Learning Support Teacher (with ability to teach Maths)

Learning Support Teacher (with ability to teach Maths)

 

Job Start: As soon as possible

Closing Date: 9:00am, Monday 16th September 2024

Salary: Competitive

Location: Bedales Senior School

Benefits: APTIS Pension, Personal Accident Cover, On Site Parking, Free School Meals during Term Time, Healthcare Cash Plan, Salary Extras Benefits Platform, Employee Assistance Programme, Life Assurance for eligible teachers,

Accommodation (subject to availability), On-site nursery (subject to availability), Fee Remission for eligible staff, Gymnasium & swimming pool

Contract Type: Full Time

Contract Term: Temporary

Suitable for an ECT/ITT NO

 

We have a fantastic opportunity for an inspiring, well-qualified and enthusiastic full-time Learning Support Teacher (teaching around 20 lessons of Maths Learning Support and 12 lessons of General Learning Support or Study Skills) to join our team, playing play a vital role in ensuring students with SEND have the full level of support to maximise their potential. This is an exciting, challenging, and varied role that will suit an experienced professional who is able to work on their own initiative, as well as being a highly proactive team player.

 

Bedales School is a unique educational establishment, set in the beautiful Hampshire countryside. Our aim is to create an environment where questioning, divergent thinking, and freedom to learn from mistakes are all encouraged. Central to our success is the sense that each person is a member of our community whose voice is entitled to be heard and treated with respect. Both our staff and students expect of each other the best kind of relationships – co-operative, authentic and trustful.

 

Experience & Background

You will be an inspirational, encouraging and highly qualified SEND teacher who understands the needs of students with a range of underlying learning difficulties. You will have experience of teaching Mathematics, Literacy and Study Skills to students with a range of abilities and learning differences and will have a thorough knowledge of a range of appropriate learning strategies.

 

You should also be keen to play a full and inclusive role in the life of our busy boarding community and be able to contribute to the development of our innovative school. You will possess excellent communication skills and have an enthusiastic approach in your dealings with pupils, colleagues, and parents.

 

Timetable

You will be contracted to 40 hours per week worked over 5 days, Monday to Friday and within which you will teach up to 40 lessons teaching 1:1 or group Learning Support Lessons or completing lesson observations to support with devising classroom support strategies. In addition to this you will support and attend 16+ Assessments, 13+ Assessments and School Open Mornings (these may occur on a Saturday) as well as offering staff training.

Most core curriculum commitments for students are scheduled from 09:00 hrs to 17:30 hrs on Monday to Friday. Students also have access to optional activities before and after the main school day. Typically, students do not have core curriculum lessons scheduled on Wednesday afternoons.

 

Benefits

Personal APTIS pension with additional remuneration benefits

Funded Healthcare Cash Plan

Salary Extras Benefits Platform

Employee Assistance Programme

Free meals provided during term time

Free on-site parking

Fee Remission for eligible staff

Accommodation (subject to availability)

On-site nursery (subject to availability)

Gymnasium & swimming pool

 

Pre-Appointment Checks

All candidates will undergo a Safeguarding Suitability Interview and application for an Enhanced DBS and Barred List check and be asked to provide evidence they are eligible to work in the UK, on an on-going basis, at the shortlist stage of the selection process.

 

How to Apply

For further details on how to apply, please visit the recruitment portal on the Bedales Schools website:

If you are interested in applying for this post please read the Job Description and Terms & Conditions which includes full details regarding the post.  CVs cannot be accepted in lieu of a fully completed application form.

 

Closing date: 9AM Monday 16th September 2024

Informal application reviews will take place via TEAMS as and when completed applications are received.

Interview date: Week commencing 23rd September 2024

 

Safeguarding Statement:

The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Candidates will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers, the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS), Prohibition from Teaching Checks, Prohibition from Management Checks.

 

The safeguarding responsibilities of the post include:

• Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children;

• fostering a culture of openness, safety, equality and protection;

• providing a safe and welcoming environment where both children and adults feel secure, able to talk and believe that they are being listened to;

• playing a key role in prevention of harm and an equal responsibility to act on any suspicion or disclosure that may indicate a child is at risk of harm;

• When concerned about the welfare of a pupil, acting in the best interests of the pupil.

 

All staff have a key role to play in identifying concerns early and in providing help for children and are expected to act in accordance with the school Safeguarding & Child Protection Policies.

 

The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the School is therefore permitted to ask job candidates to declare all convictions and cautions (including those which are “spent” unless they are “protected” under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children.

 

By |2024-09-03T09:46:01+01:00September 3rd, 2024|SEN vacancies|0 Comments

Dyscalculia Awareness Day 2024

With Dyscalculia Awareness Day just around the corner, we explain what dyscalculia and we look at helpful tips and tricks to support people who struggle with maths…

What is dyscalculia?

The SpLD Assessment Standards Committee (SASC) defines dyscalculia as:

‘Dyscalculia is a specific and persistent difficulty in understanding numbers which can lead to a diverse range of difficulties with mathematics. It will be unexpected in relation to age, level of education and experience and occurs across all ages and abilities. Mathematics difficulties are best thought of as a continuum, not a distinct category, and they have many causal factors. Dyscalculia falls at one end of the spectrum and will be distinguishable from other maths issues due to the severity of difficulties with number sense, including subitising [perceiving a number of items in a group without counting them], symbolic and non-symbolic magnitude comparison, and ordering. It can occur singly but often co occurs with other specific learning difficulties, mathematics anxiety and medical conditions.’

