Teaching Assistant Pre-School, Pre-Prep & After School Care Candidate Information Pack

INTRODUCTION

Purpose of the Role
To support pupils, teachers, and the school in raising achievement and fostering confident, independent learners through a child-led, play-based approach, including outdoor learning experiences such as Forest School.

Responsible to: Prep SENDCO

Key Relationships:

Internal: Head of Early Years, Deputy Head (Prep), Prep SENDCo, Class Teachers

• External: Parents and carers

Closing date for applications: 9:00am on Monday 1 June 2026 Interviews may be held as soon as applications come in

The School reserves the right to interview candidates ahead of the closing date and applications will be considered as they are received.

Key facts about the role:

Salary

TBC/ DOE (DEPENDING

Hours

ON EXPERIENCE)

7:30 – 4:30PM

Contract Type

OR 9AM – 6PM

TERM TIME ONLY

Pension

Reporting Manager

SUPPORT STAFF

PENSION SCHEME

Prep SENDCO

ABBOT’S HILL

Our Heritage

We trace our roots back to 1912 when Abbot’s Hill was founded on the present site by Alice, Katrine and Mary Baird, advocates of education for girls. The Baird sisters ran a school in the Malverns and in May 1912 they opened Abbot’s Hill as an independent boarding school for young women of character.

The School’s Main Building was originally built in 1836 by the paper manufacturer, John Dickinson, as a home for him and his family and he named it Abbot’s Hill. The Dickinson family founded one of the world’s largest stationery firms of the 19th and 20th centuries.

On John Dickinson’s death in 1869, Abbot’s Hill passed to his only surviving son John and then in 1908 to Sir Arthur Evans. Arthur Evans, the Archaeologist and discoverer of Knossos, was John Dickinson’s great-grandson and had spent part of his childhood at Abbot’s Hill. He did not however return to live there but arranged for it to be sold to the Baird sisters.

Over the years, the school has developed and grown in a variety of ways, but the key milestones in its history were in 1969, when St Nicholas House School moved to the Abbot’s Hill site to form the Junior Department and in 2003, when boarding ceased. However, Abbot’s Hill retains its boarding feel, which is to be seen in the emphasis given to co-curricular pursuits, the intrinsic importance of pastoral care and the school’s strong sense of community.

The School

Founded over 100 years ago to educate young women of character, Abbot’s Hill School places great value on the development of the individual.

We are ambitious for all our pupils and they excel here. We value their voices and embrace our diverse community. As we empower them, so they empower each other and, in so doing, develop a deep sense of responsibility for their community at school, locally and in the wider world.

Children and young people will thrive best where they have a strong connection to their school and more particularly the adults who teach them. We are so proud of the quality of relationships here. The experienced professionals at Abbot’s Hill take seriously their responsibility to positively shape the lives of the young people in their care. Our aim is that each individual will discover their own brilliance.

So it is that pupils at Abbot’s Hill embark on a series of journeys during their time with us. The first journey, the academic journey through our well-planned and sequenced curriculum will, enrich, excite and stimulate their minds.

Knowledgeable, discerning and well-informed, our pupils will be inquisitive, enquiring learners who love to learn both now and throughout their lives.

The second journey through school is the development of the values and attributes that will stand them in good stead as adults both personally and professionally. A clear set of values therefore shapes our interactions as a community and underpins our code of conduct. This unequivocal moral guidance prepares pupils to positively challenge bias and navigate with confidence the world we live in.

The third journey, the journey where we work most closely with parents, is the development of character. The attributes of collaboration, critical thinking, creativity, and communication are consciously developed and embedded through rich and varied curricular and co-curricular opportunities and so the pupils become selfaware and self-confident.

In the modern world today where the pace of change is rapid an Abbot’s Hill education has tremendous relevance. Kindness, humanity and resilience will be the defining characteristics of this generation and these qualities resonate through our school.

