Teaching Assistant – Engagement Mentor

Highfields Spencer Academy, Derby, Derbyshire, DE23 3UX

23 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  4th September 2026

• Closing date

  12 June 2026 at 11:59pm

• Date listed

  13 May 2026

Job details

• Job role:
  • Teaching assistant
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £28,912.00 - £31,832.00 Annually (Actual) NJC20 - 24

Teaching Assistant – Engagement Mentor job summary

At Highfields Spencer Academy, we are looking for a committed and compassionate Engagement Mentor to join our team and make a real difference to the lives of our children and families.

This is a pivotal role within our school. You will work closely with our Vice Principal (Inclusion Lead) to support pupils to engage successfully with school life—removing barriers to learning through a focus on behaviour, emotional regulation, attendance and family support.

We are looking for someone who:

• understands that behaviour is communication
• can remain calm, consistent and solution-focused in challenging situations
• is passionate about supporting children to regulate, feel safe and succeed
• can build strong, trusting relationships with both pupils and families
• is proactive, resilient and ready to make a difference every day

You will lead targeted support for pupils who need it most, delivering interventions, supporting staff in the moment, and working with families and external agencies to improve engagement and outcomes.

At Highfields, our RISE values—Respect, Inspire, Succeed, Empathy—are at the heart of everything we do. You will play a key role in ensuring every child is supported to thrive, both socially and academically.

This is a rewarding but demanding role, suited to someone who is confident working with vulnerable pupils and is committed to inclusive practice.

Why join us?

• A supportive and values-driven team
• A strong focus on staff development and wellbeing
• The opportunity to shape and develop an important role within our school
• The chance to make a lasting difference to children’s lives

If you are passionate about supporting children to overcome barriers and are ready to rise to the challenge, we would love to hear from you.

Early application is strongly encouraged as we reserve the right to interview and close the advert ahead of the closing date.

Spencer Academies Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all our children and young people. Therefore, we expect everyone to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to satisfactory pre- employment checks, including a satisfactory Enhanced criminal records with Barred List Check through the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and the completion of Level 2 Safeguarding training. It is an offence to apply for the role if an applicant is barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children (where the role involves this type of regulated activity).

The Trust and its member academies are committed to promoting equality and diversity in both employment and education provision. We aim to ensure that students, parents, governors, employees, contractors, partners, clients and other stakeholders within the Trust community are treated fairly, and with dignity and respect regardless of Protected Characteristics.

Spencer Academies Trust is a Disability Confident Committed Employer.

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 Highfields Spencer Academy

• School type: Free Schools, None, ages 3 to 11
• Education phase: Primary school
• School size: 233 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 3 to 11
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Highfields Spencer Academy website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/highfields-spencer-academy

This is an exciting and unique opportunity to be the Principal of a thriving and expanding primary school located between Findern and Mickleover, and 4 miles south west of Derby.
This position offers the chance to work with:

• A diverse and inclusive school at the centre of a newly built community
• A body of children who are happy and who enjoy coming to school
• A visionary, successful and outward facing MAT
We opened in September 2020, in a brand new building, initially housing nursery and reception age children only. We now have classes from nursery to year 3 and will be accommodating all year groups by summer 2026. We pride ourselves on our ‘Rainbow’ values of ‘respect, achieve, inspire, nurture, belong, open and well-being’.

Our recent Ofsted report celebrated our strengths in a number of areas which were graded as good. Our principal is relocating for September 2023 so we are looking for an experienced and inspiring individual who can oversee the next phase of our journey towards outstanding when we are next inspected.

School location

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