Higher Level Teaching Assistant

***OFG - Equal Opportunities Strategy

**To see the Job Description, please click here - Higher-Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA)
**

At OFG, we work smarter so you can spend more time doing what makes you happy!

How would you like to be paid for five days but only work four*?

Our colleagues’ wellbeing is at the heart of everything we do at OFG, so we’re always looking for new ways to improve everyone’s work/life balance. We’re taking part in a trial of the 4-Day Working Week, meaning that you could be working one day less a week (or equivalent).

4DWW will be rolled out within our school, when we have a full complement of staff, and within the next year – so there’s never been a more exciting time to join us #teamOFG!

Job title:       Higher-Level Teaching Assistant

Location:      Higford School, Shifnal, Shropshire

Salary:          £23,691.52 per annum

Hours:          40 hours per week, Monday to Friday

Contract:      Permanent; Term Time only

UK applicants only. This role does not offer sponsorship.

As part of our continued growth, we now have a fantastic opportunity for a Higher-Level Teaching Assistant to join our close-knit team at Higford School, part of Options Autism.

About the role

As a Higher-Level Teaching Assistant, you will support our Teachers in taking a creative approach to teaching pupils according to their educational needs, maximising pupils’ achievement, and ability to develop.

This is a great opportunity for a Higher-Level Teaching Assistant who is looking to continue their career in Education and is motivated to inspire learning in pupils with varied and complex needs. Your work will be challenging and rewarding in equal measure, and you will be working in a school where we maintain a strong safeguarding culture, where pupils are listened to, respected and involved in as many decisions as possible.

When it comes to looking after our pupils, we never settle for second best. We are looking for a Higher-Level Teaching Assistant, who can work with individual and small groups of pupils, leading lessons when required, and building relationships with pupils to promote interaction and learning.

You will be looking to bring your previous experience of working in an SEN/ASC environment to a school that shares your vision to build incredible futures by empowering vulnerable students in the UK, to be happy and to make their way in the world.

Having already achieved HLTA status, you will be calm, engaging, resilient, enjoy working as part of a team, be confident in leading classes and small groups, and be genuinely motivated by helping every pupil to reach their potential.

About us

Options Higford is a special school set in 28 acres of beautiful Shropshire countryside. We provide a high quality, holistic education for up to 60 autistic students who also have associated behavioural needs. Class groups have five students in with at least 1:1 staffing. We provide personalised curriculums for each student based on their individual needs and aim to support them to make progress academically, socially, with skills for life, regulating their emotions and accessing the community.

For over 16 years Options Autism have provided care and education to pupils and adults with autism, complex needs and learning difficulties. As part of Outcomes First Group, we are leading our sector in setting and delivering new approaches that provide measurable outcomes for those in our care.

We are really proud to say that in 2024, Outcomes First Group were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the fifth year running.

Why join Options Autism?

Benefits

Your health and wellbeing are important to us, so you’ll get an exceptional reward package including:

• Life Assurance

• Pension scheme with options to increase your contributions

• “Your Wellbeing Matters” – access to a wide range of first-class mental health support services and physical health checks

And a market-leading benefit offering through our Flexible Benefits Platform, Vista, enables you to choose the package that’s right for you, including:

• A wide range of health, wellbeing, and insurance benefits

• 100’s of discount options valid in the UK and abroad

• Cycle to Work Schemes

• Electric Car Purchase Scheme

• Critical illness cover

• Family Growth Support - inclusive benefits package covering enhanced maternity and paternity leave, along with paid fertility treatment support.

And that’s not all, we place the outcomes of the pupils in our services at the heart of everything we do, so you’ll wake every day in the knowledge that your role will have a significant positive impact on the lives of others.

We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of pupils. All applicants will be subject to social media checks and successful applicants to a fully enhanced DBS.

*You’ll work 80% of your contractual hours for 100% of your pay, giving you more time to do the things that make you happy. 4DWW is subject to successful completion of probation and is not a contractual benefit