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.

Head of Community Services

£54,961 PA
37.5 hours per week
Working days: Predominately Monday-Friday with On Call requirements

Benefits

5 weeks’ holiday plus Bank Holidays Pension Scheme, Staff referral scheme (earn extra each time you successfully refer someone), Employee Assistance Programme, including private GP access, Blue Light Card discount scheme, Free DBS check, Free parking and uniform

Closing date: 3rd July
Interview date: 13th July

Make a genuine difference, every day

At Nottinghamshire Hospice, we’re proud to lead the way in delivering compassionate, community-based palliative care for people living with a terminal or life limiting illness across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. Our values—Compassion, Trust and Ambition—guide everything we do, for the people we support and for each other.

About the Role

The Head of Community Services is a senior leadership role responsible for the operational, and clinical delivery of Nottinghamshire Hospice’s community-based services. You will ensure the provision of high-quality, safe, and compassionate palliative and end-of-life care, supporting people to live as well as possible in the place they call home.

As a key member of the Hospice Leadership Team, you will provide visible and inspiring leadership, driving excellence in care delivery, service performance, and workforce development. This role combines strong operational management with professional clinical leadership, requiring an experienced registered healthcare professional with a sound understanding of palliative and end-of-life care.

You will lead and develop our Hospice in Your Home (24-hour service) and Wellbeing Day Services, ensuring they are responsive, sustainable, and patient-centred. The role involves regular travel across Nottinghamshire and participation in the clinical on-call rota (approximately one week in every five weeks).

What we’re looking for

We are seeking a compassionate and experienced leader to drive excellence in our community palliative care services.

You will champion equity, inclusion, diversity and belonging, while fostering a positive, high-performing culture where staff feel supported and empowered. With strong experience in service delivery, you will manage performance, resources, and workforce planning to meet the needs of our patients and families.

You will build effective partnerships with healthcare and community stakeholders, helping to improve access and patient pathways. A commitment to quality, governance, and continuous improvement is essential, alongside the ability to lead confidently in complex situations.

Above all, you will embody our values of Compassion, Trust, and Ambition, helping us deliver outstanding care and shape the future of hospice services.

You don’t need to meet every desirable criteria — we recruit based on values.

If you’re compassionate, reliable and eager to learn, we’d love to hear from you.

Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging

We want Nottinghamshire Hospice to be a place where everyone feels they belong. We warmly welcome applicants from all backgrounds and value the different perspectives and experiences that help us provide better care. We particularly encourage applications from people who are currently under‑represented in our workforce, including individuals from minoritised ethnic communities, people with disabilities, and men.

The successful applicant will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check with Barred List and must be eligible to work in the UK. Nottinghamshire Hospice is a non‑smoking organisation.

Due to the number of applications we receive, if you haven’t heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has not been successful.

Your privacy

We are committed to protecting your personal information and being transparent about the data we hold. We collect and process information such as your CV, cover letter and application in line with data protection laws. You can read our full Privacy Policy on our webiste.

Registered Charity No: 509759

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.