Learning Support Assistant Apprenticeship

Summary

Join Birch Wood School as a Learning Support Assistant and help empower students with diverse needs, including SLD, PMLD, Autism, and ADHD. Support learning, personal care, and emotional growth in a flexible, inclusive environment where compassion, patience, and connection make a lasting impact.

Wage

£12,955.80 for your first year, then could increase depending on your age

National Minimum Wage rate for apprentices

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The above salary for for full time, this role is TERM TIME ONLY, working 39 weeks per year. The actual salary is £9611.90.

Training course

Teaching assistant (level 3)

Hours

Monday to Friday. Shifts tbc.

32 hours 30 minutes a week

Start date

Thursday 21 August 2025

Duration

1 year 9 months

Positions available

3

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you’ll do at work

As a Learning Support Assistant, you'll play a key role in fostering an inclusive environment, supporting learning, personal care, and social development, while building meaningful connections with students, families, and teachers.

To work under the supervision of a teacher to provide care and encouragement to children and young people with disabilities or special educational needs, supporting them to participate in activities and liaising, if required, with parents/carers / other professionals as appropriate
To work under the direct supervision of a teacher to carry out planned learning activities to meet the specific needs of designated children, either individually or in small groups, providing feedback on their engagement in activities and their achievement of the desired learning objectives
To support the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of pupils, including contributing ideas and suggestions to support planning, to meet their development needs
To observe and feed back to the teacher on pupil performance and behaviour, taking action as appropriate in line with relevant school policies
To help prepare, monitor and maintain a safe and secure learning environment in line with the teacher’s lesson plans
To support pupils to improve their numeracy and literacy skills through focused learning activities and more generally across the curriculum
To prepare and utilise ICT resources to support pupils learning.
To prepare and support the use of learning materials, adapting them as necessary to meet the needs of the designated pupil(s).
To participate in educational visits and off-site activities in order to support the full engagement of the designated pupil(s)
To interact with and respond positively to children, young people and adults
To develop positive relationships with colleagues, providing consistent and effective support and working constructively as a member of the school staff team
To encourage participation in structured and unstructured learning activities, including play (timetabled and during breaks if required)
To provide toileting support to pupils as necessary

Where you’ll work

Grange Drive
Melton Mowbray
LE13 1HA

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

LOUGHBOROUGH COLLEGE

Your training course

Teaching assistant (level 3)

Equal to A level

Course contents

Apply strategies to support and encourage the development of independent learners.
Adapt communication strategies for the audience and context.
Apply behaviour management strategies in line with organisational policy.
Adapt resources to support all learners.
Communicate with teachers to ensure clarity of the TA’s role.
Apply teaching strategies to deliver learning activities or interventions.
Build relationships with learners, teachers, other professionals and stakeholders.
Comply with legislation, guidance, and procedures for Prevent, safeguarding and health & safety.
Support the well-being and mental health of learners.
Observe, record, and report on learners in line with organisational procedures.
Apply methods of formative assessment.
Use up to date technology safely, to support learning.
Encourage safe use of technology by learners.
Adapt teaching strategies to support all learners (for example, scaffolding, open questioning).
Identify and respond to pastoral and academic behaviours in learners.
Provide feedback to learners.
Apply strategies to support and encourage the development of independent learners.
Adapt communication strategies for the audience and context.
Apply behaviour management strategies in line with organisational policy.
Adapt resources to support all learners.
Communicate with teachers to ensure clarity of the TA’s role.
Apply teaching strategies to deliver learning activities or interventions.
Build relationships with learners, teachers, other professionals and stakeholders.
Comply with legislation, guidance, and procedures for Prevent, safeguarding and health & safety.
Support the well-being and mental health of learners.
Observe, record, and report on learners in line with organisational procedures.
Apply methods of formative assessment.
Use up to date technology safely, to support learning.
Encourage safe use of technology by learners.
Adapt teaching strategies to support all learners (for example, scaffolding, open questioning).
Identify and respond to pastoral and academic behaviours in learners.
Provide feedback to learners.

Your training plan

Qualification:

Level 3 Apprenticeship Standard in Teaching Assistant
Functional Skills Level 2 in English and maths (if required)

Delivery Method:

Optional classroom sessions at Loughborough College (term time only)
Online portfolio to update with learning and development completed onsite
Diarised visits from a dedicated Trainer/Assessor
Attendance at Loughborough College for Functional Skills (if required)

More training information

An apprenticeship includes regular training with a college or other training organisation. At least 20% of your working hours will be spent training or studying.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

English (grade 4/C)
Maths (grade 4/C)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Team working
Non judgemental
Patience

Other requirements

Loughborough College reserves the right to withdraw this vacancy before the end date, following consultation with the employer.

About this company

Birch Wood Area Special School consists of two successful and vibrant special schools- Birch Wood Grange Drive (age 4-19 years) and Birch Wood Vale (age 11-19 years) which includes Ashton House a secondary specialist autism provision and our newly formed Birch Wood College Post 16. We are an outward looking maintained school, committed to our community in Melton Mowbray and the surrounding areas in Leicestershire. Birch Wood provides a highly specialised and completely unique learning environment, which aims to meet our pupils at their point of need to enable their success. We share a culture which is ambitious without limits for our children and young people and aim to provide a high quality, relevant and balanced education that focuses on individual, personal and academic achievement. Across all our sites our ENABLES ethos underpins our teaching and learning to help develop confident and happy young adults ready for their next steps in learning and life. Our teaching and support staff community has an unwavering passion and determination to continuously improve our school to provide the best outcomes for every pupil. In essence we are a reflective learning community, with the highest standards for our pupils care and education. We take great pride in our school and our ability to work together with parents and professionals to provide students with opportunities to progress and achieve both academically and socially. We are passionate about inclusion and embrace our wider role to make education more inclusive for all in collaboration across all sectors and through our work leading The Leicestershire & Rutland SEND & Inclusion Hub in partnership with Leicestershire & Rutland Teaching School Hub. At Birch Wood students are taught in smaller groups, with more than one member of staff in attendance so that we can nurture, challenge and inspire them through to success. We are a well-resourced school with many in house specialists including our own commissioned Speech and Language Therapist and Occupational Therapists. We also offer a range of other therapies and additional support services including Music Therapy, Rebound Therapy and School Councillor. At Birch Wood Area Special school you should receive a warm welcome from students and staff, be inspired by their thirst for learning and positive attitudes, sense their enjoyment and respect for each other and be able to see the positive difference.

https://birchwoodschool.co.uk/ (opens in new tab)

Disability Confident

A fair proportion of interviews for this apprenticeship will be offered to applicants with a disability or long-term health condition. This includes non-visible disabilities and conditions.

You can choose to be considered for an interview under the Disability Confident scheme. You’ll need to meet the essential requirements to be considered for an interview.

After this apprenticeship

Expected to progress to a fully qualified Learning Support Assistant role.

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