Around one person in 20 has dyscalculia.

The Dyscalculia Network and Jane Emerson and Patricia Babtie in their book ‘Understanding Dyscalculia and Numeracy Difficulties’ states that indicators include:

  • Inability to subitize (recognise up to 4 or 5 counters without counting)
  • Counting errors
  • Miscounting objects
  • Lack of one-one correspondence
  • Sequencing errors
  • Inability to count backwards
  • Not understanding the count 70, 80, 90, 20, 21 / 48, 49, 51, 52
  • Calculation difficulties
  • Persistent counting in 1s
  • Cannot remember number facts
  • Uses unstructured dots or makes tally marks to do calculations
  • Difficulty with mental arithmetic
  • Cannot remember times tables facts
  • Misunderstanding of maths language
  • Errors writing numbers
  • Reversing digits
  • Not understanding zero as a place holder
  • Inaccurate estimations
  • Inability to recognise if an answer is reasonable
  • Weak reasoning e.g.. inability to see number relationships
  • Weak at making connections e.g. 4 + 4 = 8 therefore 14 + 4 = 18
  • Problems with money and time
  • Lack of place value understanding
  • Errors when completing formal calculations

Tips for maths difficulties:

    1. Use imagery: Link mathematical facts and equations to images to help build memory. For example, an octagon has eight sides like how an octopus has eight arms.
    2. Use mind mapping: For example, create a mind map with the word ‘circumference’ in the middle. You could draw initial arms on this mind map to help the person, the arms could be labelled ‘write an equation’, ‘draw it’, ‘define it’, ‘write a question involving it’ – this encourages the person to interact with the information in different ways whilst acting as a revision tool. For the ‘write a question involving it’ arm, this is a good chance to talk through language by discussing how the person could have made the question clearer and correct mathematical terminology to use, whilst of course celebrating anything they do well! Then, you as the person teaching could use the question that they wrote to demonstrate how to approach problems, which links to the next tip …
    3. Think aloud: When demonstrating how to answer a question, speak aloud every step of the process: reading, annotating the question, making notes from the question, trialling an approach, trying a different approach, reaching a final answer and finally checking. Watching somebody do the whole process really makes it clear to the person you are helping.
    4. Build confidence: When assessing the person, don’t only ask questions that push the person to the limits of their capability but also ones that you know that they can answer – no matter how easy! The person can then see that they have remembered some knowledge that they didn’t know before!

Dyscalculia and maths resources and books

We have many resources and books in our shop that can help teach maths and numeracy. These include:
dyscalculia products in the shop

Fraction segments

Tabletop number lines

Awesome Games and Activities for Kids with Numeracy Difficulties

GCSE Maths for Neurodivergent Learners

All About Dyscalculia 

 

Want to understand more? We were joined by Dyscalculia Network’s Rob Jennings for a Spotlight webinar on the subject. We offer dyscalculia top-up assessments, and we offer specialist maths tuition and maths Personalised Learning in the Easter and Summer holidays to children.

By |2024-07-23T16:35:55+01:00March 1st, 2024|Team blog|0 Comments

Understanding problems with working memory

Children (and adults) with dyslexia can have trouble with their working memory. These are the short-term memories that we use when we are doing a task such as following instructions or adding two or three numbers together. This can affect performing a series of tasks such as getting dressed, making a sandwich and maths ability. It also affects reading; having figured out each sound in a word, remembering what those sounds to make the whole word can be tricky.

Here are some ways to help with working memory:

  • Explain what the end result of the task will be and why so that the child understands the outcome, eg you need to have warm clothes on to be ready for school.
  • Only give one or two instructions at a time, eg please put your socks on, then put your shoes on. In maths, this may mean giving only one part of a sum at a time.
  • Present the instructions in the order they are to be followed (so not ‘put your shoes and socks on’).
  • If necessary, repeat instructions and ask your child to tell you what they have understood.
  • If you can, and especially for a new task, show the child what you mean as well as say it.
  • Give them time to process and respond to these instructions, then carry them out, before offering further instructions, eg now get your coat from the hook and put it on.
Understanding that your child may have problems with their working memory and adjusting how you instruct them but also your expectations, will hopefully make life slightly less fraught – especially in the mornings!
By |2024-07-23T16:36:29+01:00February 26th, 2024|Team blog|0 Comments

New Spotlight session: Intro to Dyscalculia and Maths Difficulties

Approximately 6% of the British population have dyscalculia. And research suggests that around 24% of the population of OECD countries (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development- Skills for life study 2013) have problems with maths.

This online session from Dyscalculia Network’s Rob Jennings will help educators help their students with checklists, screening and intervention plans and it will help parents with tips on how to support your child at home.

Online, Monday 25 September, 6 pm. Includes a Q&A session. Recordings will be available.

Find out more and book.

By |2024-07-23T16:43:08+01:00September 19th, 2023|Course news|0 Comments

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