Specialist Teaching Assistant (Literacy) (Maternity Cover)

Role: Specialist Teaching Assistant (Literacy) (Maternity Cover)

Academy: Outwood Academy Ormesby

Start Date: September 2026

Salary (Actual Salary): £25,971.30 to £28,024.41 per annum (Grade 9, SCP 22-25) 

Working Pattern: 32.5 Hours Per Week, Monday to Friday (8:15am - 3:15pm), Term Time only + 5 days

The post is a temporary maternity cover position. 

Are you a highly qualified and experienced professional ready to deliver targeted, high-level support that drives academic attainment, particularly at GCSE level? Join us as a Specialist Teaching Assistant (Literacy), utilizing your English to mentor students. This senior role involves managing complex student caseloads, providing specialist knowledge on adaptations, leading statutory reviews, and ensuring bespoke intervention programmes deliver measurable academic progress.

The successful candidate will be a keen reader who learns quickly and who is committed to their own continuing professional development, building their expertise in early reading skills. The main responsibility of the post will be to develop students' knowledge of phonics using the Ruth Miskin Fresh Start programme. Knowledge of teaching phonics is not a requirement for the post as full training will be given. More important is a good general level of education and the ability to work productively with young people in a professional context using initiative and organisational skills. The post will also involve delivering reading development activities such as using reading schemes or giving other support to students as necessary. The ability to communicate effectively with the senior leadership team and staff on the reading improvement team is essential.

This is both an important and rewarding position. The successful candidate will form a pivotal role in helping students who have so far struggled to engage with education and in doing so, have the satisfaction of knowing that their work improves these students' life-chances.

Welcome from the Principal:

Thank you for your interest in the vacancy at Outwood Academy Ormesby in Middlesbrough.

As Principal, I'm extremely proud of our academy, where everyone is driven to help young people thrive and meet their full potential in one of the most deprived areas in the country. We are committed to the value that ‘every interaction counts’ and work relentlessly to transform students' lives and develop positive community relationships.

We seek colleagues who value a commitment to enriching student lives, collaboration, a growth mindset, and a relentless drive to ‘turn our best into our normal’.

As part of the Outwood Family, committed to transforming lives and raising standards, we would be delighted to welcome you to our team if you share our passion for improving the lives of young people and our wider community.

To view the Support Staff recruitment booklet, Click Here

If you have any questions or would like to visit the school, please contact Helen Murphy, HR Assistant via h.murphy@ormesby.outwood.com. 

You will manage a student caseload, providing crucial specialist advice on adaptations and resources needed to support their educational attainment. A key aspect is the responsibility for meticulously tracking and monitoring EHCP life skill targets and academic outcomes. You will lead Person Centred Reviews/EHCP Reviews, deliver intensive intervention programmes to groups, and complete essential welfare documents like risk assessments and individual health care plans. 

Furthermore, you will play a central role in leading the administration and provision of Exam Access Arrangements and testing, ensuring compliance, and supporting inclusion rooms like the Bridge and PLC.

• To view the job description, please click here.

It is essential that candidates meet the Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) standards or possess equivalent qualification or demonstrable experience. Candidates must be knowledgeable of the needs of students with learning difficulties and disabilities and the SEND Code of Practice.