Teaching Assistant
Job description
Original text imported from Reed
Are you a resilient, empathetic, and committed individual looking to make a difference in the lives of young people? Tradewind Recruitment is currently seeking a full-time SEMH Teaching Assistant to join a dedicated SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health) school in Nottinghamshire from February2025.
This is a temp-to-perm opportunity, ideal for those who are passionate about supporting children with a variety of complex behavioural and emotional needs.
The Role:
You'll be supporting students who face barriers to learning due to SEMH challenges. Working closely with teachers and pastoral staff, you'll play a key role in managing behaviour, developing trust-based relationships, and helping students regulate emotions and re-engage with education. Support may be 1:1 or within small group settings, depending on student need.
What We're Looking For:
- Experience supporting children or young people with SEMH, behavioural needs, or similar challenges
- A calm, consistent, and patient approach to working with vulnerable learners
- Strong interpersonal and de-escalation skills
- A good understanding of trauma-informed practice or a willingness to learn
- A proactive and flexible mindset
- An Enhanced DBS on the Update Service (or willingness to apply)
What You Can Expect:
- A full-time, long-term role with the potential to become permanent
- A structured and supportive school environment with a strong behaviour policy
- Daily pay between £95.00 and £105.00, depending on experience
- Comprehensive support from your dedicated Tradewind consultant
- Access to high-quality training and CPD in SEMH and behaviour support
This is an outstanding opportunity for someone with a background in education, care, youth work, or support services who is looking for a challenging but highly rewarding role.
Apply Now:
To express your interest and be considered for this opportunity, please contact:
Lynne Ferguson
Key skills
AI-extracted from the job advert
Application advice
5 AI-generated recommendations to maximise your chances.
⭐ Highlight your SEMH or behavioural support experience prominently as this is the core requirement
📊 Quantify your impact: "Supported 8 SEMH students, improving classroom engagement by 65%"
🌐 Emphasise trauma-informed practice knowledge or willingness to learn as specifically mentioned
🎯 Showcase de-escalation skills with concrete examples of managing challenging behaviour
🤝 Demonstrate experience with 1:1 and small group support formats as both are required
Suggested CV bullets
3 bullets our AI drafted for this specific advert, mirroring its ATS keywords.
Add these 3 bullets under your most recent experience:
- •Supported 12 SEMH students through 1:1 and small group interventions, achieving 78% improvement in classroom engagement over 6 months
- •Applied trauma-informed de-escalation techniques to manage 15+ challenging behaviour incidents weekly, reducing exclusions by 40%
- •Collaborated with 8 teachers and pastoral staff to implement consistent behaviour management strategies across 4 year groups
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Letter preview — tailored to Tradewind Recruitment
Dear Hiring Manager,
Tradewind Recruitment's SEMH Teaching Assistant role represents exactly the challenging yet rewarding opportunity I seek to make a meaningful difference in young people's lives. My experience supporting students with behavioural needs and trauma-informed practice knowledge align perfectly with your specialist school's requirements.
My background in educational support has equipped me with the resilience and de-escalation skills essential for working with vulnerable learners facing complex SEMH challenges.
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Interview questions
10 questions generated from this advert.
Technical
- ›How would you apply trauma-informed practice when supporting a student having an emotional outburst?
- ›What strategies would you use for de-escalating a situation with an aggressive student?
- ›How do you adapt your approach when moving between 1:1 and small group support?
- ›What methods would you use to help students regulate their emotions?
- ›How would you work with teachers and pastoral staff to create consistent support?
Behavioural
- ›Tell me about a time you supported someone with complex behavioural needs
- ›Describe a situation where you had to remain calm under pressure
- ›Give an example of how you built trust with a vulnerable young person
- ›Tell me about a time you had to be flexible in your approach to support
- ›Describe how you've worked as part of a multidisciplinary team
STAR answer examples
Model answers using the Situation-Task-Action-Result framework. Adapt to your own experience.
Tell me about a time you supported someone with complex behavioural needs
Describe a situation where you had to remain calm under pressure