Literacy Lead (SEND)

Job Title: Literacy Teacher (SEND)

Job Location: Oakwood Specialist College, Yate, BS37 5JB

Salary: Between £27,300 and £33,600 per annum, based on 40 hours per week, 42.4 weeks of the year.

Contract Type: Permanent

As a Literacy Teacher working with neurodiverse young adults (ages 16 to 25), you'll have the unique opportunity to create meaningful and personalised learning experiences that promotes both academic success and essential life skills. You’ll be following the Post-16 Study Programme model, which offers flexibility in delivering literacy in ways that are both engaging and relevant to your learner’s lives, preparing them with life skills for adulthood.

Creativity is key. This means you can incorporate hobbies, real-world scenarios, or even the latest technology to make literacy come alive. Lessons could involve exploring digital literacy by creating blogs or podcasts, using social media to practice written communication, or even engaging learners in storytelling activities that enhance both language skills and self-expression. These creative approaches not only make learning more enjoyable but also help develop practical literacy skills that learners can apply in everyday life and potential future employment.

Some learners may require support in developing key language and communication skills. A primary focus of your role will be to enhance communication techniques and language development, using a therapeutically informed approach to learning. Our college is dedicated to providing a neurodiverse-affirming curriculum, and you'll receive excellent support in creating a total communication environment.

We encourage and welcome you to visit our college and experience first-hand the engaging world of teaching in a SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) environment. With small class sizes of just 5-7 learners, you'll experience how it’s possible to build strong, meaningful connections with the learners.

A day in the life of a Literacy Teacher will involve:

• Leading classroom activities including planning, teaching, and assessing learning, particularly with ‘your’ class. This will involve a range of subjects and topics involved in pathways to adulthood and pastoral support.
• Monitoring and recording progress, both academically and against EHCP outcomes.
• Working closely with learners, keeping them engaged, motivated, and inspired to reach their full potential.
• Providing inspirational learning opportunities to learners, whether in the classroom or out in the community. You’ll work either 1:1 with learners or in small group settings to help them achieve their learning goals.
• Working closely with Learning Support Assistants to direct them to effectively support the learners.
• Being able to provide and develop a curriculum bespoke to each individual learner. You’ll need to be adaptable in your teaching style as some learners may focus on becoming more independent, while others aim to secure employment.
• Being able to recognise when a learners progress is at risk, and where we could improve. You’ll need to be committed to seeking to understand each young person and their needs.

To be a successful Literacy Teacher you’ll need:

• Patience, compassion, and resilience—All of the learners you’ll support will be neurodiverse, which may impact their learning behaviour and communication needs.
• Great communication skills – This is important in this role as you’ll be speaking to a lot of different people at different times, whether it be learners, parents, or other stakeholders. You’ll need to be able to contribute to a range of resources as well as share information effectively.
• To be able to be involved in EHCPs, and shaping a curriculum based on the individual target outcomes of your learners.
• To be flexible and adaptable. Not all days go to plan, you’ll need to be comfortable dealing with change.
• A genuine interest in a career focused on the education of people with a wide range of needs.

In return for your time, you’ll get:

• Holidays – You’ll work 42.4 weeks of the year during term time, but you’ll be paid annual leave to cover the remaining 9.6 weeks.
• Pension scheme– Our pension scheme is based on you paying in 5%, and us adding 3%.
• Learning & Development Opportunities – We provide comprehensive learning opportunities for team members to develop themselves.
• Discounts – You’ll have access to brilliant discounts through the Blue Light Card and our own employee benefits platform.
• Wellbeing Support – Your wellbeing is always our priority. You’ll have access to mental health and wellbeing support. On top of this, our therapies team offers a monthly confidential check in clinic, and group reflective practice sessions.
• Cycle2Work -The cycle to work scheme enables you to buy a bicycle at a discounted rate.
• DBS – As this role required you to have an enhanced DBS carried out, we will cover this cost.

After 12 months service you’ll also be eligible for our Medicash scheme which covers a wide range of medical, health and wellbeing expenses (Including immediate access to a GP!). You’ll get life assurance paid at x2 your annual salary, and even more high street discounts.

Please note that as part of our safer recruitment processes, successful applicants will be subject to pre-employment checks including an enhanced disclosure and barring service (DBS) check, and online and social media checks, and reference validation.

At Phoenix Learning and Care, we pride ourselves on our diverse workforce, and ensuring we have an inclusive environment for all our team members. We remain committed to ensuring our teams can bring their true selves to work without risk or fear of discrimination.