Teaching Assistant

Full Job Description

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Job Title:   Teaching Assistant
Location:   Castle Garden School, Guildford, Surrey GU1 S3Q
Hours:       40 hours per week | Monday–Friday | 8:00am – 4:00pm
Salary:       £23,638 per annum (not pro rata)
Contract:   Permanent | Term Time Only
Start:         December 2026
UK applicants only – no sponsorship available

About the Role

At Castle Garden School, part of Options Autism, we believe every young person deserves the opportunity to succeed in a supportive, nurturing and inspiring environment. As part of our continued growth, we’re looking for a passionate and caring Teaching Assistant to join our close-knit team and help transform the lives of students with autism and additional needs.

This is more than a classroom role — it’s a chance to build confidence, inspire independence and make a genuine difference every single day.

As a Teaching Assistant, you’ll work closely with students to support their learning, emotional wellbeing and personal development — helping them engage with the world around them and achieve more than they ever thought possible. You’ll help create engaging learning experiences, support classroom activities, encourage positive social interaction and provide the guidance students need to flourish both inside and outside the classroom.

Whether you’re leading outdoor activities, supporting creative lessons or celebrating a student’s breakthrough moment, your role will be meaningful, rewarding and impactful.

What You’ll Be Doing

• Supporting students with autism and additional needs in their learning and development
• Assisting with engaging classroom activities and personalised learning experiences
• Providing emotional and practical support tailored to individual students
• Helping students build confidence, independence and social skills
• Supporting both indoor and outdoor learning activities
• Building positive relationships with students, families and colleagues
• Working collaboratively as part of a supportive and passionate team
• Helping create a safe, nurturing and inclusive learning environment

Who we are looking for

We’re looking for someone who is:

• GCSE English and Maths
• Caring, adaptable and enthusiastic
• Passionate about helping young people achieve their potential
• Confident working in a variety of learning environments, both indoors and outdoors
• A strong team player who values collaboration and mutual support
• Calm, patient and responsive to individual student needs
• Eager to learn, develop and grow within a rewarding education career

About Us

Castle Garden School is a brand-new independent specialist school for students with autism between 5 - 11 years of age.

Castle Garden School strives to provide effective, specialist education and support to autistic students and their families, which will allow students to achieve their full potential in education and life. Located in the town centre of Guildford, the school provides primary education and offers a unique mix of education and support to students within a wide spectrum of needs and abilities. Personalised teaching and learning in an autism specific environment allows students’ individual needs to be addressed completely and their capabilities fully realised.

At Outcomes First Schools, we provide specialist education for learners who need a deeper level of understanding, expertise and support than mainstream education can typically offer. We support students with a wide range of complex, co-occurring and neurodivergent needs, including autism, ADHD, SEMH, speech and communication needs, dyslexia and experiences of trauma or adversity.

We are proud to be a part of OFG Education who in 2025 were officially certified as a ‘Great Place to Work’ for the sixth year running.

Why Join Us?

We place students and vulnerable young adults at the heart of everything we do, so every day brings the satisfaction of making a real difference. We are committed to the safeguarding and promoting the welfare of students and young people. All applicants will be subject to social media checks and successful applicants to a fully enhanced DBS.

• Life Assurance
• Pension scheme with options to increase contributions
• “Your Wellbeing Matters” – mental health support and physical health checks
• Flexible Benefits Platform (Vista), including:
• Health, wellbeing and insurance benefits
• Hundreds of UK and international discounts
• Cycle to Work Scheme & Electric Car Purchase Scheme
• Critical illness cover
• Family Growth Support, including enhanced maternity/paternity leave and paid fertility treatment support

We reserve the right to close the vacancy early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications.

OFG Education is committed to carrying out a fair, thorough and efficient recruitment process in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education. Whilst we aim to keep applicants informed throughout, OFG Education does not accept liability for any loss of earnings or other associated costs incurred by applicants as a result of delays or changes in the compliance process. All stages of the compliance process are subject to necessary safeguarding checks and compliance with statutory requirements, which may affect timescales.

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