Specialist Teacher

This position can be a permanent part time - possibly becoming full time and is also open to contractors.

About Moon Hall Connect

Moon Hall Connect is an exciting specialist educational provision brought to you by Moon Hall Schools Educational Trust. Moon Hall Connect is not a school. It provides specialist, flexible and inclusive educational services for children and young people with a range of needs. Students accessing Moon Hall Connect remain on roll at their home school and attend Connect for specific, sessional provision tailored to their individual circumstances. Our wider services include Specialist Intervention & Flexi School Provision, Assessment & Therapy, Exam Centre & Access Arrangement Services, Post-16 Support, and Outreach & Inclusion. Our aim is simple: to provide the right support at the right time, helping young people access education successfully while promoting both academic progress and personal development.

The Role

The Specialist Teacher will provide high-quality, targeted teaching and intervention for students with a range of Special Educational Needs, with a particular focus on literacy and numeracy difficulties. Working with students from Key Stage 2 through to Key Stage 5 (Year 13), the postholder will deliver structured and personalised support, predominantly through 1:1 and small-group sessions. This is deliberately different from a conventional classroom teaching role. There will not be a traditional class or form group, and Moon Hall Connect is not seeking to replicate a school timetable. Instead, the Specialist Teacher will work responsively with individual students and small groups, identifying barriers to learning and providing focused intervention that complements the education they receive through their home school.

Key Responsibilities

• The Specialist Teacher will plan and deliver evidence-informed, personalised literacy and numeracy teaching and intervention;
• assess students' strengths, needs and barriers to learning;
• establish appropriate baselines and monitor progress;
• adapt provision in response to individual outcomes.

A central purpose of the role will be to help students improve access to the curriculum, strengthen core literacy and numeracy skills, develop independent learning strategies, improve academic organisation and revision skills, raise attainment and build confidence as learners. The postholder will also support students to transfer strategies developed during specialist sessions into their wider learning. This may include developing study skills, metacognitive approaches, organisation, planning, revision techniques and greater independence. Accurate and purposeful records of provision and progress will be maintained, with clear feedback provided to relevant colleagues, families and professionals as appropriate.

Working in Partnership

Although Moon Hall Connect is not a school, successful provision depends upon strong partnership working. The Specialist Teacher will collaborate with teaching staff, SEND professionals, pastoral teams, senior leaders and other practitioners to ensure that support is coordinated and meaningful. Where appropriate, this will include liaison with a student's home school to understand curriculum demands, existing support and intended outcomes. Moon Hall Connect's model enables children to access an individualised programme and, depending on need, one or a combination of specialist services. The Specialist Teacher will therefore be comfortable working as part of a multidisciplinary and evolving service rather than within the structures of a traditional school department.

The Person We Are Looking For

We are looking for a skilled practitioner who understands that successful specialist teaching is about more than delivering additional English or maths lessons. The successful candidate will be able to identify the underlying barriers preventing a young person from accessing learning and provide targeted, structured teaching that enables them to make meaningful progress. The successful candidate will ideally have:

• Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) or an equivalent recognised teaching qualification (SpLD Level 5 or 7), with strong experience of supporting students with SEND and/or specific learning difficulties.
• Strong knowledge of literacy and/or numeracy intervention and an understanding of how learning difficulties can affect curriculum access and attainment.
• Experience of delivering effective 1:1 and small-group teaching and adapting provision for different ages, abilities and learning profiles.
• The ability to assess starting points, plan targeted interventions, measure progress and communicate outcomes clearly.
• An understanding of dyslexia and other specific learning difficulties would be highly desirable; relevant specialist qualifications or postgraduate SEND/SpLD training would be advantageous.
• The confidence to work with learners across a wide age range, from KS2 pupils developing foundational skills through to KS4 and KS5 students requiring support with examinations, revision, organisation and independent study.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills, including the ability to work constructively with young people, parents/carers, schools and other professionals.
• A flexible, creative and solution-focused approach, with the ability to work independently while contributing to the development of a new specialist service.
• A strong commitment to safeguarding, inclusion and enabling young people to become increasingly confident and independent learners.

Why Join Moon Hall Connect?

This is an opportunity to join an innovative provision at an important stage in its development. Rather than taking on the demands of a conventional classroom teaching position, the Specialist Teacher will have the opportunity to focus on targeted, purposeful intervention, working closely with individual students and small groups and seeing the direct impact of specialist teaching. The role will also offer the successful candidate the opportunity to help shape a developing service, working alongside colleagues across Moon Hall Connect and the wider Moon Hall Schools Educational Trust. Moon Hall Connect's existing model is built around flexible, specialist support which adapts to individual circumstances and seeks to promote both academic success and personal development.

Safeguarding

Moon Hall Schools Educational Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people. The successful applicant will be required to undertake appropriate safeguarding and pre-employment checks, including an enhanced DBS check, in accordance with the Trust's safer recruitment procedures.

Further details about this exciting new provision, including its developing model of delivery, will be discussed with shortlisted candidates at interview.