SEN Teaching Assistant - Complex Needs
- Kingston area, South West London / Surrey
- £92 - £98 PAYE per day, weekly payment
- Perfect opportunity for psychology graduates
- ASAP start, full-time (term time only)
If you have a psychology background, a genuine interest in how people communicate and regulate, and you are drawn to working with children who have some of the most complex needs in education, keep reading.
I am currently working with a supportive and friendly specialist school in the Kingston upon Thames area, supporting children and young people aged 4–19 with Severe Learning Disabilities (SLD), Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities (PMLD), Autism, and complex communication needs. This is a long-term temporary position with an immediate start, and it is the kind of role that genuinely shapes careers.
About the school
This is a specialist environment, one of the strongest of its kind in South West London. Every element of the provision has been built around the needs of its pupils, not the other way around. The school uses the SCERTS framework (Social Communication, Emotional Regulation, Transactional Supports) as its backbone, which means the team around each child is working towards the same goals in a consistent, evidence-based way.
The curriculum is fully personalised. There is no ‘one size fits all’ here. Children work at their own pace, on their own communication and regulation goals, supported by a rich multi-disciplinary team that includes speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, and specialist teachers. You will be working alongside these professionals every day.
The school has a strong wellbeing ethos, not just for its pupils but also for its staff. That matters in a school like this.
Main responsibilities
- Support pupils with severe and complex learning disabilities, many of whom are non-verbal or use AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) systems
- Assist with and deliver hydrotherapy sessions as part of a pupil’s therapeutic and sensory programme
- Provide personal care with dignity and sensitivity. This includes intimate care as required
- Implement and follow individual SCERTS profiles and sensory regulation plans
- Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team alongside therapists, teachers, and support staff
- Use observation and professional curiosity to track progress and flag changes in a child’s presentation
- Support pupils during dysregulation with calm, consistent, trauma-informed responses
- Contribute to a structured, sensory-aware classroom environment
This role is not for everyone, and that is absolutely fine. The children here have significant needs. Personal care is a daily responsibility. Hydrotherapy requires physical support in water. Some pupils experience periods of dysregulation that can be physically and emotionally demanding to navigate. There will be days when progress feels invisible, or when a child is having a really hard time.
But if you are someone who finds meaning in those moments, who sees the significance in a non-verbal child making eye contact, or initiating communication for the first time, or tolerating a new sensory experience, you will find this work profoundly rewarding. The team around you will feel it too. These schools have a culture unlike anywhere else in education.
If you are interested in this position, apply now or contact Heeji Moon at Parker Smith Inclusion.