POST TITLE: BSL (level2) LEARNING SUPPORT ASSISTANT

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1 POST TITLE: BSL (level2) LEARNING SUPPORT ASSISTANT SALARY : negotiable(dependant on qualifications and experience) Telford College is a medium to large GFE College based on a single 23 acre campus in the market town of Wellington. The College provides much of its provision in community venues and on employers premises. Uniquely for the region, the College has an Employer Responsive provision which accounts for roughly the same size as the Learner Responsive provision. The Employer Responsive provision has a number of impressively large contracts with some blue chip national companies. The College has an extensive provision for students with learning difficulties and disabilities who enjoy purpose built accommodation. The College s mission is, Where Great Futures Begin and Every Learner Matters. The College annually recruits in excess of 20,000 students, of whom approximately 2,000 are fulltime. In 2012/13 the College had an annual turnover of 30.6m. This makes the College the largest provider of further education in Shropshire and one of the largest in the West Midlands. The College is committed to extending its work amongst adults and young people who have not traditionally participated in further education. Partnership working with local primary and secondary schools to raise educational aspirations is a key feature of the College. The College employs 640 full time and part time staff and engages an additional 200 lecturers on an agency basis. The College has an embedded culture of continuous improvement; it is very entrepreneurial, competitive and ambitious for its staff and students. The College s character and strategic priorities are determined by its Corporation, a group of 22 individuals drawn from diverse parts of our community and who act as Governors of the College. Their contribution to the College is greatly appreciated. The College has outstanding financial health The College is committed to the personal development of all of its students and staff. The College ethos is both caring and highly professional. Partnership working, equal opportunities and health and safety are very high profile in the College and a normal part of how it conducts its business. Value added and enrichment activities are a very important part of the College experience, particularly for our full time students. The College has superb sporting facilities, including a floodlit 3G pitch, and our Sports Academy enables the development of sporting abilities at all levels from elite athletes to casual participants. The College has an ongoing commitment to campus development and has outstanding facilities. It has just commenced a 9m building project to further develop the campus.

2 PRINCIPAL DUTIES 1. To work with a team of lecturers and other Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) involved with the provision of a programme of educational activity for a student/s with a profound hearing loss. 2. To provide learning support to a student/s with a profound hearing loss, including literacy/vocational support. 3. To interpret between spoken English and BSL. 4. To act as an interpreter/and or advocate for students/s with profound hearing loss. 5. To enable the student to fully access the curriculum, enabling them to make meaningful choices, reducing isolation and improving access to information, communication. 6. To use a range of ways to help student/s with hearing loss to grasp what is required of them in class and to help them produce written work. 7. Support learners to communicate their learning needs with tutors/learning support staff and other professionals. 8. To liaise with tutors/managers to make adaptations to the working environment if necessary and suggest ways of improving access and inclusion. 9. To support student/s with lip speaking and note taking. 10. Be creative in suggesting ways of adapting learning materials to suit the needs of learners. 11. To re enforce the support given to students with Individual Learning/Behaviour Programmes. 12. To provide support at social/lunch times to promote independence and enable communication with others and participation in activities. 13. To provide assistance across all areas of work which the students undertake including (but not exclusively) essential skills, social skills and a range of vocational activities associated with work preparation and leisure. Some of these may take place off the college campus. 14. To support students on educational visits some of which may extend beyond the usual college hours. 15. To complete Learning Support Records. 16. To attend Learning Support meetings. 17. To contribute to discussions and assist with the review of students targets/individual learning plans during Learner Management Weeks or at other appropriate times. 18. To work with other learners who may have a learning difficulty or disability in the absence of student/s with hearing loss. 19. To support other students and assist staff with learners with personal care needs when available and in the absence of students with hearing loss. 20. To be trained as a First Aider, and in the administration of emergency medication (i.e. rectal diazepam) 21. To give assistance at College functions such as Open Evenings (December, February and June) and Enrolment (September).

3 22. To know and abide by the Health and Safety rules within the College and company premises and be aware of good practice in the working environment. 23. To undertake any other duties commensurate with the grade of the post as may be requested of you by your line manager at your initial place of work or at any other premises which the Corporation currently has or may subsequently acquire. LINE MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES Your line manager is the Learning Support Co ordinator This post does not currently carry line management responsibility for any other member of staff. TRAINING Full induction on the requirements of the post will be given and the further development of personal skills encouraged. You will also attend a period of induction to familiarise you with the College. You may be required to undertake personal development/training outside of your normal working weeks/hours. PERSON SPECIFICATION / QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE Level 2 Certificate/Award in BSL essential. Experience supporting learners with hearing loss is essential. Experience of supporting young people in an educational/classroom or vocational environment is essential. Experience of working with young people with specific difficulties or disabilities such as Dyslexia/ASD/ADHD is desirable. Clear in communicating spoken written English and BSL Willing to learn specialised vocabulary Competent in the use of I.T You should ideally have level 2 Literacy and Numeracy or be willing to work towards gaining this. Good note taking skills. Ability to adapt resources/learning materials to suit the needs of the learner. You must be willing to undertake professional development. CONDITIONS OF SERVICE The post is fixed term from 1 September 2014 until August 2015 in the first instance Hours of work are 21 hours per week between 9.00am 4.00pm across 3/4 days for a minimum of 35 weeks per year during College term time. Salary will be paid for 39½ weeks per year to include a pro rata holiday entitlement. Salary is negotiable dependant on qualifications and experience Salary is paid monthly in arrears in 12 equal instalments. Travel expenses incurred will be reimbursed at a rate of 45 pence per mile. The post is pensionable, administered through the Local Government Pension Scheme. Full details of the scheme will be given upon appointment but briefly the Scheme is contributable at a

