Teaching Assistant - Fixed Term - Special Needs Position

Rowhill School, Longfield

• Ref:KCC886-7044-169S
• Posted:24/07/2026
• Pay:Kent Scale C
• Start Date:Immediate or September
• App Close Date:01/09/2026 at 17:00
• Interviews:TBC

Advert

Fixed Term 1 year contract with a view to become permanent for the right candidate

We reserve the right to close the advert at any time. 

30 hours per week, 38 weeks per year (term time plus 5 inset days – these may fall on working or non-working days)

Salary: Kent Scale C

What are our pupils looking for?

1. People who like animals and are caring.
2. People who bring their personality and special interests to share in after school club and our extended curriculum – this year we have learnt to: ride bikes, enjoy sport, use digital animation, grow fruits and vegetables and cook! What could you help us learn?
3. People who get that we are all different, and some of us have autism and ADHD. Staff who are willing to learn about this and take the time to get to know how to work with us.
4. Staff who genuinely care.
5. Staff who explain things in interesting ways that engage us at our individual levels.

Our support team includes Educational Psychologist, Speech and Language Therapist, Play Therapist and Occupational Health Therapist. 

Don’t worry if you don’t have special school experience, very few of us did before we came here, the drive and desire to learn is however essential, and some knowledge of Autism, ADHD and mental health.

The day-to-day role will involve a range of duties including working alongside teachers to deliver lessons to pupils, working 1:1 with pupils to support additional needs, or deliver interventions.   

What we can offer you:

• Small class sizes (8-9 per class
• Excellent staff support package.
• Childcare vouchers.
• Employee Assistance programme.
• A supportive team who work together and support each other.
• Superb curriculum with academic lessons taught in the morning, afternoon sessions include enrichment activities and therapeutic sessions.
• Great CPD opportunities and commitment to developing professional practice relating promoting mental and emotional fitness.
• Apprenticeship routes for staff wishing to undertake professional qualifications.

Please see the JD and person specification.  For further information call the Headteacher, Nathalie Fitzgerald on 01474 705 377 for an informal discussion about the position. Visits are welcomed.

As part of KCSIE 2025 all applicants will be subject on on-line searches.  Applicants must be able to form and maintain appropriate professional relationships and boundaries with children, young people and other vulnerable adults. Applicants should have the ability to understand the difficulties and pressures associated with caring for children/vulnerable adults and demonstrate appropriate coping mechanisms.

As a thriving and diverse school, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where all belong.

Rowhill School is committed to promoting the safeguarding of children. Please note that this position requires as enhanced DBS and safeguarding checks will be carried out prior to appointment.

Information about the school

Rowhill School is a specialist school for young people aged 7-16 with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. We work hard to build resilience, social skills and emotional wellbeing, enabling pupils to develop confidence, achieve success and move on to further education, employment or apprenticeships. Due to the continued development of our Alternative Curriculum Provision, we are seeking an enthusiastic, creative and nurturing teacher to join our team. This is an exciting opportunity to work with pupils who benefit from highly personalised educational programmes delivered in small groups and on a 1:1 basis. The successful candidate will have a passion for helping vulnerable young people re-engage with learning and achieve outcomes that many may have previously thought impossible. Our pupils have EHCPs and additional needs which may include SEMH, anxiety-related disorders, Emotional Based School Non-Attendance (EBSNA), Autism and ADHD. They need adults who are patient, consistent, relational and genuinely committed to helping them succeed. Our pupils feel that the best 5 things about our school are: 1. We have animals (3 dogs, chicks, chickens, hamsters, rats and reptiles). 2. The way that staff support us, they understand that we can get overwhelmed, anxious and frustrated, school helps to bring out the best in us. 3. Pupils are kind and we help each other. 4. We feel safe at Rowhill, the school is small and very welcoming. 5. Daily enrichment, we have lessons in the morning and in the afternoon, we enjoy enrichment and therapeutic activities.

Job Contact Information

• Name:Samantha Owen
• Address:Main Road, Longfield, Kent, DA3 7PW
• Telephone: 01474 705377
• Email: owens@rowhill.kent.sch.uk

Documents

Below are documents that have been added to this vacancy.

• Job Description
• Welcome Pack