Primary School Support Worker, Blackford Primary School - PKC13459

Working within Perth & Kinross Council is more than a job, it's about being part of an organisation that puts people at the heart of all we do and provides opportunities to make a real difference by enhancing every life we touch.

We currently have the following opportunity:

The Primary School Support Worker (PSSW) will work as part of a team to support children and young people in accessing learning across the curriculum. Our children have a diverse range of strengths, interests and needs. Our inclusive support team helps them overcome social, emotional, learning, communication, physical, and personal care challenges.

This role is incredibly rewarding, as PSSWs play a vital part in helping children thrive—academically, socially, and emotionally. Some children may present with distressed behaviours and require support from a caring, understanding, and inclusive individual who can follow positive behaviour plans to help them move forward. We work together as a team to help them learn, thrive and achieve.

In addition to working directly with children, the successful candidate will also undertake a range of administrative tasks to support the daily operations of the school. This may include assisting with routine office duties, supporting communication with families, managing resources, and ensuring the smooth and efficient running of the school environment.

This role is based on site at Blackford Primary School and not suitable for remote working. While this demanding and rewarding role is advertised as 36 hours per week, there may be a degree of flexibility of the contracted hours for those who wish to job share or work on a part-time basis. Please indicate on your application if you would be interested in full-time or part-time hours.

About the School

Blackford Primary School is a small, rural school set in a beautiful location just off the A9 between Greenloaning and Auchterarder. We are seeking a caring, positive and enthusiastic individual to join our staff team in supporting children’s play, relationships, learning, and the smooth running of our school office. We currently have 53 children in the Blackford Primary family who enjoy learning and playing outdoors in our school grounds and the surrounding community.

Skills & Experience Required

• A genuine interest in and care for the development and wellbeing of all children.
• Kindness, empathy, patience, and a sense of fun.
• Respect for confidentiality in relation to children, young people, and their families.
• Experience (paid, voluntary, or lived) of supporting children and young people with additional support needs.
• Reliability, flexibility, and the ability to use initiative in a busy school environment.
• A willingness to contribute to both pupil support and administrative duties as part of a collaborative staff team.

Desirable

• Experience of working in an office environment and confidence in using Microsoft programmes (e.g. Word, Outlook, Excel).

Working at Perth & Kinross Council

Our values and behaviours influence our work and support us in the delivery of our key priorities. In your application, and should you be invited to interview, you will be asked to describe situations that support the criteria required in the role and which also demonstrate our values and behaviours.

Here's what we can offer you:

• A generous annual leave package.
• 6 days public holiday and an additional discretionary day.
• Eligibility to join our pension scheme.
• Family friendly and positive work/life balance policies such as Flexible Working, Maternity, Paternity & Adoption leave, time off for volunteering and our Wellbeing Framework.
• Access to a range of benefits.

We recognise there can be benefits to flexible working and where individual jobs allow, we seek to support this. You are encouraged to discuss potential options with the recruiting manager, if this is of interest to you. A healthy work life balance is important to us and we provide supportive management and, where possible, flexible working arrangements to help you achieve that balance. You will have access to training and support for continued professional development.

Next Steps

We would love to hear from you and would encourage you to get in touch with Laura Fowler, Head Teacher Blackford Primary School 01764 661390 or Blackford@pkc.gov.uk to find out more.

External candidates are required to provide contact details for 2 referees, including email addresses. One of these must be your current or most recent employer.

Internal applicants applying for secondment must obtain line manager approval through the secondment form available under My Forms – Secondment Request Form on MyView. Please note that secondment requests are considered on a case-by-case basis.

We welcome applications from everyone and as a Disability Confident employer, we guarantee to interview applicants who declare a disability and meet the essential requirements of the post. Please contact the hiring manager above or the Recruitment Team on (01738) 475555 or recruitment@pkc.gov.uk to discuss any reasonable adjustments.

Appointments are based on evidence supplied during the selection process. Diversity is important to us and although some of our jobs may be perceived to be traditionally gender specific, we welcome applications from everyone and would encourage you to apply if you meet the job requirements. That includes welcoming applications from former armed forces personnel/reservists. Many of the skills picked up during your military career could be transferred directly into a role with local government.

Working with children and/or protected adults is regarded as a regulated role and under the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 you will be required to join the PVG Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update check. If you have lived overseas for a period of 12 months or more (continuous or total) within the last 10 years, an Overseas Criminal Record Check will be required. You will be required to provide this check.

A confirmed offer of employment and commencement in the post will be subject to the outcome of the above mentioned mandatory pre-employment checks (including references) and will also include eligibility to work in the UK, qualifications and fitness to undertake the post.