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Mental Health Teaching Assistant Education and Training - Mental Health Teaching Assistant

If you aspire to work within Mental Health, a trauma setting, Youth or Criminal Justice, this long-term Mental Health Teaching Assistant role is a good opportunity to continue to develop, qualify your foundations of knowledge and experience.

You will be working with very vulnerable children, still adjusting to school life after missing school through Covid 19, its a long, challenging, reintegration for many of these children. The objectives and goals will always be different, for each student, their behaviour will likely be unpredictable and will often be dictated by the adults and environments they are exposed to, outside of school.

Job Title: Mental Health Teaching Assistant
Location: Plymouth
Salary Scale: £75-85
Start Date: ASAP

Mental Health Teaching Assistant Education and Training - Mental Health Teaching Assistant

Can you build a comfort and productive relationship with a student that is so effective, the student progresses to college and apprenticeship can you change the course of their life?

Of course, life and the role are not that linear, vulnerable children are surrounded by vulnerable adults and will be exposed to trauma and the opportunity to make decisions that are not in their best interest.

GSL realise the role that sincerity plays in any form of advocacy, be it in the mental health or special educational needs settings. If you have sincere empathy and know your reasons, your drive for helping children and vulnerable people who have been through severe trauma, being let down poorly by the adult world.
Seeing the differences of how mental health and autism, for example, manifest differently in girls and boys something overlooked and another example of the socio-economic and anthropological elements of life you will see play out in front of you.

You may have many things in common with some of these students, you could have very little in common, on the surface. The most important, integral element is where your sincerity comes from, understanding the positive, influence that they may be missing from the established adults in their lives, however small, you can have with them.

The school values Restorative and empathetic practices, empathy drives connection, this is a key aspect that vulnerable children who have been through significant trauma will really respond to, this is one aspect of connection that are looking for, not pity and sympathy.

These are 2 of the key aspects of this role, you must be sincere and understand this role and roles similar, are very challenging. This LSA role is not easy, each boy has a different context for their mental health and trauma, their own idiosyncrasies that will be different from their classmates.

Mental Health Teaching Assistant Education and Training - Mental Health Teaching Assistant

Please be advised that this role requires a strong knowledge and understanding of safeguarding and child protection and that successful applicants must satisfy all background safer recruitment checks including an enhanced DBS on the update service.



*Tapping into creative, sport, technology, cooking any outlet the boys and girls have, the school explore and positively encourage it
*Outstanding support provided from your consultant each step of the way during the registration and preparation for trial day processes, to the constant care and support when you are in role.
*Enhanced Child and Adult DBS required to work with vulnerable children, safeguarding
*Classes of no more than 6, you will have a mixture of 1:1 and small group work in class, dependent on the lesson and individual contexts
*Focus on Key and Personal Skills, giving the students skills that they can actively use in their personal and newly professional, lives.
*Level 4 and above grade (A* to C) required in Maths and English
* All training and support provided by the school with their excellent training system
* Preferably having a Driver's License