Learning Support Assistant

Meadows School is a non-maintained special day school in Kent run by the children's charity Barnardo's. We provide education for students between 5 and 19 who have an EHCP (Education, Health and Care Plan) or are in the process of obtaining one. Our designation is for pupils with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs.

We are based in Southborough (between the two historic towns of Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge) on a beautiful 19-acre campus. The site incorporates Key Stages 2, 3 and 4 and has a separate post-16 provision.

At present there is capacity for 100 pupils on roll.

The pupils who attend Meadows school may have had a negative experience of education and some will have spent time out of school in the past. It is for this reason that we have the three values of 'Engage, Enrich and Empower' at our core.

We engage minds, enrich lives, and empower futures.

We strive to achieve a culture that: promotes respect, tolerance and kindness; celebrates success and provides the ability to work through difficulties. Working in partnership with families and agencies, we aim to support pupils to develop character strengths and promote their resilience to enable the young person to maximise their potential during their time with us.

We offer a broad curriculum tailored to individual pupil needs. There are opportunities to study for GCSEs, BTECs, Functional Skills, Vocational Skills qualifications, Entry Level Certificates and Open Awards.

Ofsted judged Meadows School to be Outstanding for Personal Development and Sixth-Form Provision, and Good for Quality of Education, Behaviour & Attitudes, and Leadership & Management. Inspectors praised the school "as a place where pupils feel safe, are proud of their achievements, and benefit from staff who are ambitious for their future.”

We would love to hear from you. It is imperative that you have a passion for making a positive difference to the lives of the young people within the school and in building positive and supportive relationships. You should be a team player, resilient and motivated by challenge and have the ability to think creatively. You will need to be willing to work to Barnardo's Basis and Values and maintain Safeguarding as a core priority.

We believe in children; We transform lives; We fulfil vision.

Barnardo's Schools are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff and volunteers to share in this commitment.

Our safer recruitment processes mean that the safety and welfare of the child is paramount at every stage of the process and therefore we adopt rigorous scrutiny in our pre-employment checking. Applicants must be willing to undergo relevant pre-employment checks, including references being taken up prior to interview and for the successful candidate, an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, in line with the Keeping Children Safe in Education Statutory Guidance.

As part of your application, you will need to provide full details of your employment since leaving secondary education, starting with your current or most recent employment first and then by working backwards, including reasons for leaving. Please also include any periods of voluntary work and/or training, providing reasons for any periods not in employment, education or training.

Read further about our commitment to safeguarding and our pre-employment checks in our applicant information sheet below.

Please note due to the high volume of applications for some posts, this advert might close before the displayed closing date. We recommend that you apply for this role as soon as possible.

About Barnardo's

At Barnardo's we believe in children – no matter who they are, what they have done or what they have been through. Please read about our basis and values following the link below. You will be asked questions relating to them as part of the recruitment process for this role.

Barnardo's is committed to having a diverse and inclusive workforce for staff and volunteers. Our commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) is reflected in our values and our practice, and we have invested in this area of our work to ensure that we can deliver on our commitments to be an inclusive employer. EDI is a key enabler of our purpose as a charity and we want to ensure that the diversity of our teams is reflective of the communities we serve and that we continue to learn and develop our work with a focus on inclusion. We particularly encourage applications from candidates from Black, Asian and Minoritised Ethnic Communities, candidates who are LGBT+ and Disabled candidates.

Our basis and values

• Reference number: 23186
• Job Title: Learning Support Assistant
• Location: Meadows School, Tunbridge Wells, TN4
• Contract type: Permanent
• Hours: 32.5
• Salary: £22,731 (FTE) plus £1,264.06 (FTE) LSA Allowance Term Time only 39 weeks (£19,415.77 and £1,079.70 LSA Allowance Actual)
• Closing Date: 30 September 2026
• Interview Date: To be confirmed

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Benefits

Discounts at 100's of retailers

Employee suggestion scheme

Company pension

Employee Assistance Programme