Are you resilient, patient and passionate about supporting young people with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs?

Protocol Education are looking for an SEMH Support Assistant to work within a specialist education setting in the Basildon area, supporting young people who require additional help to engage positively with education.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone who thrives on building strong relationships with young people and wants to make a genuine difference to pupils who may have found mainstream education challenging.

The role

As an SEMH Support Assistant, you will work closely with pupils who may present with SEMH needs, challenging behaviour, difficulties with emotional regulation or barriers to learning.

You will:

• Provide consistent 1:1 and small-group support to pupils with SEMH needs
• Build positive, trusting relationships with young people
• Support pupils with emotional regulation, resilience and engagement with learning
• Help pupils manage challenging situations and make positive choices
• Support teaching staff in maintaining a safe, structured and nurturing learning environment
• Use positive behaviour and de-escalation strategies where appropriate
• Encourage pupils to develop their confidence, independence and social skills
• Work collaboratively with teachers, support staff and other professionals to help pupils achieve positive outcomes

Who are we looking for?

We would love to hear from candidates who are calm, resilient, approachable and confident working with young people who can sometimes display challenging behaviour.

Previous experience within a school is beneficial but isn't always essential. We are also interested in people with transferable experience from backgrounds such as:

• Youth work or mentoring
• Residential or children's care
• Mental health support
• Sports coaching
• Behaviour support
• Alternative provision or PRUs
• SEND support
• Police, prison, military or emergency services backgrounds

Most importantly, you will need the ability to remain calm under pressure, establish clear boundaries and build meaningful relationships with young people.

Why work with Protocol Education?

You'll have the support of a specialist SEND recruitment consultant who works closely with SEMH and specialist education settings across Essex.

We can offer:

• Long-term and ongoing opportunities
• Competitive weekly pay
• Opportunities within specialist SEMH and SEND settings
• Continued support throughout your placement
• Access to relevant training and professional development
• Opportunities that can lead to permanent employment

Location: Basildon and surrounding areas
Role: SEMH Support Assistant
Hours: Full-time, Monday-Friday, school hours
Start: ASAP / September 2026

If you have the resilience, personality and enthusiasm to support young people with SEMH needs, apply today and we will be in touch to discuss suitable opportunities.

All applicants will require the appropriate qualifications and training for this role. Please see the FAQs on the Protocol Education website for further details.

All pay rates quoted will be inclusive of 12.07% statutory holiday pay. This advert is for a temporary position. In some cases, the option to make this role permanent may become available at a later date.

Protocol Education is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children. We undertake safeguarding checks on all workers in accordance with the DfE statutory guidance ‘Keeping Children Safe in Education’, this may also include an online search as part of our due diligence on shortlisted applicants.
We offer FREE online safeguarding and Prevent Duty training to all our workers. All candidates must undertake or have undertaken a valid enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check and subscribe to the DBS Update Service.

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