The Portsmouth Grammar School is a leading co-educational school located in the historic heart of Portsmouth. We are very much a family school known for excellent teaching, superb pastoral care and wide-ranging co-curricular opportunities and offer an education across the age range from Pre-School to Sixth Form.

We are looking to appoint a committed, enthusiastic and caring Learning Support Assistant to work for 25 hours per week with an academically able pupil who requires 1-1 support due to a visual impairment. The pupil will be in Year 12; the Learning Support Assistant will be responsible for ensuring the pupil can safely access all aspects of school life and the academic curriculum.

Line managed by the Head of Learning Support (SENCO), the Learning Support Assistant will work with subject teachers and other staff across the school to ensure the pupil has reasonable access to all the school’s facilities. The pupil’s tutor will also be a key point of contact.

The successful candidate will have Maths and English GSCE at grade C or above and will ideally hold a qualification such as Level 2 in Support Work in School. Experience of working in a senior school would be an advantage and an interest in digital learning would be desirable.

Although the primary purpose of the role is to provide 1-1 support to the pupil, there will be also be some requirement for the post-holder to assist with a variety of administration duties within Learning Support.

We are looking for someone who;

• Has a warm and caring personality with the ability to gain the trust and confidence of an individual pupil whilst maintaining a sensitive and positive attitude to all pupils in the school.

• Is able to work with assistive equipment and learn new technologies as required to support the pupil, for example confident use of Microsoft Office to enlarge, resize and share documents

• Is able to work independently and with initiative

• Is patient and flexible

• Is able to work successfully within the Learning Support Department team and more widely across the Senior School staff team, collaborating with teaching staff to ensure their classroom resources are accessible

• Is able to keep appropriate records in accordance with school procedures

• Is an effective communicator

• Understands the importance of maintaining confidentiality at all times within a school environment and the need to work with discretion when dealing with sensitive information

• Will be able to develop a positive relationships with parents, staff, pupils and outside agencies

• Is able to support any specialist programmes supplied by relevant outside agencies, as guided by the Head of Learning Support

• Is able to provide the required level of support to the pupil

• Is able to understand and follow the school’s policies on Safeguarding, GDPR and Health and Safety

• Is supportive of the aims and ethos of PGS.

This post is offered for a fixed term of one academic year from 1st September 2025 to 31st August 2026. This is a support staff term time only role, to include attendance at all Professional Development Days in the school calendar. The hours of work will be 25 hours per week, Monday – Friday 8.30am to 2.00pm, with an unpaid 30 minutes for lunch. Some flexibility around hours at certain times would be welcomed.

The start date will be 1st September 2025.

How to apply:

Candidates are asked to apply using the online form linked to our advert on www.tes.com

The closing date for receipt of applications is midday on 18th June 2025 and interviews will be scheduled to take place in the week commencing 23rd June with a provisional interview date of Monday 23rd June 2025.

Any enquiries about the role or how to apply are welcome at recruitment@pgs.org.uk

The School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.

Applicants will be required to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post, including checks with past employers and the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS). The School may carry out online searches on shortlisted applicants and applicants may be required to provide details of their online profile, including social media account names/handles, as part of their application.

The post is exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. The School is therefore permitted to ask job applicants to declare all convictions and cautions on a self-declaration form in advance of attending an interview (including those which are ‘spent’ unless they are ‘protected’ under the DBS filtering rules) in order to assess their suitability to work with children.