The Mill Hill Education Group

In April 2024, Abbot’s Hill became the tenth UK school in the Mill Hill Education Group, after a charity merger. Abbot’s Hill now benefits from the wider support network across the Group, including in marketing and admissions. The Group also offers the financial security that underpins future investment, with the next major project being the extension of co-education to Reception-year 6, planned from September 2025. This will underpin a strategy to expand total pupil numbers across the whole school by around 100 pupils over the next few years. The new appointee will play a central role in this strategy.

Mrs Sharon Schanschieff Head

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE

Our Mission

To foster a community in which all individuals are happy and inspired to live purposeful and fulfilling lives, while remaining true to our founding values of strength and character.

Our Vision

A first choice school with outstanding environments in which to work, learn and play. We embrace diversity and provide an education fit for the modern world by challenging everyone in our community to be confident in who they are, develop strength of character and to become active, compassionate citizens who make significant and lasting contributions to others throughout their lives.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Correspondence / Diary Management

Support individual pupils and groups under the guidance of class teachers and the SENDCo

Promote a love of learning through a child-led, play-based curriculum, including Forest School sessions

Help pupils access the curriculum while encouraging independence

Observe and provide feedback on pupil progress and attainment

Contribute to planning and evaluation of learning activities and interventions

Support pupils across Pre-School, Pre-Prep, and Prep, including After School Care, depending on experience and preference

Assist with classroom preparation and maintaining an orderly, purposeful environment

Support pupil welfare, wellbeing, and behaviour management

Occasionally cover or assist with class teaching

Accompany pupils on educational visits and school events

Contribute to the clubs and duty rota

Professional Expectations

Uphold the vision, mission, and ethos of Abbot’s Hill School and Mill Hill Education Group

Maintain confidentiality, professionalism, and act as a role model for pupils

Participate in training, INSET days, appraisal, and professional development

Demonstrate an ongoing commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children

PERSON SPECIFICATION

Qualifications & Experience

Level 3 Childcare qualification (NVQ Level 3 or equivalent) – essential

Paediatric First Aid qualification or willingness to complete training

Experience working with children in a learning environment, ideally across multiple age groups

Skills & Knowledge

Knowledge of academic and pastoral needs of children

Ability to adapt support to meet individual learning needs

Good literacy, numeracy, organisational, and ICT skills

Strong interpersonal, communication, and listening skills

Ability to prioritise tasks, manage time effectively, and work flexibly

Enthusiasm for outdoor learning and supporting Forest School

HOW TO APPLY

If you would like to apply for this role, please complete an application using the Apply button below.

APPLY

Our Guidance Notes for Applicants can also be found on the portal. Please complete the application by 9.00am on Monday 1 June 2026. Interviews will be held as soon as applications come in.

Please note that we are unable to accept applications unless they are made on our own application form. Due to the large number of applications the School receives, please be aware that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted to be invited for an interview.

The Mill Hill Education Group reserves the right to interview candidates ahead of the closing date and applications will be considered as they are received.

The Mill Hill Education Group is committed to safeguarding the welfare of children. As part of our Recruitment Checks, the appointed candidate will be subject to a Social Media and Enhanced DBS Check.

The Education Group apply for an Enhanced Disclosure from the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) for all positions at the schools which amount to regulated activity. The role you are applying for meets the legal definition of regulated activity with children.

If you are successful in your application you will be required to complete a DBS Disclosure Application Form. Employment with the schools is conditional upon the schools being satisfied with the result of the Enhanced DBS Disclosure. Any criminal records information that is disclosed to the schools will be handled in accordance with any guidance and/or code of practice published by the DBS. It is an offence for person barred from working with children to apply for this post.

The Mill Hill Education Group is committed to Equal Opportunities and welcomes applications from all sections of the community.

Successful applicants will also be expected to keep up to date with annual safeguarding training, DfE guidance and School specific safeguarding information.

Ever inspiring | Highly ambitious | Big hearted

Abbot’s Hill
Bunkers Lane,
Hemel Hempstead
Hertfordshire HP3 8RP

abbotshill.herts.sch.uk