Teaching Assistant
River Academy, Reading, Berkshire, RG1 8EQ20 days remaining to apply
Start date details
1 September 2025
Closing date
15 August 2025 at 11:59pm
Date listed
24 July 2025
Job details
Job role
- Teaching assistant
Visa sponsorship
- Visas cannot be sponsored
Subjects
- Teaching Assistant, Learning Support Assistant
Working pattern
- Part time
Contract type
- Permanent
Full-time equivalent salary
- £15,968.00 Annually (FTE) 27 hours per week over 4 days, TTO plus 5 INSET days. Actual salary £15,968.45. Working hours 8:30-3:45 daily with a later finish on a Wednesday of 4:40pm
Teaching Assistant job summary
Teaching assistants provide invaluable classroom support to our students and can often progress to other roles within the school or the wider Trust in line with your own aspirations. Being in a classroom setting is a wonderful opportunity to be exposed to teachers who have all gone through training and who can provide advice and guidance from their own experience.
The successful candidate will be:
- Flexible in providing support and knowledge as needed and as the school grows.
- Able to demonstrate suitable experience and/or qualifications for working in a school.
- Highly motivated in supporting children to make excellent progress, through high expectations and through supporting students to become resilient, independent and confident learners.
- Able to discuss and implement different learning strategies to meet the needs of our students, in consultation with the teacher and other professionals as appropriate.
- Confident to move around the classroom to help a range of students, clarifying and explaining instructions.
- Able to support the teacher in the implementation of behaviour management practices and of classroom routines.
- Committed to their own personal development.
We are looking for someone who has:
- Good questioning skills.
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.
- An understanding of how to support children’s learning.
- A good standard of literacy, numeracy and IT skills.
- A desire to work as part of a forward looking and knowledgeable teaching team.
- The ability to develop positive and caring relationships with children.
This is a unique experience to be part of a small and dedicated school team and to support us to deliver routines and set expectations in line with ‘the River Way’. As a school we pride ourselves on quiet classrooms, calm corridors and practices that reduce workload and allow student-facing staff to focus on their support. Our tutor times are well planned, with tutor reading, assemblies and settling activities each day to ensure the students can perform at their best in the classroom at all times. Students are expected to demonstrate good manners, strong oracy skills and high levels of personal and academic presentation.
River Academy also delivers excellent extra-curricular activities to all of our students through our after-school ‘Electives’ programme.
.About the school:
River Academy is a new state-of-the-art, purpose-built secondary school which serves the need for additional school places in the Reading area. Based in Richfield Avenue, the buildings will contain specialist teaching facilities in all areas of the curriculum including a wonderful hall, drama studio and sports studio.
Ultimately, the student numbers will rise to 1,200 11-18 students and an additional resource base of 35 students when full. In the early years, we are looking for staff who are willing to be flexible to support the needs of students and to meet the operational needs of the school. This will provide excellent opportunities for staff to develop new skills and gain experience in different areas.
River Academy has high expectations for all students and a firm focus on academic excellence and participation ingrained in our every action. To learn more about our school, please visit our website www.river-academy.co.uk
About the Trust:
Maiden Erlegh Trust is committed to developing a diverse, inclusive, and collaborative community of highly effective schools that deliver excellent education opportunities for the children and young people of the communities we serve. Through our work we will ensure that our children are equipped with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to deal with the demands of an ever-changing world. The Trust currently comprises 9 schools in the local area, with a variety of settings including primary, secondary, special and a PRU. As a Trust, we encourage professional development at all levels through the use of cross Trust networks to share best practice and ideas. We also actively encourage the promotion of staff to different roles within the Trust and to different settings in line with their career aspirations. Click Work @ Maiden Erlegh Trust to find out more information about why you should work for Maiden Erlegh Trust and to read testimonials from existing staff.
Benefits:
Further information about some of the staff benefits that Maiden Erlegh Trust offers its employees, can be found on our website HERE
Staff Wellbeing is very important to us. As a member of Maiden Erlegh Trust staff these are just some of the examples of how we show our appreciation to staff.
- We operate a system of ‘ME days’ allowing staff to request on additional day off per year to attend special events such as children’s sports days & graduations, family and friends' weddings.
- CPD is available for all staff at all levels.
- Free flu vaccinations are offered to all staff.
- Free eye tests are provided for eligible staff.
- Breakfast and lunch provided for staff regularly, including on many INSET days and as a thank you throughout the year.
If you believe that this is an environment where you can thrive, develop and substantially contribute to an exciting future for our students, then you are encouraged to explore further by contacting recruitment@maidenerleghtrust.org for a more detailed discussion, if required.
Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible as we reserve the right to close the advert and interview at any time.
We are an equal opportunities employer and are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. The successful candidate will be subject to an enhanced DBS check and successful references.
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 River Academy
- School type
- Free School, ages 11 to 18
- Education phase
- Secondary
- School size
- 186 pupils enrolled
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Ofsted report
- View Ofsted report
- School website
- River Academy website
School location
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