Teacher

About The Role

Job Title: Teacher (SEND)

Job Location: Oakwood Specialist College, Torpoint PL11 2BJ

Salary: Between £27,300 and £33,600 per annum, based on 40 hours per week, 42.4 weeks of the year.

Contract Type: Permanent - September 2025 Start

Every person deserves the right to access meaningful education. That’s where you come in. We are looking for a Teacher to start in September 2025 who will play a key role in delivering personalised learning programs to neurodiverse young adults (ages 16 to 25), ensuring they receive the best educational opportunities possible.

We encourage creativity in teaching, giving you the freedom to design engaging lessons tailored to each learner’s interests—whether by incorporating hobbies or exploring innovative ways to make learning enjoyable. Following the Post-16 Study Programme model, our curriculum prepares learners for adulthood through work experience, life skills activities, and essential functional skills in Maths and English. As a SEND teacher, you’ll need to deliver a diverse range of subjects and skills, including independent living (budgeting and community engagement), preparing for work (job applications and workplace readiness), and communication skills, all tailored to meet each learner’s unique needs.

We encourage and welcome you to visit our college and experience first-hand the engaging world of teaching in a SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) environment. With small class sizes of just 5-7 learners, you'll experience how it’s possible to build strong, meaningful connections with the learners.

Some learners may face social and emotional challenges, and part of your role will be to help our learners build essential life skills. A key focus will be on developing communication and language techniques, as well as supporting emotional expression through a neurodiverse-affirming curriculum. You'll have excellent support in this, as our college is committed to a total communication environment and work collaboratively across the campus.

You’ll get all the training and support you need to make sure our learners have the best experience possible. Whether it be curriculum development skills, seeking guidance from colleagues or working with our integrated therapies team.

A day in the life of a Teacher will involve:

• Leading classroom activities including planning, teaching, and assessing learning, particularly with ‘your’ class. This will involve a range of subjects and topics involved in pathways to adulthood and pastoral support.
• Monitoring and recording progress, both academically and against EHCP outcomes.
• Working closely with learners, keeping them engaged, motivated, and inspired to reach their full potential.
• Providing inspirational learning opportunities to learners, whether in the classroom or out in the community. You’ll work either 1:1 with learners or in small group settings to help them achieve their learning goals.
• Working closely with Learning Support Assistants to direct them to effectively support the learners.
• Being able to provide and develop a curriculum bespoke to each individual learner. You’ll need to be adaptable in your teaching style as some learners may focus on becoming more independent, while others aim to secure employment.
• Being able to recognise when a learner's progress is at risk, and where we could improve. You’ll need to be committed to seeking to understand each young person and their needs.

To be a successful Teacher you’ll need:

• Patience, compassion, and resilience—All of the learners you’ll support will be neurodiverse, which may impact their learning behaviour and communication needs.
• Great communication skills – This is important in this role as you’ll be speaking to a lot of different people at different times, whether it be learners, parents, or other stakeholders. You’ll need to be able to contribute to a range of resources as well as share information effectively.
• To be able to be involved in EHCPs, and shaping a curriculum based on the individual target outcomes of your learners.
• To be flexible and adaptable. Not all days go to plan, you’ll need to be comfortable dealing with change.
• A genuine interest in a career focused on the education of people with a wide range of needs.

In return for your time, you’ll get:

• Holidays – You’ll work 42.4 weeks of the year during term time, but you’ll be paid annual leave to cover the remaining 9.6 weeks.
• Pension scheme– Our pension scheme is based on you paying in 5%, and us adding 3%.
• Learning & Development Opportunities – We provide comprehensive learning opportunities for team members to develop themselves.
• Discounts – You’ll have access to brilliant discounts through the Blue Light Card and our own employee benefits platform.
• Wellbeing Support – Your wellbeing is always our priority. You’ll have access to mental health and wellbeing support. On top of this, our therapies team offers a monthly confidential check in clinic, and group reflective practice sessions.
• Cycle2Work -The cycle to work scheme enables you to buy a bicycle at a discounted rate.
• DBS – As this role requires you to have an enhanced DBS carried out, we will cover this cost.
• After 12 months service - You’ll be eligible for our Medicash scheme which covers a wide range of medical, health and wellbeing expenses (Including immediate access to a GP!). You’ll get life assurance paid at 2 x your annual salary, and even more high street discounts.

As part of our commitment to safer recruitment, successful applicants will undergo pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS, online and social media checks, and reference validation. Due to the nature of our work, we are exempt from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (1974), so we may ask you to disclose any spent or unspent criminal convictions during recruitment. This disclosure does not automatically disqualify you, and we encourage transparency at the application stage.

At Phoenix Learning and Care, we are committed to diversity and creating an inclusive environment where all team members feel safe to be themselves without risk of discrimination. We believe that a diverse workforce strengthens our organisation, and we strive to ensure everyone can contribute authentically and openly.