Class Teacher – SEMH Specialist School – Dorking, Surrey

Location: Dorking, Surrey
Job Title: Class Teacher
Age Range: 9-16
Specialism: SEMH / SEND with Maths
Qualification: QTS or QTLS

Are you a Class Teacher with strong Maths teaching experience who enjoys the challenge of reaching pupils who haven’t always experienced success in education?

We’re looking for an experienced, resilient and engaging Class Teacher to join a specialist SEMH school in Dorking, Surrey. This is an opportunity for a teacher who combines strong Maths subject knowledge with excellent behaviour management, emotional intelligence and the ability to build genuine relationships with young people.

The pupils are boys aged 9-16 with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. Many also have additional needs including autism, ADHD, speech and language needs, sensory processing difficulties and attachment difficulties.

Some pupils have experienced significant gaps in education or struggled to engage in mainstream settings. For that reason, this Class Teacher role in Dorking needs someone who can do more than simply deliver a strong Maths lesson.

We’re looking for a Class Teacher who can get pupils to want to take part in learning.

The Class Teacher Role in Dorking

Working with small teaching groups of no more than 10 pupils, you’ll have the opportunity to understand your students properly and deliver highly personalised teaching, with a particular focus on Maths.

You’ll teach across a range of abilities and academic starting points, with pupils working towards qualifications including GCSE Maths, Functional Skills and Entry Level Maths.

As the Class Teacher, you’ll:

• Plan creative, accessible Maths lessons that make learning relevant and achievable.

• Teach Maths across KS2, KS3 and KS4 according to pupils’ individual starting points.

• Prepare pupils for GCSE Maths and alternative accreditation pathways.

• Identify gaps in mathematical knowledge and use assessment effectively to plan targeted teaching.

• Break concepts into manageable steps and create regular opportunities for pupils to experience success.

• Differentiate confidently for pupils working at significantly different academic levels.

• Adapt your teaching when a pupil isn’t engaging with the original approach.

• Build positive relationships while maintaining clear and consistent boundaries.

• Use calm, effective behaviour-management and de-escalation strategies.

• Work closely with teaching assistants, pastoral colleagues and SEND professionals.

• Help pupils rebuild confidence in Maths and, more broadly, in themselves as learners.

This Class Teacher position in Dorking, Surrey gives you the chance to teach in a way that is responsive to the individual rather than dictated by a traditional whole-class model.

What We’re Looking For in a Class Teacher

For this position, SEMH experience and the ability to build relationships are just as important as strong Maths teaching.

You’ll ideally be a Class Teacher or Maths Teacher who has worked within an SEMH school, PRU, Alternative Provision, specialist SEND setting or another environment supporting pupils with complex behaviour and additional needs.

We’re particularly interested in candidates who:

• Hold QTS or QTLS with strong Maths subject knowledge.

• Have experience teaching Maths, ideally through to GCSE level.

• Ideally have experience delivering Functional Skills and/or Entry Level Maths.

• Understand SEMH and how trauma, disrupted education and unmet needs can affect behaviour and learning.

• Have a strong practical understanding of autism and ADHD.

• Can confidently manage challenging behaviour without relying on an overly authoritarian approach.

• Remain calm and consistent when pupils become dysregulated.

• Understand that behaviour is often communication and look beyond the immediate behaviour.

• Can establish trust with pupils who may initially be reluctant to engage with adults or education.

• Don’t take challenging behaviour personally and can reset relationships positively following difficult moments.

• Are flexible enough to change an explanation, activity or entire lesson when something isn’t working.

• Maintain high expectations while recognising that progress will look different for every pupil.

If you’re currently working in a specialist setting elsewhere in Surrey and are considering a Class Teacher opportunity in Dorking, your SEMH experience and ability to teach Maths will be particularly valuable.

A Different Kind of Class Teacher Role

This role will suit a teacher who thrives on personalised teaching rather than standing in front of 30 pupils delivering the same lesson.

With teaching groups of no more than 10, you’ll have the opportunity to understand where each pupil is academically, identify the barriers preventing progress and find approaches that work for them.

One pupil may be preparing for GCSE Maths while another needs significant gaps in foundational knowledge addressed. Another may have the academic ability but need support with regulation, confidence or engagement before meaningful learning can happen.

That’s where your skill as a Class Teacher really matters.

You’ll be supported by teaching assistants, pastoral staff and SEND professionals within a specialist environment in Dorking, Surrey, where relationships and individual needs are central to how pupils are supported.

You’ll Enjoy This Class Teacher Role If…

You like working with pupils who keep you thinking.

You’re comfortable when lessons don’t always go exactly to plan.

You can be firm without becoming confrontational and maintain boundaries without damaging relationships.

You understand the difference between a pupil who won’t engage and one who currently can’t engage.

And you get genuine satisfaction from winning over the young person who starts by saying “I’m rubbish at Maths” and gradually helping them realise that they can succeed.

If that’s the kind of progress that motivates you as a Class Teacher, this opportunity in Dorking could be an excellent fit.

Why Consider This Class Teacher Opportunity in Dorking?

This specialist school in Dorking, Surrey offers an environment where teachers can focus on meaningful individual progress.

You’ll benefit from:

• Small teaching groups of no more than 10 pupils.

• The opportunity to deliver genuinely personalised teaching.

• The chance to use your Maths expertise to re-engage pupils with numeracy and Maths.

• A relationship-led approach to behaviour and learning.

• A multidisciplinary team supporting pupils’ wider needs.

• Specialist therapeutic support within the school.

• The opportunity to see tangible changes in pupils’ confidence, engagement and attainment.

• An environment where creativity, adaptability and emotional intelligence are valued alongside academic outcomes.

• The chance to build a rewarding specialist teaching career in Dorking.

Class Teacher – Dorking, Surrey

We’d particularly like to hear from Class Teachers, SEMH Teachers, SEND Teachers, Maths Teachers, PRU Teachers, Alternative Provision Teachers and Functional Skills Maths Teachers with the experience and resilience to thrive in a specialist environment.

We’re looking for someone who brings high expectations without rigidity, confidence without confrontation and resilience without losing empathy.

If you’re an experienced Class Teacher looking for your next opportunity in Dorking, Surrey, have strong Maths teaching skills and know how rewarding it can be to re-engage young people who have previously struggled with education, we’d love to hear from you.

Apply today to find out more about this Class Teacher opportunity in Dorking, Surrey.

As a specialist SEND recruiter, child safety and welfare is our number one priority. That is why we conduct thorough checks on all our candidates, and ensure that they abide by our Candidate Code of Conduct.

All Candidates will be required to provide an Enhanced DBS that is actively registered on the Update Service, or apply for one as part of the onboarding process. This is in addition to other mandatory compliance checks in line with the DfE guidelines. For further information please see our Safer Recruitment Policy.

SENDhelp is an equal opportunities employer.