Teaching and Learning Mentor

LOCATION: Riverside Meadows Academy – St. Neots
RESPONSIBLE TO: Head Teacher
SALARY: Level 2

Focus of the Post
– Mentoring of SEMH pupils over time to access curriculum activities.
– Raise standards of attainment and learning to access wider options for their
employability.
– Support for literacy and communication skills including digital literacy.
– Prepare pupils for safe access to the wider community, to recognise the challenges
and how to gain future support and services as adults.

Main purpose of the role
– Direct delivery of sessions with pupils.
– Plan and facilitate the active participation of pupil engagement in academic, social,
and vocational aspects of the Academy.
– Contribute to raising standards of achievement for all pupils.
– Able to support pupils to gain positive outcomes and make a difference
– Support the reputation of the Academy and when required support others to
maintain GDPR and confidentiality with pupil case work.

Accountabilities

Support for Pupils
– Delivery of planned curriculum activities with individuals or groups of pupils.
– Contribute to the preparation of learning activities.
– Provide specialist support (requiring in-depth knowledge and experience acquired
with professional development over time)
– Provide pupil care and ensure the teaching team contribute to actively support in
line with good practice and practice standards.
– Take responsibility for delivering learning activities following direction with 1:1
sessions or pairs of pupils who would benefit from adaptive learning.
– Establish and maintain supportive relationships across the Academy with individual
pupils, whole class groups and parents/carers.
– Contribute to inter- agency working with specialist services on behalf of individual
pupils a, e.gs directed by Assistant Head for: educational psychologists, speech
therapists and note goals and record outcomes accurately.
– Continuous professional development to be able to provide information on promoting
inclusion and safeguarding in the classroom, ensuring all pupils feel safe with tasks
and activities both on and off – site.

Delivering the curriculum
– Deliver the school curriculum, providing adaptive support and access for individual
needs.
– Provide additional tuition or Remote Learning to support pupils access education.
– Provide targeted support to enhance learning and improve attainment linked to EHC
Plans or for Pupil Premium.
– Participate in professional development to enhance your skills to make best use of
digital technology and preparation of resources for pupils.
Support for the Assistant Head Teacher
– Follow guidelines to record pupil progress including use of formative assessment
processes or use of photos to describe learning and participation overtime.
– Contribute to the development of targets for pupils with pupils for their programmes
of study or EHCP.
– Contribute and support creation of resources for pupils and signpost these to share
with others in the team.
– Provide accurate written feedback related to social, emotional, and mental health of
individuals.
– Participate in school wide quality assurance and planning for your team.
– Keep the classroom learning environment organised for daily use and maintain tidy
storage and retention of resources for efficient delivery of teaching and learning on a
day-to-day basis.
– Deliver the Behaviour Policy, Safeguarding Policy and support the development of a
school wide learning culture. Have a positive attitude to step up to take charge of
situations to ensure safety to allow teaching and learning to continue for other pupils.

Support for the school
– Learn how to maintain positive working relationships with other staff and parents or
carers and recognise your own resilience in situations under pressure.
– Provide support to the headteacher in ensuring that the whole school provides a safe
and healthy and safe environment.
– Attend and speak up in staff meetings so your views can contribute to the school
co-operations.
– Support extra-curricular activities with pupils.
– Make suggestions for school events and offer to support events organised by others
in your team or wider school.
– Accept flexibility of assigned duties and any reasonable request from the Head
Teacher to support the day-to-day operation of the school. Duties on rare occasions
may be above or below your grade of post if the Head deems this is suitable for your
skill set to support the school.

Professional development:
– Participate in arrangements for the appraisal and review of your own performance.
– Participate in arrangements of further training and professional development, and,
where appropriate, that of other members of the team, including induction.
– Undertaking training and professional development to ensure progression in the
development of your work within the responsibility of this job description.

