SEND Support Assistant

What skills and experience we're looking for

Truro and Penwith Academy Trust, together with the Local Monitoring Committee of both Cape Cornwall School and St Just Primary School, are seeking to appoint a dynamic and committed SEN Support Assistant for Cape Cornwall School.

Cape Cornwall School is located in St Just in West Penwith, Cornwall. We are the most westerly school on mainland UK – and also one of the smallest secondary schools in the UK. There are sea views across our school fields and we are surrounded by beautiful countryside. Our catchment is broad: we serve St Just as well as surrounding villages. Many of our students bus in from local villages like Pendeen, Sennen, St Buryan and St Levan. Some of our students travel from Penzance each day in the school minibuses.

Our size is our strength – there are very strong relationships between staff and between students and their families. We all share the desire to achieve the very best for our students, many of whom face significant challenges. We are proud of our school community and the school is a big part of St Just. We participate regularly in community events, and support the wider community, for example with fundraising and participation in local events like the Lafrowda festival and St Piran’s Day.

Truro and Penwith Academy Trust have been at the forefront of innovative practice through the ‘Advantage Project’. For almost 3 years, our children have used iPads to support their learning. Staff receive significant ongoing training as part of our ‘Digital Transformation’ – our work is delivered using ‘Showbie’ as a workflow tool; pedagogy is supported and underpinned using a range of apps; we also use ‘Jamf Teacher’ as a classroom management system. We have a designated Digital Transformation Lead who has recently qualified as an Apple Learning Coach, and supports our growing confidence in the use of technology.

Our school is also home to our ‘Kites’ Area Resource Base. This is a bespoke provision for children with a range of special educational needs. There are 20 children roll at Kites and we are proud of the interface between ‘Kites’ and the mainstream school. Many of the students registered to ‘Kites’ follow a mainstream academic pathway whilst others have a bespoke curriculum, well-suited to their needs.

Our Headteacher is Headteacher of St Just Primary School as well as Cape Cornwall School. This has created a fabulous opportunity for the two schools to work together to create one educational journey for the children in St Just from Early Years to 16. The successful applicant would potentially have a role in shaping the development of maths cross-phase.

About You:

Cape Cornwall School is seeking to appoint an enthusiastic and versatile individual to join our SEN Support Team within our ‘Kites’ ARB. The post will involve working closely with students who may display complex and challenging behaviour.

The successful applicant will have a patient and caring nature, as well as an inherent desire to help students with additional needs thrive academically and socially within our specialist ’Kites’ Area Resource Base (ARB). Our ‘Kites’ ARB forms part of Cape Cornwall School and is a specialist provision for children who have special educational needs.

You will share our commitment to excellence, inclusion and aspiration for every student and will be determined to ensure the very best outcomes for children. You will work in partnership with colleagues within Truro and Penwith Academy Trust schools.

What the school offers its staff

Working for TPAT and Benefits

‘The Trust that Schools want to join’ Ofsted - 2019

We are an inclusive and progressive Trust and believe that all children and young people should have the best possible life chances. If you share this belief, we would love you to work with us.

We care about our staff and value their skills, contribution and expertise. Our commitment to growing great people means that we support staff in their own professional growth and development and empower them through support and career opportunities. Whether you choose to work in one of our schools, or are based in our central team, you will thrive in a stimulating, friendly and diverse environment that nurtures talent and celebrates success.

If you choose to work for us, you will receive:

• A competitive salary
• National terms and conditions of employment and access to either Teachers Pension or Local Government Pension Schemes
• Cycle to work scheme
• Eye voucher scheme
• Access to CPD and career pathways to further develop your career
• Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) which provides employees with free confidential advice and support on a variety of personal, family or workplace issueshhtps://

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.