Junior School LSA September 2025 St Mary’s School Bateman Street Cambridge CB2 1LY T: 01223 353253 hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk St Mary’s School Cambridge – A Company Limited by Guarantee. Registered Office: Bateman Street Cambridge CB2 1LY – No. 184031 England Registered Charity No. 290180 Welcome from the Head Thank you for showing interest in this role at St Mary’s School, Cambridge. We are an independent day and boarding school for girls aged 3 to 18. We have a school roll of around 600 students. Approximately 15% of the students are boarders. Reflecting the cosmopolitan community of Cambridge, on average 25% of students originate from overseas, from around 30 countries. The School offers a secure and welcoming learning environment for girls: we are delightfully situated in the heart of the academically renowned and culturally vibrant city of Cambridge. The Junior School is adjacent to the famous backdrop of Coe Fen, and the Senior School and Boarding House overlook the University of Cambridge Botanic Gardens. Cambridge is an outstanding place to live and work. As a university city, Cambridge has the cultural advantages of a much larger settlement but with a population of approximately 145,000, it is a safe, clean and attractive location. The city has an international reputation owing to its world ranking university and the school benefits from its proximity to the digital and enterprise communities in the various high-tech science parks and enterprise hubs. We are within easy travelling distance of London, less than an hour by train and a short hop from London Stansted Airport. There has been major investment in new facilities at the School over the past decade: a new Junior School; a new Sixth Form Centre; new provision of Art & Photography; the creation of our Science Hub; and our new boarding facility, Mary Ward House. We have developed our sporting facilities through an ambitious collaboration with Homerton College, University of Cambridge and have invested in a new boat house in a joint partnership with City of Cambridge Rowing Club and Homerton College. We are proud to have opened our Mary Ward Educational Suite in January 2024 which provides new state of the art teaching spaces. High quality facilities are only as good as the people who work in them, so we invest heavily in our staff, who we know are our greatest asset. We encourage staff to develop themselves through training and facilitate bespoke CPD opportunities for all. St Mary’s School promotes equal opportunity for all staff and pupils and is committed to its culture of diversity and inclusion. We encourage applications from candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. Above all, St Mary’s School, Cambridge is a very happy place. We have an excellent local reputation for being very friendly and nurturing, and yet ambitious, for the young women in our care, enabling strong progress to next steps at university, the world of work or a gap year. Our girls are genuinely delightful, the teachers and support staff are exceptionally dedicated; we are a very close-knit, loving, joyful and purposeful community. St Mary’s really is a warm and welcoming environment for all staff, whatever their role, and we look forward to receiving your application. Hannah Helliar The St Mary’s Approach We are proud to be a Christian school in the Catholic tradition and founded on the principles of our 17th century foundress, Mary Ward, our vision is that ‘By God’s grace, women in time will do much’ (Mary Ward 1585-1645). The challenge for women is not over, and whilst there are now more opportunities for 'women to do much' there are still considerable barriers and so our work continues via our mission to develop curious, creative and compassionate young women with the aspiration, confidence and integrity to shape a better world for the common good. Our approach is based on the core values of Freedom, Joy, Justice, Love and Truth and we live these values in school through our HEART habits of H – Hard work E – Empathy A – Adaptability R – Responsibility T – Thoughtfulness We show perseverance and sustain focus. We are kind, joyful, generous, value friendship and celebrate diversity. We adjust to difficult situations, are open minded, discerning and take calculated risks. We act justly and strive to uphold truth and lead by example. We are creative, reflective, attentive, show gratitude, hear others and disagree well. St Mary’s School, Candidate Pack V1 (Jan 24) Page 2 of 8 Our unique approach to education fosters a love of life and of learning, while growing the academic curiosity and spiritual wellbeing of each individual girl so that they can look beyond themselves and enter adulthood aspiring to be more and to give more, not just to have more. We warmly welcome girls, and staff, of all Christian denominations and other faith and secular backgrounds to join our thriving community. Last year the school celebrated its 125th anniversary. Building on our 400-year tradition, St Mary’s School, Cambridge belongs to an international network of approximately two hundred Mary Ward schools. Innovative Learning at St Mary’s We empower all our students to aim high. As an accredited High Performance Learning World Class School there has never been a more exciting time to join our team. High Performance Learning (HPL) is a research-based, pedagogy-led philosophy that responds to our growing understanding of human capability. It sees all students as potential high performers who are not limited by ‘ability’. HPL makes the goal of high performance the expectation for all students and uses a unique teaching and learning framework to systematically grow minds and develop the cognitive skills, values, attitudes and attributes needed to reach success. Here at St Mary’s, we are proud to be developing our own approach to HPL and welcome applications from like-minded colleagues who are ambitious for their students and committed to research-based approaches to teaching and learning. For further information please visit https://www.highperformancelearning.co.uk/ Digital St Mary’s St Mary's is a digital school. The goals of the School are supported through • developing a community of staff and students which learns in, responds to and engages with an ever-changing digital world; • preparing students for their future by giving them the confidence to work in a digital environment; • establishing creative teaching and learning environments; • employing teaching staff who are trained and supported to be technologically and digitally skilled. All members of St Mary's work digitally using Microsoft 365 as a platform. All students in the Senior School and Sixth Form have access to an individual device (Microsoft Surface Pro) which is used extensively in lessons and for home learning. St Mary’s School, Candidate Pack V1 (Jan 24) Page 3 of 8 Reporting to: Head of Learning Support (Junior School). Accountable to Head of Junior School or other nominated Job Description: Junior School Learning Support Assistant person. Contract: 17.5 hours per week Salary: £8,923 per annum Place of work: Junior School, Chaucer Road, Cambridge Introduction This post is attached to an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and the successful candidate will provide dedicated support for one pupil with identified additional needs. Job Purpose To assist and support teachers inside and outside the classroom. This will include supervising the children outside of the classroom and helping with after school clubs and