Job Description
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REQUIRED SEPTEMBER 2026
We are looking to appoint a Learning Support Assistant to join Cherry Tree Academy in Colchester to start on 2nd September 2026.
The working hours for this position are 25 hours per week, term time only. Working pattern Monday - Friday 8.45am - 3.00pm, this includes a 15-minute unpaid morning break. Scale 3 point 6, actual starting salary £14,650 per annum.
This also includes an additional 2.5 hours per week, (½ an hour per day), lunchtime support. (Scale 2 point 4, £1,419 per annum).
Total working hours - 27.5 hours per week, total salary £16,069 per annum
Applicants should have experience working with children in a school environment as well as children with educational needs. It is essential that you have GCSEs (grades A-C) in both Maths and English, or hold equivalent qualifications in this area.
Successful applicants will join our friendly, caring and highly competent team of learning support staff.
It is essential that the successful candidate can demonstrate the following:
- Enthusiasm to work with children with a variety of different personalities and skill levels.
- Able to engage well with pupils.
- Able to work under your own initiative.
- Smartly presented and with excellent time management skills.
We offer a supportive and enjoyable working environment with a commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children.
If you feel that you could be the person we are looking for, we would love to hear from you. Visits to our school are encouraged, please contact the school office on 01206 575224 to arrange an appointment.
At Cherry Tree Academy, we believe that education is about far more than academic achievement alone. It is about nurturing confidence, resilience, communication and emotional wellbeing, ensuring that every child feels safe, valued and supported. Our inclusive ethos is underpinned by our commitment to the Thrive Approach, which supports children's emotional development and helps them to build positive relationships and a strong sense of self.
Our dedicated and compassionate staff team works collaboratively to deliver a broad, balanced and ambitious curriculum that inspires curiosity and a love of learning. We are proud to offer a specialist Speech and Language Provision, enabling us to meet a wide range of needs and ensure that all pupils are supported to communicate effectively and reach their full potential.
Alongside high expectations for learning, we place great importance on personal development, behaviour and wellbeing. We aim to nurture confident, reflective learners who are well prepared for the next stage of their education and equipped with the skills, values and attitudes needed for life beyond primary school.
Strong partnerships with families are central to our success, and we value the trust and collaboration that exist between home and school. By working together, we ensure that every child receives the care, guidance and opportunities they deserve.
Inspires Multi-Academy Trust are committed to:
- Safeguarding and promoting the welfare and safety, and the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development, of children and young people;
- Promoting equality of opportunity and community cohesion where the diversity of different backgrounds and circumstances is appreciated and positively valued;
- Promoting the fundamental British values of democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance for those with different faiths and beliefs;
and expects all staff, volunteers and other workers to share this commitment.
It is recognised that this can only be achieved through sound procedures, good inter-agency co-operation and the recruitment and retention of competent, motivated employees who are suited to, and fulfilled in the roles they undertake.
The appointment will be subject to an enhanced DBS check, medical clearance and satisfactory references.