Blue light programme assistant jobs

Specialist Teaching Assistant (STA) – Autism / SEND

We are Ambitious about Autism, a national charity with a clear goal: to create a world where autistic children and young people are heard, included and supported.

We are looking for patient, empathetic and resilient LSAs to join our Ambitious College in Tottenham. The age group of our learners is from 16 to 25 years and all learners have a primary diagnosis of autism.

• Full time, permanent (term time only)
• Hours: 9am – 4.30pm
• Salary: £26,936 to £27,165 per annum
• Location: Capital City College, Tottenham, N15 4FY
• Start date: September 2026

The role:

This is a role where no two days are ever the same! Some days can be very challenging, but they can also be incredibly rewarding. As a STA, you will be working on a 1:1 basis with our autistic pupils and assisting them with:

• Access learning
• Developing communication, confidence and independence
• Celebrate progress - however big or small
• Take part in community based activities like swimming and work experience
• Responding to behaviours of distress with patient and supportive care
• Supporting pupils with personal care
• Helping our pupils feel safe, understood and proud of themselves

Why join us:

• This is a term time only role (yet you are paid across 52 weeks!)
• You will be placed on a training programme when you join the role with continued CPD
• Be part of a warm, supportive and collaborative team
• Progression opportunities to grow your career in SEND
• Be part of a national charity with a clear mission and shared values
• Varied, meaningful work with real impact
• Access to staff discount schemes, including Blue Light Card eligibility
• Full benefits package is on our website

Ambitious About Autism is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of our organisation. We warmly welcome applications from all qualified candidates, valuing the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives they bring. We encourage applications from individuals regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, disability, or age.

Our recruitment process promotes equal opportunities, and we are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities or additional needs throughout the recruitment process. Please contact our Recruitment Team for accommodations. We recognise disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly and long-term affects a person's ability to perform day-to-day activities, as defined by the UK Equality Act 2010. All applications will be considered solely on merit, aligned with our mission to support autistic children and young people.

Ambitious About Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. As part of our Safer Recruitment checks, an online search may be carried out in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

The safeguarding responsibilities of the post are as per the job description and person specification.
Whether the post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2021. This means that when applying for certain jobs and activities, certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS Filter Guidance.

Age UK is recruiting for a Shop Supervisor to join their fantastic team in Stowmarket!

Age UK's shops are the face of the charity. On high streets up and down the country our retail teams deliver a great shopping experience to customers while generating much needed income for the charity, ensuring that we can provide services and support to older people who need it most.

If you want to help us to help others, this might be the job for you!

We are recruiting for a Shop Supervisor to join our wonderful team and deliver an excellent retail service, ensuring that every customer has a great shopping experience. As a valued member of the Age UK team, you will contribute towards maximising shop sales and profits as well as the successful day to day running of the shop, deputising for the Shop Manager and Assistant Manager in their absence.

The successful candidate will support with sales, stock rotation, organising displays, store tidying and much more, whilst representing Age UK in a professional manner and reflecting our core values.

Please note - This position is a 3-month fixed-term contract

Due to the nature of this role, you will be required to handle/lift bags of stock (up to 10kgs.)

Please note this opportunity will require the successful candidate to work 27.5 hours across a 7-day working week, including Saturdays and Sundays on a rota basis.

To ensure the smooth running of our stores, we will be conducting interviews throughout the advertising process. Early applications are advised.

You will have:

• Experience in working in a customer facing role
• Experience of cash handling
• Ability to lift and carry bags of stock up to 10kg's
• The ability to work as part of an effective team.
• Be able to lone work when needed
• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as commitment to equal opportunities
• A flexible approach to work with requirement to work additional days to cover holidays and sickness or participate in trading outside of normal shop hours e.g. shop events

What we offer in return:

• Competitive salary, 25 days annual leave (pro rata for our part-time colleagues) + bank holidays + annual leave purchase scheme
• Wellbeing days - 2 paid days per year (pro rata for our part-time colleagues)
• Excellent pension scheme, life assurance, Bupa health cashback plan and EAP
• Car Benefit scheme, Cycle to Work scheme
• Home & Tech - apply to buy any Home & Tech items from 'Currys' & 'IKEA', up to £1000, and spread the cost over 12 months, interest free.
• Blue Light Card scheme
• You Did It Awards - recognition awards from £100-250.

