Learning Partner – Specialist SEND Setting

Location: Gloucester

Position: Full-Time

Start Date: ASAP – for the right person

Pay: £95–£120 per day, dependent on experience

This isn't your typical classroom support role.

Thrive Education is looking for a Learning Partner to join a specialist education setting in Gloucester, supporting children and young people with additional needs, predominantly those with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

This is a full-time opportunity for someone who is patient, resilient and genuinely interested in understanding the child behind the behaviour.

You don't need to have all the answers. You do need to be willing to listen, learn, remain calm when things become challenging and build relationships that make a real difference.

What could your day look like?

As a Learning Partner, you'll work closely with experienced teaching and support staff to help pupils access their learning, communicate their needs and feel safe and supported throughout the school day.

Your role could involve:

• Supporting pupils with ASD and a range of additional needs on an individual and small-group basis
• Helping pupils engage with learning, routines and activities
• Building trusting relationships and learning how individual pupils communicate
• Supporting pupils through moments of frustration, dysregulation or heightened emotion
• Using agreed strategies to help pupils regulate and return to learning
• Encouraging communication, independence and positive interactions
• Working closely with experienced staff, teachers and other professionals
• Providing consistency, patience and reassurance throughout the school day

Let's be honest about the challenging bits...

Working in a specialist setting can be incredibly rewarding, but it isn't always easy.

For some pupils, frustration can come from being unable to communicate what they need or how they feel. This can sometimes result in behaviours such as hitting out, spitting or swearing (where a pupil is verbal).

This isn't a role where we're looking for someone who expects every day to be calm and predictable.

The setting has highly skilled and trained staff who will support you and help you understand the individual needs and strategies of the pupils you work with.

What they need in return is someone who can stay calm, remain professional and not take challenging behaviour personally.

If a difficult moment happens, you'll need to be able to take a breath, follow the support strategies in place and focus on what the pupil is communicating through their behaviour.

Who are we looking for?

You might already have experience as a:

• SEN Teaching Assistant
• Learning Support Assistant
• Teaching Assistant
• Support Worker
• Residential Support Worker
• Behaviour Support Worker
• Youth Worker
• Care or Support Practitioner

Or perhaps you've worked with children, young people or adults with ASD and are looking to take that experience into a specialist educational environment.

Experience of ASD, SEND, complex needs or behaviour support would be highly desirable, but we're also interested in people with the right attitude, resilience and willingness to learn.

You'll need to be:

• Patient and compassionate
• Calm under pressure
• Resilient and emotionally consistent
• Comfortable working with behaviours that may challenge
• Able to build genuine relationships with children and young people
• A strong team player who is happy to take direction from experienced staff
• Reliable and committed to a full-time role
• Able to see behaviour as communication rather than simply something that needs to be stopped

Why work through Thrive Education?

At Thrive, we believe education recruitment should be about placing the right person in the right environment, not simply filling an empty space.

We work closely with schools and education professionals across Gloucestershire, supporting staff into roles where their experience, personality and approach genuinely fit the setting.

As a Thrive professional, you'll receive:

• Weekly PAYE pay
• A dedicated consultant who knows your placement
• Ongoing support throughout your assignment
• Access to long-term and permanent opportunities
• A straightforward, people-first approach to recruitment
• The opportunity to build valuable specialist SEND experience

Could this be you?

If you're someone who can see the child before the behaviour, stay composed when things get difficult and genuinely wants to make a difference to pupils with additional needs, we'd love to hear from you.