Job Description

Alternative Provision KS2 Lead Teacher

Permanent, part-time

Kickstart Learning are seeking to recruit an experienced and qualified teacher to lead a small team supporting children who are not currently able to attend a school setting. The candidate should be a passionate, creative and inspiring educator who has experience working with neurodivergent children, particularly those with PDA.

We operate from our Hub in Beaconsfield where we have a Lego and gaming room; an art and science room; and a gym with chill-out area. We have two sensory tents that students can use whenever needed and we have various equipment to help meet students' movement needs such as a trampoline, punch bag and swing. Photos of the Hub can be found on our website.

Most of our work has been 1-to-1 so far but we are introducing small group sessions from September for children who are not currently attending school. This is usually due to there not being a suitable school place available for them. These children are often academically capable but have become disengaged from or fearful of learning due to negative, and sometimes traumatic, past experiences. An important part of the role is helping to show that learning can be fun and building the children's enjoyment, confidence and trust in learning once again.

This role is for our Key Stage Two group which will actually encompass children in Year 4 to Year 7. There will be a maximum of eight children in the group to start with.

You will be contracted to work 31.5 hours a week. The KS2 group will run Mondays and Tuesdays 12:30-3:30pm then Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 9:30am-12:30pm. You will be required to be at our Hub in Beaconsfield during these times as well as 30 minutes before the start time to set up and 30 minutes after it has finished to pack away.

You will oversee the group ensuring there is adequate planning for each session in place. There will be LSAs supporting the group with a minimum of 2:1 children to adults. You will be on-site during the group sessions providing support when needed but you will also use some of that time to complete admin. When there is a trip off-site (which is likely to happen once each week) you will need to accompany them. If an LSA is absent, you will be required to provide cover for their duties.

You will lead a weekly planning meeting with the LSAs as well as having a 1-to-1 catch-up meeting with each LSA to discuss their assigned key children's progress and any issues that might have arisen. You will also have a weekly 1-to-1 catch-up meeting with each of our tutors who work 1-to-1 with children who aren't able to access our small groups. You will then have a weekly meeting with our director, Kerry.

The 31.5 hours a week also includes an additional five hours of admin time (completing tasks such as updating policies; reviewing session and attendance logs; dealing with safeguarding concerns; preparing for and completing actions from meetings; creating student Learning Plans etc.) and one hour of self-directed training time. Included in your salary is also eight hours of inset time a year, some of which you may need to lead, and a monthly online 60-minute whole staff meeting led by our director.

As part of the role, you will be assigned Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for all academic sessions (both small group and 1-to-1). We will fund the training for this as well as first aid training if you don't hold a current qualification.

This is a breakdown of the hours involved in the role:

Per week

20 hours small group sessions (including set up, packing away and some admin time)

5 hours additional admin time*

1 hour self-directed training*

1 hour meeting with our director*

3 hours 1-to-1 meetings with LSAs and tutors*

1.5 hours planning meeting with LSAs

Per month

1 hour staff meeting*

Per term

4 hours alternating attending online parents' evenings (first half of each term) and checking written progress reports (second half of each term)

Annually

8 hours inset

An asterisk indicates that that element can be completed at home if you wish.

This is a salaried role in-line with the national teacher pay scales for England. You will start on L1 (Leadership Group) which is currently 49,781 full-time. You will work 39 weeks of the year and will only have weekends, Bank Holidays and school holidays off. You will be paid monthly pro-rata which equates to 40,223.69 and this will be spread over 12 monthly payments.

You will be paid separately to your salary for any additional work undertaken at a rate of 40 an hour. This includes attending Annual Reviews.

The small group sessions will be three hours in duration. For the first half of each session, there will be activities set up in the different rooms of the Hub focusing on various areas of the curriculum. The children will get to choose which activities they want to do. All activities will be practical in nature, fun and appeal to the interests of the group.

The second half of the sessions will be for self-directed project work where the children can either work on their own or with others to plan and complete a project of their choosing. They will be able to request a budget to assist in completing their project and they will be encouraged to have a real purpose to their project (such as planning and then running a tea party for parents). The children will also be provided with a daily budget for their lunch and will be expected to buy and/or make their own lunch.