4 rate of a minimum of 5.5% of salary (rate is dependant on salary). Admission to the Scheme is automatic but you may opt out if you wish. You are eligible to receive sick pay in accordance with the Corporation s policy. Female staff that become pregnant will be eligible to receive maternity leave and may be able to receive maternity pay in accordance with the Corporation s Maternity Policy. OTHER BENEFITS OF WORKING AT TELFORD COLLEGE We promote a healthy College ethos and operate a strict no smoking policy. The College has a modern fitness centre with a range of equipment. This centre can be used by any member of staff during College term times. We also have preferential rates with national fitness centres in the area including the 4* hotel opposite the College who have a lifestyle centre with pool. Our Occupational Health provider offers regular (and totally confidential) health checks with blood pressure monitoring, cholesterol checks, "well man" and "well woman" type checks. Modern refectory and several coffee bars which are situated throughout the campus offer a range of healthy eating options. A full range of hairdressing and beauty therapy treatments and complimentary treatments are available to staff in our new and purpose built salons. Deductions from salary to the local Credit Union for savings and discounted loans Deductions from salary to Paycare for a range of health benefits such as dental and optical charges, specialist fees and a wide range of complimentary medicine. We provide Child Care vouchers through a salary sacrifice scheme.. Access to newspapers, periodicals and the loan of books, DVDs and videos through our Learning Resource Centre Car parking for over 500 cars with CCTV cameras and security patrols The College is located on the edge of the small market town of Wellington which is part of Telford, situated in the lovely county of Shropshire. Numerous shops and retail outlets are just minutes away from the College. We are 13 miles from the historic county town of Shrewsbury and 8 miles from the World Heritage Site of Ironbridge. We are just off the M54 and close to the train station with mainline links to Birmingham and London. Appointments are made subject to satisfactory references and to a probationary period of 6 months. Posts at this College are exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act You are therefore required to declare details of any convictions, cautions, reprimands or final warnings which are not protected as defined by the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (as amended in 2013). The amendments to the Exceptions Order 1975 (2013) provide that certain spent convictions and cautions are 'protected' and are not subject to disclosure to employers, and cannot be taken into account. Guidance and criteria on the filtering of these cautions and convictions can be found on the Disclosure and Barring Service website.

5 UNLOCK is an independent award winning charity, providing trusted information and advice services to people with criminal convictions. UNLOCK have produced a DBS FILTERING PROCESS GUIDE which may be helpful to you If your application is successful you will be required to apply for an Enhanced disclosure from the Disclosure & Barring Service before your appointment is confirmed. This Disclosure may include the above plus any other relevant non conviction information known to the local Police. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position you have applied for and the circumstances and background to your offence. The College has a written policy on the recruitment of ex offenders. A copy is available from the Personnel Office. Included with this application form is an Equal Opportunities in Employment Form. You are asked to declare any convictions that are not protected on this form. This information is not made available to those involved in the shortlisting process. Any applicant who considers him/herself to be disabled under the terms of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 will be offered an interview provided he/she meets the minimum criteria for the post as those indicated essential. Posts at this College are exempt from the provisions of the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act You are therefore required to declare details of spent convictions, cautions, reprimands and final warnings. If your application is successful you may be required to apply for an Enhanced disclosure from the Criminal Records Bureau before your appointment is confirmed. This Disclosure will include the above plus any other relevant non conviction information known to the local Police. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar you from working with us. This will depend on the nature of the position you have applied for and the circumstances and background to your offence. The College has a written policy on the recruitment of ex offenders. A copy is available from the Personnel Office. Included with this application form is an Equal Opportunities in Employment Form. You are asked to declare any convictions on this form. This information is not made available to those involved in the shortlisting process. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION References will be taken up prior to interview wherever possible. There is opportunity on the application form to object to this but in all cases references will be taken up if a job offer is made. Full consideration is given to every application, but candidates who do not receive an invitation to an interview within 4 weeks of the closing date are asked to assume that they have been unsuccessful. No formal notification is made to candidates not called for interview. Note: This job description is current as at June In consultation with you it is liable to variation to reflect changes in the job.

6 Please note that all sections of the enclosed application form should be completed and returned to the Personnel Office, Telford College of Arts & Technology, Haybridge Road, Wellington, Telford, Shropshire TF1 2NP by THURSDAY 3 JULY 2014 noon. INTERVIEWS TO BE HELD W/C 7 JULY. DUE TO THE SHORT TURNAROUND FOR THE SHORTLISTING PROCESS PLEASE SUPPLY AN ADDRESS SO WE CAN CONTACT YOU IF SHORTLISTED FOR INTERVIEW. THANK YOU