activities. The post holder will also be expected to help prepare and participate in the school open days and other events, including those held during the evening. Job Description Responsibilities and Duties Teaching and learning: • Assist in the academic and personal development of pupils under the direction and guidance of the Head of Juniors and teaching staff. In particular, provide tailored support in line with EHCP outcomes, including academic, social, and communication targets. • Assist in the implementation of support programmes for individual and small groups of pupils and help monitor their progress. Deliver interventions and scaffolding activities directly linked to EHCP outcomes and record progress against these. • Provide support for individual pupils inside and outside the classroom to enable them to make excellent progress. Prioritise one-to-one and small-group support for the pupil with an EHCP, ensuring access to the curriculum and development of independence. • Assist class teachers with maintaining pupil records. Maintain accurate records of progress towards EHCP outcomes and contribute to review meetings and reports. • Take part in field trips in a support and supervisory capacity (training will be provided). • Carry out administrative tasks as required. • Undertake other duties from time to time as the Head of Juniors requires. • Attend regular CPD meetings alongside other LSAs and teachers. • Work closely with other LSAs to ensure full supervision continues in the absence of a colleague. Provide First Aid (training will be given) to pupils and staff at the School as and when required. St Mary’s School, Candidate Pack V1 (Jan 24) Page 4 of 8 Standards and quality assurance: • Support the aims and ethos of the school by reading and understanding the school policies and through observation and discussion with the Head of Juniors and staff. • Personal appearance is an important contribution to the image and reputation of St Mary’s. Please observe standards of dress and appearance appropriate to working in a professional environment. • Set a good example in terms of punctuality and attendance. Attend team and staff meetings when required by the Head of Juniors. • Undertake professional duties that may be reasonably assigned by the Head of Juniors e.g. partaking in school field trips, supervising children, group work as assigned by the class teacher, participating in courses e.g. in First Aid. Take personal responsibility in providing a safe environment for children at all times. Pay particular attention to the wellbeing and regulation needs of the pupil with an EHCP. • Maintain professional standards and adhere to health and safety requirements, and Child Protection/Safeguarding guidelines. The above list is not an exhaustive list of duties, and you may be expected to perform different tasks as necessitated by your line manager and your changing role within the School and overall business objectives of the School. The successful candidate should be able to demonstrate competence and experience as follows: Person Specification SPECIFICATION Qualifications Qualities and Attributes Experience, Knowledge and Skills ESSENTIAL DESIRABLE • A good standard of education including Maths and English GCSEs Grade A*-C (or equivalent) or Level 2 Literacy and Numeracy is essential. • Friendly, approachable manner and able to work as part of a team; • Discreet, tactful, diplomatic and the ability to maintain confidentiality; • Resourceful, proactive, self– motivated and resilient ; • Diligent and conscientious; • Ability to work with people at all levels always maintaining a high degree of professionalism; • Customer focussed; • Calm under pressure. • Good written and verbal communication skills; • Proficient in the use of MS Office including Outlook, Word and Excel; • The ability to handle confidential and sensitive information with tact and discretion; • Experience working in a school environment; • Knowledge and understanding of how independent boarding and day schools operate. St Mary’s School, Candidate Pack V1 (Jan 24) Page 5 of 8 Personal Values • The ability to establish good working relationship; • Proven organisational skills, capable of multitasking, prioritising and working to deadlines. • Commitment to the ethos of the school; • High expectations for attainment and conduct; • Commitment to own personal development; • Commitment to a culture of continuous improvement; • Readiness to contribute to the whole school when required. Child Welfare and Child Protection Issues The interview for this post will include exploring issues relating to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children including: • motivation to work with children and young people; • ability to form and maintain appropriate relationships with children and young people; • emotional resilience in working with challenging behaviours; • attitudes to the use of authority and maintaining discipline. Any relevant issues arising from the take up of references will be discussed at interview. The school is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants are subject to an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Check. Benefits At St Mary’s you will enjoy an exceptional career and comprehensive benefits including a contributory pension scheme, 33% discount (pro rata for part-time staff) on school fees, BUPA cash plan, an occupational sickness scheme, free lunches and refreshments, a season ticket discount and much more. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion St Mary’s School is committed to ensuring equal opportunities in all aspects of employment and selects staff on merit irrespective of race, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity, marital status, sex, sexuality/gender preference, disability or age. You are not obliged to complete the Equal Opportunities Form, but any information given will help us monitor the effectiveness of our policies and procedures. If you have a disability, you are invited to request any special arrangements that you may require for interview or any adjustments that you would consider necessary to your working arrangements by contacting our Human Resources department (hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk, 01223 353253). Process Application is welcomed by completing the Application Form and Equal Opportunities Form which can be found on the Vacancies page of our website. This may be accompanied by a covering letter and a curriculum vitae. We are unable to accept applications supported by a CV alone. St Mary’s School, Candidate Pack V1 (Jan 24) Page 6 of 8 Interviews will be conducted in person, and they will explore candidates’ suitability to work with children. Candidates are required to bring with them the necessary ID documentation and any relevant qualification certificate(s), all of which must be originals. Further information of the interview format will be provided if you are shortlisted for interview. If you have any question, please contact the HR Team by email: hr@stmaryscambridge.co.uk or call: 01223 353253. Closing date: 29 September 2025 Interview date: to be confirmed We will review applications on receipt. Suitable candidates may be interviewed before the closing date, and we reserve the right to withdraw the position if an early appointment is made. The school is an equal opportunities employer. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Successful applicants are subject to an enhanced DBS check. St Mary’s School, Candidate Pack V1 (Jan 24) Page 7 of 8