Higher Level Teaching Assistant

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of autistic young people? Are you patient, flexible, and confident supporting learners with a wide range of needs? If so, we would love to hear from you.

The Rise School is an Ofsted-rated ‘Good' specialist school for autistic pupils aged 4–18 years. At full capacity, we support 130 pupils across primary and secondary education within a nurturing, ambitious, and highly specialist environment where every learner is valued and encouraged to thrive.

We are looking for a Higher-Level Teaching Assistant to join our dedicated team. This role combines Teaching and Learning Assistant responsibilities with teaching cover across the curriculum, supporting pupils from Year 5/6 through to GCSE. The successful candidate will work flexibly across the school rather than being assigned to a specific class team and will also be expected to support break and lunchtime playground duties.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys variety and can quickly build positive relationships with both students and staff. You will deliver pre-planned lessons, support pupils with autism and co-occurring needs, manage behaviours of distress with understanding and professionalism, and provide clear feedback to teachers following lessons.

We are looking for someone with a genuine understanding of autism and specialist education. We value applicants who recognise that a special school is not simply a “mini mainstream” setting and who can adapt their approach to meet individual needs. You should be calm, resilient, collaborative, understanding that progress and engagement may look different for every learner.

Experience in mainstream or specialist settings is welcomed, and secondary experience would be an advantage. Subject specialism is not essential; however, strong basic English, computing, and technology skills are important. Autism knowledge, lived experience, and a willingness to continue learning through ongoing TLA training are all highly valued.

At The Rise School, you will be part of a supportive and committed team where your contribution will have a genuine impact on the lives of autistic young people every day.

Closing date: Wednesday 1 July 2026

Shortlisting date: Ongoing through June 2026

Start Date: September 2026

interview Date: Friday 3 July 2026 and Wednesday 8 July 2026

Only applications submitted online will be considered via the recruitment portal. We reserve the right to close this vacancy early should we receive a high volume of applications, therefore early application is encouraged.

Ambitious about Autism is committed to fostering equity, diversity, and inclusion at every level of our organisation. We warmly welcome applications from all qualified candidates, valuing the diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives they bring. We encourage applications from individuals regardless of race, colour, nationality, ethnic or national origins, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy or parental status, disability, or age.

Our recruitment process promotes equal opportunities, and we are committed to providing reasonable adjustments for candidates with disabilities or additional needs throughout the recruitment process. Please contact our Recruitment Team for accommodations. We recognise disability as a physical or mental impairment that significantly and long-term affects a person's ability to perform day-to-day activities, as defined by the UK Equality Act 2010. All applications will be considered solely on merit, aligned with our mission to support autistic children and young people.

Ambitious about Autism is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and successful candidates will be subject to an Enhanced DBS check. As part of our Safer Recruitment checks, an online search maybe carried out in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education.

The Safeguarding responsibilities of the post as per the job description and personal specification.

Whether the post is exempt from the rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 and the amendment to the Exceptions Order 1975, 2013 and 2021. This means that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain spent convictions and cautions are ‘protected', so they do not need to be disclosed to employers, and if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Further information about filtering offences can be found in the DBS Filter Guidance.