ELSA Senior Teaching Assistant

ELSA SENIOR TEACHING ASSISTANT

Inspiring Learning. Shaping Futures. Making a Difference Every Day.

32.92 hours per week, plus 1 training day a year of 6.5 hours. Term-time only (37 weeks per annum).
Pay scale 4 (Points 19 – 22) £33,847 – £35,655 full time equivalent.
Actual salary (74.49% pro rata) £25,213 – £26,559 per annum 
Preferred hours: Monday – Friday 8.30am to 3.40pm (Flexibility considered)
Start date: October 2026

We are seeking a motivated, confident, and highly capable Emotional, Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) to join our passionate and inclusive team at Catmose College, a high‑performing secondary school within the Rutland and District Schools’ Federation.

This is a varied, rewarding, and highly visible role, suited to someone with relevant experience (typically a minimum of two years) and an appropriate professional qualification. The successful candidate will work closely with young people in a secondary school setting and will be committed to supporting students’ learning, wellbeing and personal development.

The Senior Teaching Assistant’s primary focus is on student support and intervention for ELSA. This role emphasises inclusion, wellbeing, and removing barriers to learning. If you have prior training in ELSA, or equivalent, this would be an advantage.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

• Delivering pre‑planned ELSA sessions
• Providing targeted one‑to‑one and small‑group ELSA interventions, including support for:
  • Students with additional learning needs
  • Anxiety and emotional regulation
  • Social, emotional and mental health support (ELSA‑informed approaches)
• Keeping accurate records and trackers relating to ELSA
• Working closely with teachers, SEND, and pastoral teams to support student progress and wellbeing
• Promoting positive behaviour for learning and inclusive classroom practice

WHY THIS ROLE STANDS OUT

• A clear step‑up role with responsibility and professional trust
• A comprehensive induction programme and high‑quality continued professional development
• Term‑time working with all Federation school holidays
• Opportunities to work across schools within the Federation for broader experience

JOB PURPOSE

As a Senior Teaching Assistant with a specialism in supporting the Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) of students you will be expected to work collaboratively as part of the Client Services team with teachers, and our SENDCOs to meet the personal, social and academic needs of students, including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities.

You will be skilled at building positive, supportive relationships with students whilst maintaining very high expectations. You will be pivotal in helping students who have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties which act as a barrier to learning and their personal development.

DUTIES

Duties may be modified by the Executive Principal, in consultation with the STA, to reflect or anticipate changes in the job, commensurate with the salary and job title on an annual basis.

Please also refer to the Job Description for Teaching Assistants as these duties are also pertinent to this role.

SOCIAL, EMOTIONAL AND MENTAL HEALTH SUPPORT

To identify and overcome the barriers students are experiencing so that they successfully access mainstream lessons and the wider life of the College by:

• developing and delivering a curriculum of support for individuals and small groups of students to meet their needs as identified by the SEND team or other professionals.
• coordinating the work of specialist teaching assistants who have expertise in supporting students using well established programmes such as ELSA and SALT support.
• coordinating volunteer mentors.
• mentoring individuals and small groups of students to support the development of their social and emotional resilience including through individual, small group and peer-to-peer sessions.
• identifying appropriate opportunities for these students within our programme for personal development by ensuring their full participation in the Catmose Challenge, Electives, trips, sport, music, drama and the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as appropriate.
• supporting students to improve their attendance to College.
• supporting students to successfully access lessons, giving them individual support as appropriate to ensure their success.
• keeping accurate records of the support being given to students to support the broader work of the pastoral team.
• monitoring the impact of their work through improvements in the rate of negative behaviour, attendance, truancy and academic progress.

TEACHING AND LEARNING

• To support students as specified in the job description for Teaching Assistants.

FEDERATION

• To familiarise yourself and comply with the Federation rules, policies and procedures in force including those contained in the Staff Handbook.
• Support the vision and ethos of the Federation.
• Uphold routines for learning and uniform.
• Contribute to monitoring and evaluating the success of the Federation.
• To proactively respond to issues identified in the Transformation Plan to bring about sustained improvement.
• Contribute to the range of extracurricular opportunities on offer to students.
• Any other reasonable duties as requested by the Executive Principal.

This role is undertaken in conjunction with the role of Teaching Assistant therefore please also refer to this job description.

SAFEGUARDING, HEALTH AND SAFETY

The Federation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of all students in our care and expects all staff to share this commitment.  We provide safeguarding training to all staff on an annual basis, and all staff are responsible for ensuring safeguarding, health and safety policies are implemented in line with Federation policy and current legislation. Please familiarise yourself with our Safeguarding Policy, available online at www.rutlandfederation.com/policies

This position advertised is a ‘regulated position’ which means it will involve regular contact with children and young people; under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 it is an offence to apply for this role if you are barred from engaging in regulated activity relevant to children.  This position is also ‘exempt’ from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

OTHER DUTIES

This job description sets out the main duties associated with the stated purpose of the post.  It is assumed that other duties of a similar nature undertaken within the role are not excluded because they are not itemised.

SENIOR TEACHING ASSISTANT PERSON SPECIFICATION

	Required	Desirable	Evidence
QUALIFICATIONS	A basic level of education with at least 5 good GCSEs including English and mathematics.   An ELSA or equivalent qualification	A degree or equivalent professional qualification.   Recent completion of a level 3 or higher qualification.   Evidence of an interest in continued training.	Letter of application and interview including evidence of examination results.
EXPERIENCE	To have at least two years’ experience of supporting young people within a school environment.   Significant experience with demonstrable impact of supporting students with SEN, and particularly those with social, emotional or mental health concerns.	Experience of managing the work of other colleagues to a high standard.	Interviews References Portfolio of work Letter of application
FEDERATION REVIEW		Has evidence of monitoring and intervening with students to improve their performance.	Letter of application and interview
LIASION	An ability to work with students.   Good listening skills, the ability to communicate effectively and to work as part of a team	Has established excellent relationships with a range of stakeholders including teachers, students and parents.	References Interviews Letter of application
STAFF DEVELOPMENT	An understanding of the importance of training.   A proven desire to improve, with recent evidence of certified professional development.	Has evidence of continued professional development relevant to their subject area.	References Interviews Letter of application

 

HOW TO APPLY

 

Application forms and information are available online at www.rutlandfederation.com
or by emailing office@rutlandfederation.com

• You should write a letter of application on no more than 2 sides of A4.
• You should complete all sections of the application form.
• On the form clearly state the names, addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of two professional referees; it is our usual practice to ask for references before shortlisting and always to ask for references before interviews.
• It is a condition of employment that you can provide proof of identity and qualifications gained.
• Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service. 
• Further information is within our Staff Recruitment Policy which can be found online at rutlandfederation.com/policies

Please note that due to the high number of applications we receive for positions, your application is unlikely to be considered if you do not follow these requirements. CVs are not accepted. The closing date is 9am on Tuesday 8 September 2026. You should send your application to Stuart Williams, Executive Principal, Catmose College, Huntsmans Drive, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6RP.  Applications can also be emailed to office@rutlandfederation.com