Job Introduction
The Specialist Teaching Support Service is seeking to appoint a qualified, Specialist Teacher of the Deaf to work within the Deaf / Hearing Inclusion Team, required for the beginning of January 2025. The hours are 19.5 hours (0.6 FTE) and the days/hours can be flexible to meet the needs of the successful candidate and the service.
This is a peripatetic post and you would have a caseload of Deaf children in a range of settings within a geographical area of Staffordshire, currently Burton Upon Trent.
This is a demanding role, and you will be joining a group of very committed practitioners. You will find that we are an exceptionally friendly supportive service to work for and working with us is both enjoyable and rewarding.
Main Responsibility
You will:
- support Deaf children and young people with hearing loss and their families in homes, mainstream, and specialist settings across the age range 0-25.
- support the educational development and inclusion of the children referred to the team.
- be required to monitor, deliver interventions, and advise on an allocated caseload, relevant experience and understanding with the statutory assessment and EHCP’s would be advantageous.
The Ideal Candidate
You will have:
- experience of multi-agency working and have confidence in advising, supporting, and making sound judgements on strategies to meet the needs of children.
- be highly organised and will be able to demonstrate effective and positive interpersonal and communication skills to ensure successful relationships are built and maintained with schools and partners.
- the ability to use specialist technology associated with educational audiology for Deaf Students and work closely with the team around the child to ensure equipment is used effectively and outcomes achieved.
- be expected to travel around the County of Staffordshire supporting the schools, children and young people on your caseload so you will be able to drive, have a driving licence and be a car owner, however for disabled applicants, reasonable adjustments will be made where required.
- a qualification in British Sign Language, if no qualification is held a commitment to self-funding this to BSL Level 2 (Signature Accredited) would be needed.
We may also consider an outstanding teacher, with experience in working with pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND), who has recent classroom teaching experience and who is willing to commit to the 2-year mandatory qualification – Qualified Teacher of the Deaf (QTOD).
As part of our safer recruitment, and in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education it is recommended that we carry out the following checks:
- references prior to the interview stage
- online searches
For more details or an informal chat please contact: Moira Cooper, Team Lead Deaf / Hearing Inclusion Team (DHiT) on 01785 356830 or 07779 974124 or via email: moira.cooper@staffordshire.gov.uk
Shortlisting will take place on Monday 14th October. Interviews will take place on Thursday 17th October.
Our Recruitment Process: We anonymise applications during shortlisting to ensure only relevant information is considered. Please complete your application fully, especially the supporting statement, to highlight what you’ll bring to the role.
About Staffordshire County Council
We are no ordinary county council:
Our Values:
The core of who we are as an organisation. Just like we all have personal values that shape our thoughts and behaviour, organisational values drive how we think and act collectively.
Our values were created and shaped by colleague feedback and national best practice and they sit at the heart of People Strategy:
We have a real sense of community spirit that brings our people together. This feeling of belonging means we are all connected to what we do and take pride in the difference we make every day for Staffordshire people. We are ambitious and our sights are set firmly on a better future.
We look forward and race ahead - that goes for your career too.
Our benefits:
We recognise that it is our employees that are central to everything we do. We aim to create a supportive working environment where employees can achieve their full potential and achieve a healthy work-life balance.
In addition to your salary, as a member of staff, you will have access to Our rewards and benefits - Careers at Staffordshire
Our recruitment process:
As an Authority we are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people/vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
Staffordshire County Council is an equal opportunities organisation and Disability Confident employer. We encourage applications from all background and communities
As part of our commitment as a Disability Confident employer, a Gold Award Armed Forces employer and our commitment to supporting care leavers - we offer a guaranteed interview as long as your application meets the minimum criteria for the post.
As you’ll know safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our children and young people/vulnerable adults is important to us and that’s why this position is subject to a criminal record check from the Disclosure and Barring Service. If applicable you should disclose details of unspent and unfiltered spent reprimands, formal warnings, cautions and convictions in your application form.