SEND Teaching Assistant

Are you a dedicated SEND Teaching Assistant looking to make a real difference in a secondary school setting?

We’re working with a range of supportive secondary schools across Sunderland who are seeking a confident and compassionate SEND Teaching Assistant to support students with additional needs.

As a SEND Teaching Assistant in a secondary school, you’ll support pupils aged 11–16 with a range of needs including autism, ADHD, SEMH and learning difficulties. This isn’t just classroom support. It’s relationship-building. It’s helping young people feel understood, safe and capable.

What you’ll be doing as a SEND Teaching Assistant (Secondary):

• Providing 1:1 and small group SEND support
• Supporting students with EHCPs
• Assisting with differentiated learning in mainstream secondary classrooms
• Helping students regulate emotions and behaviour
• Working closely with SENCOs, pastoral teams and subject teachers
• Supporting inclusion and positive engagement

Secondary SEND Teaching Assistants need patience, resilience and the ability to connect with teenagers who may not always find school easy.

We’re looking for a SEND Teaching Assistant who:

• Has experience supporting young people with SEND
• Understands SEMH, autism or ADHD support strategies
• Can remain calm and consistent under pressure
• Builds trust quickly with secondary-aged pupils
• Is proactive and team-focused

Experience in PRU, alternative provision or youth work is highly valued.

Why work with Protocol Education?

At Protocol Education, we know SEND support staff are the backbone of inclusive schools. You deserve roles where your skills are recognised.

Working as a SEND Teaching Assistant with us means:

• Weekly PAYE pay, no umbrella companies
• FREE access to our CPD Academy
• Ongoing SEND-focused training
• Dedicated consultant support
• Roles in mainstream, specialist and alternative secondary settings
• Referral scheme rewards

FREE SEND CPD and Specialist Training

Every SEND Teaching Assistant gets full access to our online CPD Academy. That includes training in:

• Autism awareness
• SEMH strategies
• Behaviour de-escalation
• Safeguarding in secondary settings

We invest in your development because confident staff create confident classrooms.

If you’re a SEND Teaching Assistant ready to support secondary pupils across Sunderland, apply today and let’s find the right school for you.

All applicants will require the appropriate qualifications and training for this role. Please see the FAQs on the Protocol Education website for further details.

All pay rates quoted will be inclusive of 12.07% statutory holiday pay. This advert is for a temporary position. In some cases, the option to make this role permanent may become available at a later date.

Protocol Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We undertake safeguarding checks on all workers in accordance with the DfE statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, this may also include an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted applicants.
We offer FREE online safeguarding and Prevent Duty training to all our workers. All candidates must undertake or have undertaken a valid enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and subscribe to the DBS Update Service.

Full assistance provided. For details of our privacy policy, please see visit the Protocol Education website.

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