Additional Information

To comply with UK legislation, we cannot accept applications from candidates under the age of 18 as the successful candidate will be required to work on their own in the shop without the aid of other staff.

Supporting statements and anonymisation

Please submit a Word version of your CV as it will be anonymised by our recruitment system when you apply for a role. Our system is unable to anonymise supporting statements and heavily formatted CVs. Please could you remove any personal information including your name before you upload to support our inclusive recruitment process. All equalities monitoring information is also anonymised and not shared with the hiring panel. Your name and address will only be known to us if invited for interview.

Equal opportunities & Disability Confident Scheme

Age UK is an Equal Opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates, regardless of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital/civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity. We guarantee an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria under the Disability Confident Scheme. Please note that on occasion, due to high numbers of applications, Age UK reserves the right to limit the overall number of interviews offered, and therefore, it may not always be practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job.

Is this the job for you? We know that men, of all backgrounds, and men and women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are currently under-represented in our workforce, and we want to change this! So, we are particularly keen to hear from applicants from these groups.

Reasonable adjustments

Disabled job seekers can access reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. All requests for reasonable adjustments are considered on a case-by-case basis, in collaboration with the disabled job seeker to best meet their needs, by contacting the Recruitment Team. Disability disclosures will be kept confidential and only shared on a need-to-know basis to support the implementation of adjustments. Disclosures will not be used to inform hiring decisions.

Age UK is committed to safeguarding adults at risk, and children, from abuse and neglect. We expect everyone who works with us to share this commitment.

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert at any time.

Age UK is recruiting for a Shop Supervisor to join their fantastic team in Combs Ford!

Age UK's shops are the face of the charity. On high streets up and down the country our retail teams deliver a great shopping experience to customers while generating much needed income for the charity, ensuring that we can provide services and support to older people who need it most.

If you want to help us to help others, this might be the job for you!

We are recruiting for a Shop Supervisor to join our wonderful team and deliver an excellent retail service, ensuring that every customer has a great shopping experience. As a valued member of the Age UK team, you will contribute towards maximising shop sales and profits as well as the successful day to day running of the shop, deputising for the Shop Manager and Assistant Manager in their absence.

The successful candidate will support with sales, stock rotation, organising displays, store tidying and much more, whilst representing Age UK in a professional manner and reflecting our core values.

Due to the nature of this role, you will be required to handle/lift bags of stock (up to 10kgs.)

Please note this opportunity will require the successful candidate to work 21 hours across a 7-day working week, including Saturdays and Sundays on a rota basis.

To ensure the smooth running of our stores, we will be conducting interviews throughout the advertising process. Early applications are advised.

You will have:

• Experience in working in a customer facing role
• Experience of cash handling
• Ability to lift and carry bags of stock up to 10kg's
• The ability to work as part of an effective team.
• Be able to lone work when needed
• Ability to demonstrate sensitivity to cultural differences and gender issues, as well as commitment to equal opportunities
• A flexible approach to work with requirement to work additional days to cover holidays and sickness or participate in trading outside of normal shop hours e.g. shop events

What we offer in return:

• Competitive salary, 25 days annual leave (pro rata for our part-time colleagues) + bank holidays + annual leave purchase scheme
• Wellbeing days - 2 paid days per year (pro rata for our part-time colleagues)
• Excellent pension scheme, life assurance, Bupa health cashback plan and EAP
• Car Benefit scheme, Cycle to Work scheme
• Home & Tech - apply to buy any Home & Tech items from 'Currys' & 'IKEA', up to £1000, and spread the cost over 12 months, interest free.
• Blue Light Card scheme
• You Did It Awards - recognition awards from £100-250.

