Mid-Day Assistant

Location: Base Newport School, Leyton, East London (Opossum Federation Contract)

Salary: £7,065.12 actual pro-rata salary (Scale 1 point, Spine point 3)

Hours: 10 hours per week (Monday to Friday, 11:30 AM – 1:30 PM)

Contract Type: Permanent, Term-Time Only (44.86 paid weeks / 38 weeks term time + 5 INSET days)

Start Date: ASAP

Closing Date: Sunday, 22nd November 2026

About Newport School & Opossum Federation

At Newport School, part of the Opossum Federation, we believe every child deserves an education that engages, inspires, and challenges. Rated 'Outstanding' by Ofsted, we are dedicated to creating safe, stimulating, and inclusive environments where high expectations and independence drive everything we do. We are committed to developing well-rounded individuals and ensuring lunchtimes are a safe, supportive, and enjoyable experience for all children.

The Role

We are seeking an enthusiastic, proactive, and caring Midday Meals Assistant to join our dedicated support team. Under the direction of the supervisor and Head of School, you will supervise pupils during the lunch period to ensure their safety, welfare, and positive conduct.

Key Responsibilities:

• Pupil Supervision: Supervise children in the dining hall and playground areas, helping organize space and encouraging positive play.
• Promoting Positive Behaviour: Implement the school behaviour policy, assist with maintaining discipline, and support children in resolving conflicts constructively.
• Dining Support: Encourage healthy eating habits, assist children with cutting food or pouring drinks, and support pupils with special educational needs, disabilities, or dietary restrictions.
• First Aid & Hygiene: Handle minor spillages or toileting accidents promptly, administer initial basic first aid for minor injuries, and report serious incidents to designated first aiders or senior staff.
• School Safety & Safeguarding: Ensure pupils remain in designated areas, adhere to visitor and site security procedures, and actively promote a strong safeguarding culture.

What We Are Looking For

Essential Criteria:

• Experience working directly with children.
• Strong written and spoken English communication skills.
• Ability to build positive relationships with children and adults from diverse social and cultural backgrounds.
• Ability to handle behavioural issues calmly and confidently.
• Ability to work effectively under pressure, use your own initiative, and collaborate as part of a team.
• Commitment to upholding safeguarding standards, confidentiality, Health & Safety, and Equal Opportunities policies.

Desirable Criteria:

• A valid First Aid Certificate.
• Experience working as part of a team to achieve shared objectives.
• Ability to speak an additional community language.
• Basic knowledge of school Health & Safety and security standards.

What We Offer

• Health & Well-Being: Access to an Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) and strong leadership support for staff well-being.
• Staff Perks: Blue Light Card discounts and access to the Ride to Work (Cycle to Work) scheme.
• Professional Growth: A structured induction programme, ongoing CPD, and collaborative working across the federation that helps maintain a healthy work-life balance.
• Workplace Culture: A warm, inclusive, and supportive environment with exemplary pupil behaviour and passionate colleagues.

How to Apply

To download an application pack, please visit the Newport School website or any Opossum Federation website. Completed application forms should be submitted to hr@opossumed.org. (Please note: Only applications submitted on the official school application form will be considered.)

Safeguarding Notice: The Opossum Federation is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and expects all staff to share this commitment. All appointments are subject to satisfactory references, an enhanced DBS clearance, and self-disclosure checks.

Equal Opportunities

Waltham Forest is a diverse borough where diversity is valued and is integral to both service delivery and employment of its staff. The Council is proud of its rich mix of communities and as the largest employer in the area, it works hard to respond to the changing needs of its population. We use our statutory duties on race, gender and disability equality and best practice in respect of age, faith and sexual orientation to ensure equality of opportunity in the workplace.

The Council is committed to meeting its 4 equality objectives:

• Promoting equality of opportunity
• Opposing all forms of discrimination, intolerance and disadvantage
• Ensuring our workforce reflects the diverse communities of Waltham Forest at all levels.
• Providing fair, appropriate, accessible and excellent Services to all.

Respecting Diversity is a core Council value. To support the above and reduce the risk of bias in its recruitment activities, the council is operating an anonymous shortlisting process, which hides personal information that can identify individuals until their application has been considered for shortlisting. The council also operates a scheme whereby, for jobs graded up to and including scale SO2, internal candidates are considered first. This includes those candidates who self-identify as having a disability for the purposes of the Disability Confident scheme.