Teaching Assistant (Apprentice)

Cherry Orchard Primary Academy has a fantastic opportunity to appoint a Teaching Assistant (Apprentice) to join and support our classes in our highly successful academy that opened in 2017. This role is ideal for those who genuinely have a passion for helping children within a primary setting. 

What does the role involve? The main aim of this role is to support our teachers to deliver academic excellence, day in, day out, with professionalism and enthusiasm. This will involve providing a comprehensive support service to the Academy including:

• Assisting students with their educational and social development, on an individual and group basis
• Providing support for individual students inside and outside the classroom to enable them to fully participate in activities
• Assisting teachers with the maintenance of student records
• Building and maintaining successful relationships with students, whilst treating them with respect and consideration
• Provide expertise to deliver a personalised curriculum for each pupil’s learning
• Work together with families and other agencies to ensure every pupil is valued, challenged and supported
• Have the highest expectation that every pupil will make sustained academic and personal progress

Each and every member of staff, regardless of their position or seniority, is expected to participate in the overall running of the school and to act as a positive role model for our students. In and out of the classroom you will encourage and promote positive behaviour and effectively manage any situation that threatens to impact on the progress of other students.

Teaching Assistant life at Cherry Orchard Primary Academy: Being a Teaching Assistant at Cherry Orchard Primary Academy is a great opportunity to work with really experienced staff and amazing pupils. Don’t just take our word for it…click here to find out more from some of our existing TAs! 

Apprenticeship Summary
Annual wage:  Actual salary £10,369 per annum (£13,725 full-time equivalent)
Working weeks:  Monday – Friday, Term Time + 1 week inset 
Total hours per week: 32.5 (including the 20% training element of the Apprenticeship) – start and finish times to be agreed
Apprenticeship duration: 18 months approx.
Anticipated start date:  September 2024
Apprenticeship level:  Advanced Level Apprenticeship (Level 3)
Apprenticeship standard:  Teaching Assistant
Essential entry qualifications: GCSEs A* – C, Maths and English (desirable)

Future prospects: This apprenticeship could be the start of a very promising career within the wider business. We endeavour to offer further employment following successful performance and completion of the Level 3 course with future opportunities to extend your training with a higher level apprenticeship programme. We offer in-house Continuing Professional Development and you’ll be part of a highly experienced and efficient team – you’ll be learning from the very best!

This is a fixed-term position, working 32.5 hours per week, term time + 1 week of inset and offers an actual salary of £10,369 per annum (£13,725 full-time equivalent).

Working for the academy:  Cherry Orchard Primary Academy is a new two-form entry primary academy for students between the ages of 3 to 11 that opened in September 2017. The academy admits a maximum of 60 children into each year between Reception and Year 6 having initially opened with places available in Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.  We have continued to expand and from September 2021 we have children up to year 6 and with every year group at full capacity. 

The academy enjoys brand new facilities, a nursery for pre-school age children, and a small centre for children with speech, communication and language needs. At the heart of Ebbsfleet Garden City, Cherry Orchard Primary Academy is the focal point of this brand new community, providing local families with an outstanding educational facility.

At Cherry Orchard Primary Academy we will:

• Inspire and engage our children so they develop a lifelong love of learning
• Deliver a quality, inclusive education so all children are able to achieve to their full potential
• Create a learning environment where children feel safe and happy so are confident and enthused to ‘have a go’
• Ensure that all children feel valued and celebrate their success at every opportunity
• Provide learning experiences that include challenge for all, producing resilient and highly motivated learners
• Have a consistent, focused approach to managing behaviour, safeguarding, pastoral support and embedding British Values across all year groups
• Create a culture where staff work collaboratively as part of the wider team, sharing ideas and good practice and offering support to others.

Cherry Orchard Primary Academy has been judged as ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted at their recent inspection in November 2021, having been evaluated as outstanding in each of the five areas of inspection, Quality of Education, Behaviour and Attitudes, Personal Development, Leadership and Management and Early Years Provision. Please click here to view our website and learn more about Cherry Orchard Primary Academy.

Being part of Leigh Academies Trust: As of 1st April 2024, our Trust comprises 32 geographically organised academies (16 secondaries, 14 primaries and 2 special) educating more than 20,000 students and employing 3,000 talented staff. Nearly 40% of our academies are judged outstanding overall by Ofsted, versus 15% nationally. The Trust is establishing four ‘clusters’ of academies: North Kent; Central Kent; South East London; Medway. In addition, the Trust is responsible for one of the region’s biggest initial teaching training organisations, a large teaching school hub and is an accredited apprenticeship provider. Our future plans are found in our Vision 2030 document available on our website.

As part of Leigh Academies Trust, you will have ample opportunity to collaborate with your peers both within the academy and across the whole Trust. This is an important part of our vision as we know through experience that we perform better when we work together. You are supported to undertake regular self-development to continue your professional development and hopefully progress further within the organisation.

Click here to view the benefits available to all LAT employees from day one.

Our commitment to safeguarding: Leigh Academies Trust and all of our academies are committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our pupils, and we expect all our staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We adopt a fair, robust and consistent recruitment process across all academies and business units which is inline with Keeping Children Safe in Education guidance. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates – you can read more about this in our Recruitment Guidance. All offers of employment are subject to an Enhanced DBS check, references, and where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check.

Our commitment to equality and diversity: As a Trust, we are passionate about diversity and recognise that as individuals, we all bring something unique to the role regardless of any protected characteristics which is why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise. We are committed to providing equality and fairness throughout our recruitment and employment practices and not discriminating on any grounds.

Based on the quality and quantity of applications received, Leigh Academies Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy sooner than the specified closing date. Applicants will be notified of this where possible.  Therefore, early applications are encouraged.