Additional Information

To comply with UK legislation, we cannot accept applications from candidates under the age of 18 as the successful candidate will be required to work on their own in the shop without the aid of other staff.

Supporting statements and anonymisation

Please submit a Word version of your CV as it will be anonymised by our recruitment system when you apply for a role. Our system is unable to anonymise supporting statements and heavily formatted CVs. Please could you remove any personal information including your name before you upload to support our inclusive recruitment process. All equalities monitoring information is also anonymised and not shared with the hiring panel. Your name and address will only be known to us if invited for interview.

Equal opportunities & Disability Confident Scheme

Age UK is an Equal Opportunities employer and positively encourages applications from suitably qualified and eligible candidates, regardless of age, sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital/civil partnership status, or pregnancy and maternity. We guarantee an interview to disabled candidates who meet the minimum criteria under the Disability Confident Scheme. Please note that on occasion, due to high numbers of applications, Age UK reserves the right to limit the overall number of interviews offered, and therefore, it may not always be practicable or appropriate to interview all disabled people that meet the minimum criteria for the job.

Is this the job for you? We know that men, of all backgrounds, and men and women from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds are currently under-represented in our workforce, and we want to change this! So, we are particularly keen to hear from applicants from these groups.

Reasonable adjustments

Disabled job seekers can access reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process. All requests for reasonable adjustments are considered on a case-by-case basis, in collaboration with the disabled job seeker to best meet their needs, by contacting the Recruitment Team. Disability disclosures will be kept confidential and only shared on a need-to-know basis to support the implementation of adjustments. Disclosures will not be used to inform hiring decisions.

Age UK is committed to safeguarding adults at risk, and children, from abuse and neglect. We expect everyone who works with us to share this commitment.

Early application is encouraged as we will review applications throughout the advertising period and reserve the right to close the advert at any time.

As one of the UK's best employers, we believe in putting people at the heart of everything we do. We are looking for an experienced and proactive Animal Care Tutor, to join Inscape House School

Together we make a difference, develop and learn, and support each other. Every day with us is different, but our mission remains the same: To champion the rights, needs and ambitions of the people we support - they are at the heart of everything we do. We stand by them and we work together for change.

We believe that everyone deserves a chance to learn and space to thrive and that the right education can change lives. You’ll help break down barriers to education for young people, helping them learn and grow at their own pace. 

The Role

Inscape house school is recruiting for a tutor to to deliver Animal Assisted Intervention (AAI) and teach animal care, welfare, and related work experience skills to students within our secondary provision. The Animal Assisted Intervention Tutor will design and deliver accessible, meaningful and aspirational animal-care and AAI-based learning opportunities, including accredited qualifications such as BTEC and/or ASDAN in Animal Care (or similar).

Inscape House School is a non-maintained ASC specialist day school for children and young people aged 5 to 19 years. It is part of the Together Trust, a charity that has been providing care, education and support in the Northwest of England since 1870. The post holder will be a member of Inscape House School on the Cheadle campus.  

Hours: 37.5 Hours

Contract - Permanent

Location: Inscape House School, Cheadle, Stockport

Reports: Deputy Head Teacher 

Responsibilities Include but are not exhaustive;

Teaching

• Work flexibly and adapt teaching strategies to ensure animal care and AAI content is accessible, inclusive, and responsive to individual learner needs.
• Embed Tier 1 universal support strategies within practical animal-care and AAI sessions to meet the diverse needs of learners with autism.
• Deliver accredited qualifications, including BTEC and/or ASDAN programmes in Animal Care (or similar), and support learners to build evidence for assessment portfolios.

