The posting
Are you looking to join a team and take on a role where you can make a difference to the lives of children and young people?
If so, then we have an exciting opportunity to join us at Swindon Academy; where we are proudly the most improved school in Swindon!!
Teaching Assistant - Secondary Phase
Location: Swindon Academy; Beech Avenue.
Salary: £21,169 per annum, pro rata to the FTE of £25,915 per annum (pay award pending).
Contract type: 35.5 hours per week, term time only.
Swindon Academy are looking for an ambitious and hard-working individual to join a busy education support team within the secondary phase. The purpose of the role is to work in partnership with the class teacher to support student learning in line with the national curriculum, codes of practice and academy policies and procedures. You will also provide small group interventions using specific programmes as directed.
The main duties will involve:
- implementing planned learning activities/teaching programmes as agreed with the teacher, adjusting activities according to the needs of the students.
- work with individuals or groups of students to deliver intervention programmes in order to raise attainment.
- understand specific learning needs and provide differentiated support to students, both individually and within groups.
- establish & maintain positive relationships with all students.
- provide feedback to students in relation to attainment and progress under teacher guidance.
- provide feedback to students in intervention groups with regard to their attainment and progress on intervention programmes.
- support pupils with activities which develop literacy and numeracy skills.
- promote the inclusion and acceptance of students with special needs within the classroom, ensuring access to lessons and their content through appropriate clarification, explanation and resources.
- promote positive pupil behaviour in line with academy policies for culture for learning.
- write reports and maintain records as required.
- monitor and record pupil responses and learning achievements, resolving all but the most complex problems independently.
Our ideal candidate will have:
- excellent communication skills and be able to build good relationships with young people and adults
- the ability to deal with students and staff so that they feel they have been dealt with consistently and fairly
- an ability to convey authority and earn students respect, with the ability to make good decisions really fast.
- the ability to show initiative whilst knowing when to take advice
- good judgement over matters of confidentiality and integrity in dealing with sensitive information about students
- strong IT skills with the ability to positively respond to training in the use of school IT packages.
Other requirements
- GCSE in English and Maths at Grade C or above.
- very good grasp of literacy and numeracy skills.
- some previous experience of working with young people is desirable.
- some understanding of how students learn or teaching experience is desirable.
Why choose us
At Swindon Academy, we pride ourselves on a team of staff who are supportive, friendly and dedicated to providing the very best teaching and learning for our students. Staff across the academy set a culture of high expectations and continuous improvement for students which, in turn, is reflected in the emphasis we place on continuing professional development (CPD) for our staff.
We have made significant, sustained progress at GCSE and are proud to be the top performing school in Swindon for progress over the last six years.
Swindon Academy was the first all-though academy to open in the UK and has over 1,900 pupils from the age of 2 to 19. The school is situated in purpose-built £25 million premises, benefiting from excellent, state-of-the-art facilities and situated within the beautiful county of Wiltshire, within commuting distance for Bristol, Bath and Oxford.
After a visit from Ofsted in May 2026, the academy achieved a 62.5% in the "Expected Standard" category, meaning our school is fulfilling the expected standard of education & we are following the standard set out in statutory and non‑statutory legislation, & 37.5% in the "Strong Standard" category within the inspection framework, meaning we are working above the standard expected.
United Learning
Swindon Academy is part of United Learning, a large charitable trust of state funded academies (ULT) and fee paying private schools (UCST) across England who aim to offer a life changing education to children and young people.
Our schools work as a team and achieve more by sharing than any single school could. Our subject specialists, group-wide intranet, own curriculum and online learning portal help us share knowledge and resources, helping to simplify work processes and manage workloads for an improved work-life balance.
As a Group, we can reward our staff better: with good career opportunities, better pay, benefits, and ultimately, the satisfaction of helping children to succeed. We invest in our staff wellbeing. Our academies each have at least eight INSET days per year (3 of those are dedicated to planning), alongside a group-wide wellbeing programme where our ethos & vales aim to bring out "The Best in Everyone" - our core motto which applies to both staff & students.
