, or scribes, on how to correctly facilitate these arrangements.

Essential Skills & Qualifications:

To be successful in this role, you'll need a strong mix of administrative, interpersonal, and specialised skills.

• Experience: Experience working in an educational setting, especially within a SEND or exams department, is highly desirable. Experience specifically with access arrangements and JCQ regulations is a significant advantage.
• Qualifications: The following qualifications to assess for Access Arrangements are required: Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing (CCET) and the Access Arrangements Course (AAC): These are a Level 7 qualification that is required by JCQ. A CPT3A qualification combines both courses and will also be acceptable.

A qualification in assessing for access arrangements is desirable. However, we will support the successful candidate to train as an access arrangements assessor if necessary.

In order to do this, you will require the following qualifications:

• Hold a postgraduate or undergraduate degree.
• Teaching qualification: Possess a recognised teaching qualification at Level 5 or above, such as Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), PGCE, HLTA or a Level 5 diploma in teaching learners with specific learning difficulties.

Skills: Excellent organisational, administrative, and IT skills are a must for this role. You'll also need strong communication and interpersonal skills to effectively manage relationships with a wide range of people. The ability to work under pressure and meet strict deadlines, particularly during exam periods, is also crucial.

Benefits of working for our trust include:

• Friendly and sociable colleagues.
• RAISE a Hand day: One day per academic year — a fully paid day off to support personal events.
• Two-week October half term: Providing staff and students with an extended break during the autumn term.
• Free on-site car park.
• Staff membership rates to our modern on-site Leisure Centre.
• Enrolment in one of the UK’s Largest public sector pension schemes.
• A tax efficient Cycle-to-Work scheme through salary sacrifice.
• Good transport links.

We are part of the RAISE Education Trust which comprises of Wildern School, Deer Park Secondary School and Boorley Park Primary School. Our staff form a collective team that makes a difference to the lives of our students. This is an exciting time for the trust and all colleagues present and future.

If you currently work in a school, please ensure one of your references is from your current Headteacher.

Please submit your application as soon as possible as we may invite candidates to interview before the closing date. Closing Date: Midday, Monday 1st December 2025.

Disclaimer: due to the high volume of applications we receive, we reserve the right to close a vacancy earlier than the advertised date if we receive applications that meet the criteria. Once a vacancy has closed, we are unable to consider further applications, so please submit your application as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

RAISE Education Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.

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 Raise Education Trust

• Type: Multi-academy trust
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/wildern-academy-trust

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