Wednesdays will be different where the children will go on a trip off-site. This is likely to alternate between the local leisure centre and then somewhere of the children's choosing. They will be encouraged to plan the trip together and work to a budget.

We have our own bespoke curriculum and we use several online systems to help manage session administration, progress tracking, attendance and safeguarding. Full training will be provided for each of these and reasonable IT skills will be expected of the candidate.

Many of our students have Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) or demand avoidant tendencies. It's crucial that all sessions are low-demand and child-led. We present opportunities for the children and follow their lead as to whether those opportunities are taken up and in what way. You will not be in a traditional teaching role and you will not have traditional teacher-student relationships. Instead, you will need to be comfortable being seen as equals and happy to collaborate with the children to explore the topics they are interested in and incorporate learning into those topics in creative and fun ways.

A comprehensive package of training will be provided initially including trauma-informed practice, de-escalation strategies and safety interventions. You will then be expected to complete one hour a week of self-directed training using our extensive range of training materials.

The prospective teacher must be highly sensitive to the emotional needs of children as well as being patient and understanding. Kickstart Learning's philosophy is that all behaviour is a form of communication and should be treated as such. We do not use rewards or sanctions with our students and, instead, we understand the importance of co-regulation and we use trauma informed techniques such as PACE and the Collaborative and Proactive Solutions approach.

Duties

Contribute to maintaining and evaluating records of students' progress Support students to develop their confidence, self-esteem and independence Lead team meetings and regular 1-to-1 meetings with line manager Attend MDT meetings regarding students and write reports for and attend Annual Reviews Manage a budget Contribute to curriculum planning where appropriate Contribute to the management and preparation of resources Work cooperatively and collaboratively with other staff members, parents and other professionals Take an interest in your own professional development through undertaking relevant training and sharing best practice with other staff Be aware of and comply with all policies and procedures, including safeguarding; health and safety; security; confidentiality; and data protection, reporting all concerns to the appropriate person
Job descriptions only reflect 80% of a role and are not an exhaustive list of duties. You are expected to carry out other activities that are within the scope of your role.

Benefits of working for Kickstart Learning

You will be working for a highly respected and popular business that is going from strength to strength Neurodiversity affirming organisation who welcome neurodivergent applicants and actively employ accommodations to support staff in their roles Regular professional development training provided Comfortable and professional environment for you to work A relaxed, friendly and flexible working atmosphere A patient, understanding and passionate team Access to various resources, session ideas and equipment Uniform will be provided (t-shirts and jacket with company logo) Much more flexibility than working in a school enabling us to meet each individual child's needs Make a difference to the children who need it the most without the workload and additional pressures of working in a school
For further information about the role, please contact Mrs Kerry Lound at kerry@kickstartlearning.co.uk. There is no closing date so interviews will be offered at any point until the position is filled. Those successful at interview will be invited to our weekly social group on a Friday morning for an informal observation.

Kickstart Learning is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff to share this commitment. References and an enhanced DBS check will be sought from the successful candidate.

Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Pay: From 49,781.00 per year

Expected hours: No less than 31.5 per week

Benefits:

Casual dress Free parking On-site parking
Schedule:

Day shift Monday to Friday No weekends
Application question(s):

Why do you think you are the right person for this role? What aspects of this role interest you the most and make you want to apply? Do you have a current DBS check? If not, are you willing for us to apply for a DBS check for you? Are you a qualified teacher? What qualification do you hold? What year did you qualify? The job is based in Beaconsfield. Will you reliably be able to commute to this location? Do you drive and have your own car that you could use for local travel if needed? If you are offered the job, will you be able to start on the 3rd of September 2025? Will you definitely be able to work Mondays and Tuesdays 12-4pm and Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 9am-1pm? What knowledge and/or experience of working with neurodivergent children (both in a personal or professional capacity) do you have? What experience do you have working with children who have PDA?
Work authorisation:

United Kingdom (required)
Work Location: In person

Reference ID: KLKS2Lead2025
Expected start date: 03/09/2025