Teaching Assistant

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Support for Pupils

• Supervise and provide particular support for pupils, ensuring their safety and access to learning activities.

• Assist with the development and implementation of Individual Education/Behaviour/Wellbeing Plans and Personal Care programmes.

• Establish constructive relationships with pupils and interact with them according to individual needs.

• Promote the inclusion and acceptance of all pupils.

• Encourage pupils to interact with others and engage in activities led by the teacher.

• Set challenging and demanding expectations and promote self-esteem and independence.

• Assist pupils with personal hygiene, dressing, feeding, and medical/mobility needs, ensuring their dignity, comfort, and safety at all times.

Support for Teacher

• Create and maintain a structured, low-arousal, and predictable environment tailored to sensory needs, supporting the implementation of individual EHCP outcomes and visual structures

• Implement specialised, autism-specific strategies—in liaison with the teacher to facilitate communication, emotional regulation, and access to learning goals.

• Assist in planning differentiated learning activities and sensory diets that align with pupils' individual EHCP outcomes and personal interest profiles.

• Closely monitor pupils' responses, engagement, and sensory/emotional states, accurately recording progress against EHCP outcomes and tracking behavioral antecedents.

• Provide detailed feedback to teachers and specialists regarding pupil progress, sensory triggers, communication breakthroughs, and emerging challenge areas.

• Support co-regulation and proactive behavior management using positive behavior support plans, de-escalation strategies, and specialized framework techniques in line with setting policy.

• Assist with the collection of evidence for EHCP annual reviews and administer context-appropriate, adapted assessments that accurately reflect pupil understanding without causing undue anxiety.

Support for the Curriculum

• Deliver structured, individualised learning activities, adapting tasks dynamically in response to pupils' sensory, communication, and emotional regulation needs.

• Observing and tracking micro-steps of progress and providing detailed feedback to the class teacher.

• Integrate communication tools and devices into learning activities to maximise pupil independence.

• Prepare, adapt, and maintain specialised learning and sensory resources (including visual schedules, social stories, and tactile motivators) tailored to individual EHCP outcomes and personal interest profiles.

• Facilitate and model structured play and social interaction activities, supporting pupils to progress through stages of play (e.g., cause-and-effect, parallel play, turn-taking, and shared attention) while leveraging special interests to build social-communication skills.

Support for the School

• Be aware of and comply with policies and procedures relating to child protection, health, safety and security, confidentiality and data protection, reporting all concerns to an appropriate person.

• Be aware of and support differences and ensure all pupils have equal access to opportunities to learn and develop.

• Contribute to the overall ethos/work/aims of the school.

• Appreciate and support the role of other professionals.

• Attend and participate in relevant meetings as required.

• Participate in training and other learning activities and performance development as required.

• Assist with the supervision of pupils out of lesson times, including before and after school and at lunchtime when required.

• Accompany teaching staff and pupils on visits, trips and out of school activities as required and take responsibility for a group under the supervision of the teacher.