Teaching Assistant

Lift New Forest, Southampton, Hampshire, SO45 2PA

21 days remaining to apply

• Start date details

  September 2026

• Closing date

  15 July 2026 at 10:55am

• Date listed

  24 June 2026

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Job details

• Job role:
  • Teaching assistant
• Visa sponsorship: Visas cannot be sponsored
• Working pattern: Full time
• Contract type: Permanent
• Full-time equivalent salary: £25185 - £26403 per annum

Teaching Assistant job summary

Job title: Teaching Assistant
Salary: NJC 4 £25,185 - NJC 7 - £26,403 + wellbeing cash plan + pension scheme (LGPS) + additional Lift Schools benefits
School: Lift New Forest, Long Lane, Holbury, Hampshire, SO45 2PA
Hours: Full time
Contract type: Permanent
Start date: September 2026

This is a highly rewarding opportunity in a Trust that heavily invests in career development. The role is a great stepping stone, whether you want to make a direct impact on students' lives or build a long-term career in education.

Your new school
Lift New Forest is a successful and friendly Secondary school in the Waterside area of Hampshire. Our vision is simple - to provide an excellent education for every child, in every classroom, every day. At Lift New Forest, children belong to a community of students who are proud of their school. Students are respectful to each other and behave very well in and out of lessons. They embody the habits of the New Forest Way; Be Kind, Show Determination, Make Good Choices. The children at our school are a pleasure to work with, both inside and outside the classroom. As a small school we are fortunate to be able to really get to know each student very well, and our children are part of a school with a real community feel. Strong relationships and first class support across the community ensure that young people are safe, happy and successful.

Your new role
The role of the Teaching Assistant is to work in partnership with teachers to improve the learning and attainment of students while also promoting their independence, self-esteem and social inclusion. The role provides support to students so that they can access the curriculum, participate in learning and experience a sense of achievement. This role is vital in supporting our students and helping them achieve their potential.

For ambitious applicants, future career progression is possible through our Level 3 and Level 5 Teaching Assistant apprenticeships and Lift Schools's Initial Teacher Training programme.

What you'll need to succeed
You will have a L3 Teaching Assistant apprenticeship or equivalent or willingness to work towards this qualification with an understanding of a range of pupil's learning needs. You will have patience in interactions with a variety of students and situations, with a calm demeanour and have empathy to understand the needs and challenges of students and be able to relate to them on a personal level. You will also be somebody who can engage and enthuse students to want to learn.

Who is Lift Schools?
Lift Schools is made up of 59 primary, secondary and special schools, educating more than 33,000 pupils across the country. We believe education can transform lives - and we want every child in our schools to achieve their full potential.

How we support you
Career development and training: Access a wide range of statutory and developmental training to boost your career.
Generous benefits: From your pension plan to healthcare and financial support, we've got you covered.
Lifestyle perks: Enjoy discounted gym memberships and travel deals.

Interview - we will review applications and interview ASAP so please don't wait to apply!

We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive an overwhelming response. All candidates are advised to refer to the job description and person specification before making an application.

Lift Schools are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our people and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair and consistent recruitment process which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

Lift Schools embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity. Job share, part-time and flexible working opportunities will be considered.

We are a Disability Confident Employer and there is a guaranteed interview scheme for candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum selection criteria.

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

Lift Schools is committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our colleagues and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair and consistent recruitment process which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

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 Lift New Forest

• School type: Academy, ages 11 to 16
• Education phase: Secondary school
• School size: 548 pupils enrolled
• Age range: 11 to 16
• Ofsted report: View Ofsted report
• School website: Lift New Forest website
• See more jobs: teaching-vacancies.service.gov.uk/organisations/the-new-forest-academy

At Lift New Forest, our staff strive to enable ambitious futures for all young people. The expert teaching of our ambitious curriculum allows students from all backgrounds to achieve their full academic potential. We provide exceptional opportunities to develop the unique interests and talents of our students, and to prepare them for life in modern Britain. Strong relationships and first-class support across the community ensure that students are safe, happy and successful.

These are exciting times at the school. Staff are proud that the success of recent years was reflected in our recent examination results. And as Ofsted noted at their last inspection, "Leaders have successfully improved teaching across the school. There is a strong culture of learning among the staff which is continuing this improvement."

Students at the school are very proud of their school. They are respectful to each other and behave very well in and out of lessons. There is a strong culture of support for students and this helps to ensure their safety and wellbeing. We are proud to serve the South Waterside community. As a small school we are fortunate to be able to really get to know each student very well. Our children are part of a school with a real community feel.

All staff receive high-quality support which enables them to flourish at work. As part of a large and successful multi-school trust in Lift Schools, they are provided with training and opportunities for impactful collaborative work which allow all to thrive in their areas of expertise. At Lift New Forest, we seek to develop outstanding educationalists and leaders of the future.

I am excited about the future, and I invite you to join in our journey.

Rob Forder

Principal

Ofsted

We are a Good school and we were last inspected in 2023. To view all our Ofsted reports please click here

Who is Lift Schools?

Lift Schools is made up of 57 primary, secondary and special schools, educating more than 33,000 pupils across the country. We believe education can transform lives – and we want every child in our schools to achieve their full potential.

Our mission:

We will provide an excellent education to every child, in every classroom, every day.
With excellent leadership and teaching in every school, we will help children go on to lead successful and happy lives.
We will work with others beyond our network to benefit more children and communities.
Development:

We are committed to developing all staff at all levels through high quality development opportunities, resources, and experiences that will support you on your professional learning journey with Lift Schools.

Lifestyle:

We champion agile/flexible working across the Trust to help our people achieve an optimal work/life balance.

Money:

All staff have access to our pension schemes (Local Government Pension Scheme and Teachers’ Pension Scheme). Everyone has free access to financial advice & support and can access a wide range of retail discounts through our Lift Schools Benefits scheme. We also offer Technology Loans to help with any big digital purchases.

Wellbeing:

We recognise that mental wellbeing is just as important as physical and have set up employee assistance programmes which offer free and confidential counselling 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our employees can access our health cash place scheme from BHSF.

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