Job Introduction
Samuel Cody School is a thriving and inclusive special school located in Farnborough, Hampshire. We are one of the largest special schools in the county and offer our students an exceptional school experience. We serve students from across Hampshire and from neighbouring counties. All our students have an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), and most have a primary diagnosis of Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD) or SEMH (Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs). Many also have additional or co-existing needs including Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and associated speech, language, and communication challenges. We cater for students from Year R and KS1 through to KS4, with dedicated primary, secondary and SEMH departments. Our newly created offsite curriculum centre (Cody Coppice) supports young people who find it difficult to engage in a traditional school setting through a forest school approach to re-engage with education or as an early intervention strategy for those at risk of disengaging.
Our school promotes a whole-child approach to education. We celebrate individual strengths and provide tailored support for areas of need, delivering a full secondary curriculum alongside a nurturing and therapeutic environment. We strongly believe that children learn best through multi-sensory experiences (seeing, hearing, doing, and feeling) and we adapt our teaching to meet the needs of our learners. At Samuel Cody, students benefit from a happy, safe, and respectful school community where they feel valued, supported, and inspired to thrive.
Purpose:
To provide therapeutic support to students with special educational needs.
The role will require you to:
Develop learning activities/programmes for individual students or group of students and deliver lessons set by or with teachers or the SENCO under the professional direction and supervision of a qualified teacher.
Plan and deliver programmes for individual students or small groups of students, to develop skills including emotional literacy, social skills and regulation e.g ELSA, TALA, Lego Therapy ensuring opportunities are given for targets to be met
Develop an understanding of the specific needs of the children concerned, in consultation with the class teacher
Use specialist skills to support students, fostering independence and/or social skills
Deal with behavioural and special needs issues in conjunction with the teacher in accordance with the Behaviour Policy using a therapeutic approach and natural consequences
Liaise with, and establish constructive relationships with, outside agencies and parents as necessary, and under guidance from lead staff where appropriate/necessary/required
Evaluate the impact of the programmes delivered e.g. through planned observation or data analysis (with support)
Liaise with teachers and other support assistants about the needs and progress of children receiving additional support. If appropriate provide feedback (both written and oral) to the teacher on pupil performance, learning obstacles, testing and assessment activities
Use Earwig to show progress against EHCP targets
Monitor and record progress of students, including assessments to identify students who need extra help, for example to overcome emotional difficulties
Develop good relationships with children and promote their self esteem
Keep up to date with SEN resources and developments, through courses, discussions with colleagues, cluster meetings etc.
Complete tasks to maintain your qualification as applicable e.g. attending supervision
For this role, we are looking for people who demonstrate the following:
Strong emotional literacy
An understanding of trauma informed practice
Empathy for children with SEND including SEMH
Specialist training /qualification such as ELSA or TALA
Good literacy/numeracy skills
Good communication skills and ability to clarify and explain instructions clearly
Ability to be rofessionally discreet and able to respect confidentiality
Effective use of ICT
Well developed interpersonal skills enabling effective relationships with a variety of different people
Team worker skills
Ability to motivate and encourage children appropriately
Ability to work independently and with initiative
Ability to establish and maintain good relationships and rapport with other colleagues in the school and with external contacts (eg parents, education psychologists, speech therapist etc)
Closing Date: 26 January 2026
Shortlisting Date: 27 January 2026
Interview Date: 30 January 2026
Applicants are required to fill in an application form
Please send completed application forms to recruitment@samuelcody.hants.sch.uk
Safer Recruitment
We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring Service checks along with other relevant employment checks.
Attached documents
