Oakwood School

SEN/SEMH Teaching Assistant
Full time and Permanent (term time only)
£21,500 to £25,000 (actual salary)
To start as soon as possible

We are expanding! This is an exciting opportunity to join our wonderful, growing school and work with our exceptional students and staff.

At Oakwood we take enormous pride in allowing our staff the autonomy to develop their own ideas, be creative, look after their mental health and ultimately to succeed, grow and be happy. If this sounds like something you would like to be part of, we would love to hear from you!

Job Role
Due to increased student numbers, we are excited to be recruiting for a Teaching Assistant to join us at Oakwood School in Leicestershire and work with our pupils who experience a range of needs including SEMH. We are lucky to have our school based across two sites in Bagworth and Groby. Staff may be required to work at either site (to be discussed/confirmed at interview).

We are removing the glass ceiling for TA’s and are creating opportunities to grow within the role for the right candidate. This would be dependant on the experience of the candidate and matching to a need within the SIP.

The ideal candidate will have experience working within SEN and/or SEMH. You will be able to successfully build trusting student relationships and motivate and encourage pupils by providing levels of individual attention, reassurance and help with tasks as appropriate. The appointed person will establish a supportive and nurturing learning environment in which students with special educational needs make good academic progress and can participate in activities across the school.

This is a fantastic opportunity for a creative and adventurous individual to join our school. We encourage our staff to take learning beyond the classroom and utilise our 30 acres of ground and woodland to bring learning to life. Due to the nature of our setting we are able to provide a working experience with children from 8-18 and would tailor the job role to your experience and skills set.

Essential Requirements

• GCSE in English and Maths (Grace C/4+)
• Experience working with young people with additional needs, specifically SEMH and Autism
• Full driving licence
• Access to a car and business insurance (or willing to obtain business insurance).

About Oakwood
Oakwood is a SEN School specialising in the education of SEMH students. Set in 30 acres of grounds and woodland in the heart of the Leicestershire countryside. The school has been purpose built to cater for the requirements and needs of the pupils we support and offers fantastic facilities for every child. We are a fairly new school with big ambitions and an ethos of putting every child first. We support a range of young SEMH pupils from the ages of 8-18 across our two sites based at our Oakwood Community School and our Cedarwood site within Leicester City.

At Oakwood we believe that treating everyone equally and developing a culture of mutual respect is essential to create a bond between staff and pupils and between pupils and their peers. We also uphold those values that help everyone embrace children whose backgrounds involve different faiths, lifestyles, and beliefs.

We have a no blame culture where you are encouraged to be creative. Applications are welcome from colleagues with either mainstream or SEND experience, with appropriate training provided for all staff.

We are immensely proud that our staff enjoy their work and enjoy coming to school. We strongly believe that by caring for our staff and providing the right work life balance, you in turn help to produce a happier environment, with a more productive team and a better connection with our students.

Working hours (and everyone really does go home on time!)
• Monday and Wednesday: 8:30am to 4:30pm
• Tuesday and Thursday: 8:30am to 4pm
• Friday: 8:30am to 3pm

We very much hope you will feel inspired to come and be part of the Oakwood team. If you're interested in making a real difference and impacting positively on the lives of our students, we would love to hear from you.

We encourage you to visit us to see for yourself the opportunities we can provide.

How to apply
For more information on how to apply, arrange a school visit and for a full application pack, please contact Mike Sherwin on the below details:

E: oakwoodschool@hays.com
T: 07525 889925

Closing date for applications: ASAP and by 9am Monday 18th May 2026

Strong applications may be considered upon receipt