Contribute to the general policies and practices of the Academy:
– Contribute as required to the development, implementation and evaluation of
policies, practices, and procedures in such a way as to support the Academy’s values
and vision.
– Promote the health, safety and well-being of students and colleagues.
– Know how to identify potential safeguarding issues and follow safeguarding
procedures.
– Ensure the development and progression of equality within the sphere of
responsibility of this job description and the fair and equal treatment of all students,
parents/carers, staff, other personnel in the Academy or working with the Academy.
– Undertake any other duties and responsibilities which are consistent with the grade
and expertise required of the post holder, as may be required from time to time.

Safeguarding our pupils:
All teaching staff work staff work as part of a whole school team. They are required to
support the values and ethos of the school and school priorities as defined in the School
Development Plan and priorities. This will mean focusing on the needs of colleagues, parents and pupils and being flexible in a busy pressurised environment.
Because of the nature of this job, it will be necessary for the appropriate level of Disclosure
and Barring Service check (DBS) to be undertaken. Therefore, it is essential in making your
application that you disclose any convictions or cautions (excluding youth cautions, reprimands or warnings) that are not ‘protected’ as defined by the Ministry of Justice. The DBS
check will reveal both spent and unspent convictions, cautions and bind-overs as well as
pending prosecutions, which aren’t ‘protected’ under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act
1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) and check to establish that a person is not
barred from ‘regulated’ activity as defined by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act
2006.
Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the
Ministry of Justice website.
The fact that a pending prosecution, conviction, bind-over or caution has been recorded
against you will not necessarily debar you from consideration for this appointment.
In the event of employment being taken up, any failure to disclose relevant convictions will
result in dismissal or disciplinary action by The Academy.
Applicants must be willing to undergo child protection screening appropriate to the post,
including checks with past employers.
The school is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects
all staff to share this commitment.

Person Specification:
Qualifications and Training
Essential
– GCSE Maths and English Grade A – C or equivalent plus 3 other subjects.
– Willingness to work towards a Level 3 qualification in care, education, or vocational
skills.
– Food Hygiene certificate or willingness to train to support food preparation for
pupils.
– First Aid at Work qualification or willingness to train.

Desirable
– Interest of qualification in therapeutic practice or mental health first aider.
– Opportunities exist for future professional growth to other posts in the Academy.
Only candidates with a degree can progress into a route into teacher training.
Knowledge and Experience

Essential
– Experience with SEMH pupils in a school or educational setting preferred.
– Agreement with behaviour Policy and principles of a therapeutic community and
able to express why.
– Knowledge of child protection and safeguarding in a school or setting with children
and adults.
– Knowledge of health and safety procedures in schools or care setting.
Desirable
– Trauma informed experience or able to show calm under pressure.
– Food hygiene qualification.

Skills/Abilities

Essential
– Ability to provide consistent mentoring for pupils and can start each day positively
as a new day showing a positive outlook.
– Ability consistently to demonstrate high levels of job performance.
– Ability to contribute to the provision of a welcoming and supportive environment
for pupils and staff.
– Ability to make a positive contribution to the team, valuing colleagues’ particular
professional expertise and respecting other members of the team as individuals.
– Proven ability to organise own workload to meet deadlines and targets with
minimum supervision.
– Proven ability to communicate effectively face to face, on the telephone and in
writing.
– Ability within the first year to demonstrate tasks/processes to individuals and small
groups.
– Ability to work with young people with social, emotional, and behavioural issues and
to learn techniques to calm and self – regulate.
– Ability to understand and work with a diverse range of cultural groups and learn
about discriminatory practice and unconscious bias.
– Ability to prepare, maintain and repair equipment and resources.
– Ability to use standard and subject specific PC software to support pupils. Ability to
promote the Academy’s good reputation within the community.

Desirable
– Ability to recognise own wellbeing and when to seek assistance.

Special Requirements
– Kind and approachable.
– Ability to form and maintain professional boundaries with children and young
people.
– Flexible approach to role.
– Reliable and punctual.
– Current Driving Licence and access to a vehicle insured for business use and
willing to drive a minibus (if 21 or older).
– Willingness to drive or accompany students in an academy vehicle.

Application form and letter of application to:
Jane Macdonald / jmacdonald@riversidemeadows.cambs.sch.uk