Pastoral Support Assistant

Markyate Source: WhatJobs

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Pastoral Support Assistant - October Start

St Albans, Hertfordshire 95- 120 per day Full-Time Monday-Friday, 8:15am-3:30pm

Are you an experienced Teaching Assistant, HLTA, Behaviour Mentor or Learning Support professional looking for a rewarding new opportunity? Do you have the patience, confidence and behaviour management skills to support young people who may need a different approach to education?

Tradewind Recruitment is recruiting for a Pastoral Support Assistant to join a supportive specialist setting in St Albans from 5th October 2026 .

This role would suit someone who enjoys building positive relationships with young people, encouraging engagement and helping pupils overcome barriers that may be affecting their education.

The Role

Working as part of a dedicated team, you will provide day-to-day pastoral and practical support to pupils, helping them feel settled, understood and ready to learn.

Your responsibilities will include:

Supporting pupils as they arrive and settle into the school day.
Helping pupils transition successfully between lessons and activities.
Encouraging positive behaviour, attendance and engagement.
Providing one-to-one and small-group support when required.
Helping pupils manage emotions and regulate their behaviour.
Responding calmly and confidently to challenging situations.
Using appropriate behaviour management and de-escalation strategies.
Building positive relationships while maintaining clear boundaries.
Identifying barriers to learning and helping pupils overcome them.
Monitoring behaviour, engagement and general wellbeing.
Working closely with teachers and other staff to ensure consistent support.
Contributing to safeguarding and promoting pupil welfare.

Who We're Looking For

This opportunity would suit an experienced TA, HLTA, LSA, Behaviour Mentor or pastoral support professional who is confident working with young people who may display challenging behaviour or have additional needs.

You should be:

Calm, patient and resilient.
Confident managing challenging behaviour.
Able to build rapport and establish trust quickly.
Consistent when setting boundaries and expectations.
Encouraging and able to motivate reluctant learners.
Flexible, proactive and confident using your initiative.
A strong communicator and team player.
Passionate about helping young people make positive progress.

Experience supporting pupils with SEMH, SEND, challenging behaviour or other additional needs would be highly desirable.

Primary Experience Welcome

You do not need extensive secondary-school experience to be considered.

The school would be particularly interested in hearing from experienced primary TAs and HLTAs with strong behaviour management and relationship-building skills. The ability to adapt your approach to individual pupils is more important than simply having previous secondary experience.

About the Setting

The role is based within a specialist educational setting in St Albans , supporting young people aged 11-16 across KS3 and KS4 .

The setting works with pupils who have experienced difficulties accessing mainstream education. Pupils may present with SEMH needs, challenging behaviour, attendance difficulties or other barriers to learning .

Small class groups allow staff to build strong relationships with individual pupils and provide a more personalised approach to support.

This is an opportunity to use your existing education and behaviour management experience while developing valuable pastoral and specialist education experience.