Job Title: SEN Teaching Assistant – SEMH School
Location: Hackney, East London
Salary: £90–£100 per day (PAYE, weekly pay)
Contract: Full-time, Long-term
Start Date: ASAP

Not your average TA role.

Some classrooms need more than worksheets and whiteboards. They need patience. Consistency. Someone who can stay calm when things feel anything but.

We’re working with a specialist SEMH school in Hackney looking for a resilient, kind, and switched-on SEN Teaching Assistant to support pupils with social, emotional and mental health needs.

These students are bright, funny, and full of potential. They just need the right adults around them.

Could that be you?

What you’ll be doing

• Supporting pupils 1:1 and in small groups

• Helping regulate emotions and behaviour in a calm, steady way

• Building proper relationships, the kind based on trust, not tick sheets

• Working closely with teachers, therapists, and pastoral staff

• Creating a safe, structured space where pupils can reset and succeed

This is the kind of role where small wins matter. A full lesson attended. A conflict avoided. A smile where there wasn’t one before.

The school

• Specialist SEMH setting with strong leadership

• Clear behaviour systems and proper staff support

• On-site training and CPD

• A team who genuinely back each other

You won’t be left to figure it out alone. Support is built in.

We’re looking for someone who:

• Has experience with SEMH, PRU, youth work, support work, or similar

• Stays calm under pressure

• Understands that behaviour is communication

• Can set firm boundaries, kindly

• Wants to make a real difference, not just fill a gap

If you’ve worked in challenging environments before, you’ll know this isn’t always easy. But it is meaningful.

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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