Autism Support Teaching Assistant | Sunderland | Full Time

Location: Sunderland
Job Type: Full Time, Term Time Only
Start Date: September 2026
Working Hours: Monday to Friday, school hours
Pay: £98–£120 per day, depending on experience

Are you passionate about helping autistic young people thrive?

Protocol Education are looking for a patient and enthusiastic Autism Support Teaching Assistant to join a specialist school in Sunderland.

You will play an important role in helping pupils access education in a way that works for them, while supporting communication, independence, social development and emotional wellbeing.

This is a particularly rewarding role for someone who enjoys getting to know individual pupils and understanding their unique strengths, interests and needs.

The role will involve:

• Providing 1:1 and small-group support
• Supporting autistic pupils to engage with learning
• Helping pupils understand classroom routines
• Encouraging communication and interaction
• Supporting sensory and emotional regulation
• Breaking activities into manageable steps
• Encouraging independence
• Supporting social development
• Helping pupils manage transitions
• Reinforcing positive behaviour
• Working closely with teachers and SEND professionals
• Supporting pupils both academically and personally

Every pupil is different, so you'll need to be flexible and willing to adapt your approach.

Who would suit this role?

We are particularly interested in hearing from people with experience of:

• Autism
• SEND
• Teaching Assistant work
• Care or support work
• Youth work
• Childcare
• Speech and language support
• Behaviour support

However, previous autism experience isn't essential if you have the right attitude and are willing to learn.

You will ideally be:

• Patient and compassionate
• Calm and consistent
• Observant and attentive
• Adaptable in your approach
• Confident building relationships
• Comfortable working as part of a wider team

The ability to see beyond a diagnosis and understand the individual child is essential.

Protocol Education benefits include:

• Competitive daily pay
• Weekly PAYE pay
• FREE CPD and online training
• Specialist SEND training
• Dedicated consultant
• Long-term and permanent opportunities
• £50 Refer a Friend bonus

If you want to develop your experience supporting autistic pupils and be part of a team that makes a genuine difference, apply today.

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.

Full assistance provided. For details of our privacy policy, please see visit the Protocol Education website.