Management of Staff

• Effectively deploy Education Assistants (EAs) to facilitate learning, ensuring that all support positively impacts on the development of every pupil’s independence.
• Work with colleagues to support students to plan, carry out and reflect on animal care routines and structured AAI activities.

Curriculum Knowledge 

• Have a secure knowledge of animal care, animal welfare and husbandry practice, and associated curricula (e.g. BTEC/ASDAN Animal Care or similar).

• Be able to foster and maintain pupils’ interest in your preferred key stage and subject, and address misunderstandings.
• Demonstrate an understanding of and take responsibility for promoting high standards of functional literacy, articulacy, and the correct use of Standard English and Numeracy within the context of animal care (e.g. care plans, observations/record sheets, measuring feed, timetables and routines).

 Accurate and productive use of assessment

• Know and understand how to assess pupil progress, including appropriate statutory assessment requirements.
• Make use of formative and summative assessment to secure pupils’ progress.
• Use progress data to monitor progress, set targets and plan subsequent lessons.

Professional Communication   

• Attend and contribute to pupils’ review meetings and multi-disciplinary team meetings. 
• Work with pupils, families and the multi-disciplinary teams to identify pupil centred goals.
• Demonstrate skill in communicating with pupils with autism and a range of physical, cognitive, and communication difficulties.  

Training

• Comply with the school’s mandatory training requirements.
• Attend conferences and meetings including professional shows as required.  
• Attend external and internal training courses as agreed for continual professional development and meeting appraisal objectives.  
• Read current literature on autism and special educational needs and to disseminate information to the rest of the staff team. 

About You

• Experience in animal care/animal welfare (e.g. kennels, stables, farms, rescue, shelters, zoos, veterinary environments, or education-based animal provision)
• A recognised teaching qualification (PGCE, CertEd) QTS/QTLS
• Vocational Qualifications: 
• A Level 3 (or higher) qualification in Animal Care, Animal Management, Animal Science, Equine Management, or a related subject (or equivalent substantial industry experience).
• Evidence of relevant training such as animal welfare, safe handling/restraint, infection control, risk assessment, and/or Animal Assisted Intervention practice.
• Experience of successful work with pupils displaying challenging behaviour.
• Ability to identify, clarify, prioritise and solve problems as they arise.
• The ability to use information technology to communicate with others, track academic progress and share planning and resources.
• Knowledge of Safeguarding and Keeping Children Safe in Education.
• Knowledge and understanding of strategies for inclusion and equal opportunities.
• Knowledge of Health and Safety expectations affecting children and adults across the school

Benefits

• Eligible for Teachers’ Pension Scheme and its associate Death In Service benefit
• Occupational sick pay and family friendly policies including enhanced maternity, paternity and adoptive leave.
• Reward and Discount platform offering discounts at high street shops, travel, insurances etc.
• Eligibility to apply for Blue Light card
• Proud to be a real living wage employer
• Refer a friend scheme, be rewarded for recommending a friend to work with us
• Comprehensive training and development opportunities, including apprenticeship qualifications
• Long service awards including cash gifts and extra holiday.
• Promotion of Wellbeing across the organisation including Mental Health First Aiders offering wellbeing support from trained colleague and free weekly yoga session in person or online
• Access to our Employee Assistance Programme for you and adults at your home

Applications are very welcome from all regardless of age, disability, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy or maternity, religion or belief, race, sex, sexual orientation, trans status or socio-economic background. We are committed to making reasonable adjustments for disabled people. We positively encourage applications from those with lived experience. 

If there is any part of your lived experience you want to keep confidential in some way please talk to the Recruitment or HR shared service teams and we will do what we can to support you

This role will expire 31st May - Please do apply soon as we have the right to close the role early.

The Together Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the people we support and expects all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. 

Safeguarding checks will be undertaken for the successful candidate in line with our safer recruitment policy, including an Enhanced DBS check (at no cost to yourself).

This role will involve regulated activity.