SEND & SEMH Teaching Assistant – Chard, Somerset

Full-Time | Monday-Friday | Long-Term | ASAP Start | Opportunity to Go Permanent

Are you the kind of Teaching Assistant who can spot when a child is becoming overwhelmed before they reach crisis point?

Can you build trust with a child who might struggle to communicate what they need?

And can you remain calm, consistent and positive – even on the challenging days?

We are looking for an exceptional SEND Teaching Assistant to join a supportive primary school in Chard, Somerset, providing dedicated 1:1 and small-group support to children with SEND and Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs.

This is a full-time, 5-day-per-week position starting ASAP, offering genuine stability and the opportunity to become an important part of one school community.

The position is long-term and ongoing, with the potential to move into a permanent role for successful applicants who are interested.

Your Role as a SEND Teaching Assistant

As a SEND Teaching Assistant, you’ll work closely with teachers and the wider SEND team to remove the barriers that can prevent children from fully accessing school life.

Some pupils may need additional academic support.

Others may struggle with communication, emotional regulation, attention, social interaction or behaviour.

Your role is to understand the individual child and provide the right support at the right time.

You’ll work both 1:1 and with small groups, helping children develop the confidence, independence and emotional regulation skills they need to thrive.

Supporting the Child Behind the Behaviour

We’re particularly interested in candidates who understand SEMH.

When a child refuses to complete their work, becomes frustrated or struggles to regulate their emotions, we don’t just need someone who can tell them what to do.

We need someone who asks:

What’s happening for this child right now?

As a Teaching Assistant, you’ll build positive relationships while maintaining clear and consistent boundaries.

You’ll recognise potential triggers.

You’ll use proactive strategies to prevent escalation.

And when a child does become overwhelmed, you’ll be the calm adult who helps them regulate, recover and successfully return to learning.

What You’ll Be Doing

Your responsibilities could include:

• Providing dedicated 1:1 SEND and SEMH support.

• Delivering targeted interventions with individuals and small groups.

• Supporting children with SEMH, Autism, ADHD, communication needs and learning difficulties.

• Helping children recognise and regulate their emotions.

• Building trusting, professional relationships with pupils.

• Supporting children who may display behaviours that challenge.

• Recognising triggers and using proactive strategies to reduce escalation.

• Helping pupils successfully re-engage with learning following difficult moments.

• Supporting communication, social interaction and friendship skills.

• Providing additional structure during transitions and less structured parts of the school day.

• Breaking learning into achievable steps.

• Encouraging confidence, resilience and independence.

• Working closely with teachers and SEND professionals to deliver consistent individualised support.

Who Are We Looking For?

Previous UK experience within education and/or health and social care is essential.

You could already be working as a:

SEND Teaching Assistant | SEN Teaching Assistant | SEMH Teaching Assistant | Learning Support Assistant | Behaviour Mentor | Youth Worker | Children’s Support Worker | Residential Support Worker | Mental Health Support Worker | Care Worker

Experience supporting SEMH, Autism, ADHD, emotional dysregulation, communication difficulties, learning needs or behaviours that challenge would be particularly valuable.

You don’t need to be the loudest adult in the classroom.

Quite the opposite.

We’re looking for someone who is:

Calm when a child is struggling.

Consistent when boundaries are being tested.

Patient when progress takes time.

Resilient when the day doesn’t go according to plan.

Observant enough to notice the small changes that tell you a child needs support.

Positive enough to recognise progress that others might overlook.

And reliable enough to be there every day.

Coming From Health & Social Care?

Your experience could make you an excellent Teaching Assistant.

If you’ve supported children, young people or vulnerable individuals within UK health and social care, you’ll already understand many of the skills required for specialist SEND support.

Safeguarding.

De-escalation.

Emotional regulation.

Building professional relationships.

Following individual support plans.

Maintaining boundaries.

Remaining calm when someone else is struggling.

These skills transfer extremely well into education.

If you’re ready to bring that experience into a primary school and can commit to Monday to Friday, we’d particularly like to hear from you.

Why This Opportunity?

This is an opportunity to join an inclusive primary environment in Chard, Somerset where individual needs are recognised and additional support is targeted around the child.

You’ll work alongside experienced education professionals and have the opportunity to develop your knowledge of SEND, SEMH, emotional regulation, communication needs, nurture and positive behaviour support.

Most importantly, you’ll have time to make an impact.

This isn’t a couple of weeks of supply followed by another school.

You’ll have the opportunity to understand the children you support properly.

To learn what motivates them.

To recognise their triggers.

To understand how they communicate.

And to see what happens when a child has a consistent adult who believes they can succeed.

We’re Looking for Long-Term Commitment

Consistency matters enormously for children with SEND and SEMH needs.

That’s why we’re specifically looking for candidates who can commit to full-time work, Monday to Friday, 5 days per week.

Role: SEND & SEMH Teaching Assistant
Location: Chard, Somerset
Start: ASAP
Hours: Full-time, Monday to Friday – 5 days per week
Contract: Long-term and ongoing
Permanent opportunity: Yes – for successful applicants who are interested
Experience required: Previous UK education and/or health and social care experience
Support: 1:1 and small-group SEND/SEMH support

Looking for a Teaching Assistant Role Where You Can Make a Genuine Impact?

Sometimes progress is academic.

Sometimes it’s a child independently completing a task they previously believed they couldn’t do.

Sometimes it’s recognising they’re becoming overwhelmed and asking for help before reaching crisis point.

And sometimes it’s simply walking into school feeling safe because they know a trusted adult will be there.

All of that is progress.

If you’re an experienced Teaching Assistant looking for stability – or you’re ready to transfer your UK health and social care experience into education – we’d love to hear from you.

Join a supportive primary setting in Chard, Somerset, commit to a long-term opportunity and become the consistent adult who helps a child move forward.

Apply today for this SEND Teaching Assistant opportunity and an ASAP start in Chard, Somerset.

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.