Pupil Support Worker - Maternity Leave Cover - Temporary until July 2027

LOCATION: St Mary’s Kenmure, Bishopbriggs, G64 2EH

SALARY: £27,772 p.a.

CONTRACT TYPE: Temporary until July 2027 (Maternity Leave)

POSITION TYPE: Part Time/Term Time (39 weeks)

HOURS: 30 hours per week

At St Mary’s Kenmure, education changes lives.

We work with young people who have experienced significant barriers to learning and life. Within our secure care setting, our school provides a safe, consistent and nurturing environment where young people can re-engage with education, build positive relationships, develop their skills and begin to see a different future for themselves.

This is not a typical Support for Learning role. It is an opportunity to work in a highly relational, trauma-informed environment where small class sizes, strong relationships and close partnership between education, care and other professionals allow you to make a genuine difference to young people’s lives.

About us

St Mary’s Kenmure is a secure childcare service supporting young people referred through the Courts and Children’s Hearings System. Our five house units can each support up to six young people, with education playing a central role in their care and development.

Our school provides a broad and flexible curriculum for young people with a wide range of additional support needs, abilities and aspirations. We offer academic and vocational pathways alongside high-quality facilities, including a football pitch, gym, fitness suite and swimming pool.

Our approach is based on understanding each young person as an individual, recognising the barriers they may have experienced and providing the relationships, structure and support they need to engage successfully in learning.

The role

We are looking for a skilled, caring and committed Pupil Support Worker to join our school team.

Working alongside our teachers and wider multidisciplinary team, you will play an important role in helping young people to access learning, develop independence and experience success within school.

You will:

• Provide targeted support to young people within classroom learning, helping them to engage with tasks and activities and access the curriculum.
• Build positive, trusting and respectful relationships with young people, maintaining appropriate professional boundaries.
• Support learners who experience barriers to learning, including difficulties with communication, emotional regulation, concentration, engagement and social interaction.
• Work flexibly with teachers to adapt activities, resources and approaches to meet individual learning needs.
• Support young people during transitions between classes, activities and other parts of the school day, helping to provide consistency and predictability.
• Encourage young people to develop independence, confidence and ownership of their learning rather than creating dependency on adult support.
• Contribute to a calm, predictable and nurturing learning environment.
• Support positive behaviour and emotional regulation using agreed, relationship-based and trauma-informed approaches.
• Work collaboratively with teaching staff, care staff, health professionals and other colleagues to ensure that young people receive consistent support.
• Contribute to observations, recording and information-sharing about learners' progress, engagement and support needs.
• Undertake appropriate administrative duties associated with the effective running of the school, including maintaining records, preparing resources and supporting school systems and processes.
• Participate in meetings, professional discussions and training as required.
• Contribute positively to the wider life of the school and to continuous improvement.

You will be an important member of a small education team and will have the opportunity to develop your knowledge and practice within an experienced, supportive and highly collaborative environment.

Who we're looking for

We are seeking someone who is:

• Warm, patient and emotionally intelligent, with the ability to build positive relationships with young people who may initially find it difficult to trust adults.
• Committed to inclusive practice and to ensuring that every young person can experience success in education.
• Calm and consistent, particularly when supporting young people who may become dysregulated or disengaged.
• Flexible and adaptable, able to respond to the changing needs of learners and the demands of a dynamic school environment.
• Reflective, with a willingness to learn, receive feedback and continually develop their practice.
• A strong team player, able to work effectively with teachers, care staff and colleagues from other professional disciplines.
• Organised and reliable, with the ability to contribute to both direct learner support and the administrative requirements of the school.
• Committed to maintaining high expectations, while recognising and responding sensitively to the individual circumstances and needs of each young person.

Experience of working with children or young people with additional support needs, social, emotional or behavioural needs, care experience or other barriers to learning would be highly desirable.

A relevant qualification or experience in education, childcare, additional support needs or a related area would also be advantageous.

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who understands that relationships are at the heart of learning and who is motivated by the opportunity to help young people make progress, sometimes in small but hugely significant steps.

Why join us?

• Small class sizes and personalised learning.
• The opportunity to develop meaningful relationships with young people.
• A strong team ethos across education, care and other professional disciplines.
• An opportunity to develop your knowledge and skills in additional support needs and trauma-informed practice.
• Professional development and learning opportunities.
• A varied role combining direct work with young people, classroom support and wider school responsibilities.
• The opportunity to contribute to a genuinely nurturing and inclusive learning environment.
• The chance to make a lasting and meaningful difference to young people’s lives.

Interested?

If you are passionate about supporting young people to overcome barriers to learning and believe you could make a positive contribution to our school team, we would love to hear from you.

To apply, please complete the St Mary’s Kenmure application form and return it to: recruitment@stmaryskenmure.org.uk

Please note that we do not accept CVs.

For an informal discussion or to arrange a visit to the school, please contact:

Vinny Ferguson, Head Teacher

vferguson@stmaryskenmure.org.uk

St Mary’s Kenmure is committed to equality of opportunity and welcomes applications from candidates with a wide range of skills, experiences and backgrounds.

The successful candidate will be required to become a member of the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme, subject to the requirements of the post.

Our purpose is to provide a positive and life-changing experience for young people through individual care, education and skills development.