MDSA/Lunch Time Assistant

School: Swindon Academy (Alton Close Primary Site)

Role: MDSA/Lunch Time Assistant

Start date: September 2026

Hours: Monday to Thursday 11.30 - 13.15 and Friday 11.30 - 13.00, term time only

Salary: £4885 per annum, pro rata to the FTE of £24,978 per annum

The role

Swindon Academy (Alton Close Primary site) are looking to appoint a professional and hardworking individual to join our busy MDSA team. The hours of work are between 11:30 and 12:30, Monday to Friday.

The main duties include:

• supervising the pupils throughout the lunchtime, in particular helping younger pupils in cutting/consuming food, hand washing and toileting arrangements
• controlling queues of pupils into the dining hall and classrooms.
• supervising the pupils in the dining hall and classrooms
• attending to emergency situations such as spilt drinks and food on any surface
• supervising the pupils in the playground or in the school buildings
• administering basic first aid (once rained) to pupils who require it, seeking the advice of an appointed First Aider for more serious injuries
• dealing with behaviour in line with the Academy Behaviour Policy
• following the detailed lunchtime procedures working as part of a team and cover for absent colleagues as necessary

We are looking for lunchtime assistants who:

• enjoy working within school environment
• have passion for working with primary school aged children
• have a basic level of literacy and numeracy
• have awareness of child protection policies and procedures
• are confidently able to communicate with children and teaching staff
• are reliable and a good time keepers

Additional Information

Swindon Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people therefore there is an expectation that all staff and volunteers share this commitment. The successful candidate will require an enhanced DBS disclosure.

Please note we reserve the right to close the vacancy early in light of a large response.

Due to the high volume of applications received, the School is unable to provide individual feedback on why an application is unsuccessful. If you have not been contacted within 2 weeks of closing date, please consider your application unsuccessful.

Why choose us

At Swindon Academy, we pride ourselves on a team of staff who are supportive, friendly and dedicated to providing the very best teaching and learning for our students. Staff across the academy set a culture of high expectations and continuous improvement for students which, in turn, is reflected in the emphasis we place on continuing professional development (CPD) for our staff.

We have made significant, sustained progress at GCSE and are proud to be the top performing school in Swindon for progress over the last six years.

Swindon Academy was the first all-though academy to open in the UK and has over 1,900 pupils from the age of 2 to 19. The school is situated in purpose-built £25 million premises, benefiting from excellent, state-of-the-art facilities and situated within the beautiful county of Wiltshire, within commuting distance for Bristol, Bath and Oxford.

United Learning

We are part of United Learning, a large, and growing, group of schools aiming to offer a life changing education to children and young people across England.

Our schools work as a team and achieve more by sharing than any single school could. Our subject specialists, our Group-wide intranet, our own curriculum and our online learning portal all help us share knowledge and resource, helping to simplify work processes and manage workloads for an improved work-life balance.

As a Group, we can reward our staff better: with good career opportunities, better pay, benefits, and ultimately, the satisfaction of helping children to succeed. We invest in our staff wellbeing. Our academies each have at least eight INSET days per year (with three of those solely dedicated to planning), and an ongoing group-wide wellbeing programme. It's an ethos we call ‘the best in everyone’.

We are working hard to become a more diverse organisation - which is key to our commitment to bringing out the best in everyone. We welcome applications from everyone committed to this ethos and would particularly welcome applications from black and minority ethnic candidates, who are currently under-represented in the Group as a whole. We always appoint on merit. We are open to discussing flexible working options.