Lead Teaching Assistant: Cover - Admiral Lord Nelson School in Portsmouth

Admiral Lord Nelson School, Dundas Lane, Portsmouth, PO3 5XT

Salary: Band 5 £24,131 - £25,740 (full time equivalent £26,473 - £28,239)

Hours: 37 hours per week/41 weeks (term time plus 2 weeks)

Start date: As soon as possible

Closing date: Midday Friday 12th June 2026

Interviews held: As soon as possible

Thank you for your interest in working here at Admiral Lord Nelson School. 98% of staff would recommend working at Admiral Lord Nelson School to a colleague looking for a new position (February 2023 survey).

You will be working closely with the Assistant Headteacher: Progress & Outcomes/Cover to deliver lessons to classes in the absence of their usual teacher. This role is for those that enjoy a challenge, working with students and doing something different every day. Previous experience in a similar role is desirable.

We will expect you to have a genuine passion for your own professional development and be a practitioner who quickly builds positive relationships with students. This role is for someone who can support students, so they are empowered to successfully manage their own learning beyond lessons.

A great way to start in education is by starting as a teaching assistant. Full training is provided with lots of opportunities for development and progress. These roles are often a springboard to teaching should you consider this to be your professional development avenue.

In addition, this is a great opportunity to shape young people’s futures, receive immense job satisfaction in a highly rewarding career, invest in your future and gain experience at Admiral Lord Nelson School.

Salterns Academy Trust is a learning community where every member of staff is motivated by the positive difference they will make to the personal development and the futures of our young people of Portsmouth. It was formed when Admiral Lord Nelson School became a converter academy in April 2014 and sponsored Trafalgar School, which is now our thriving partner Secondary School in Portsmouth.

We have a national reputation for being a truly inclusive school with excellent standards and principled curriculum design, we have a deep-rooted and longstanding commitment to being a UNICEF Rights Respecting School. This is a genuinely exciting school to be part of, morally driven by our core values of Inclusivity, Wellbeing and High Expectations.

You will be joining a well-established, innovative team, who enjoy working together, supporting each other to provide and assist teachers in the preparation and delivery of the curriculum. Sharing good practice is commonplace amongst all teams in our school and our professional learning programme will give you the chance to support colleagues across the school as they really think about how best to build relationships with students and with each other, focusing on restorative practice and further developing our core values of high expectations, inclusivity and wellbeing.

We pride ourselves on helping great support staff become the best they can be no matter where they are in their career and as a Lead Teaching Assistant you will play a role in the development of staff within the team and across the school at all stages of their careers. If you are ambitious and looking to take the next step, we will invest in your development and offer rapid career progression.

The Salterns Academy Trust and Admiral Lord Nelson School is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to Disclosure and Barring checks along with other relevant employment checks.

Early applications are encouraged, and we reserve the right to close the vacancy if a suitable candidate is found. If you are interested in joining our amazing team of staff, we’d love to hear from you. Informal visits from those who are interested in finding out more about the role are welcomed.

Admiral Lord Nelson School Employee Benefits:

• Excellent CPD opportunities and career progression
• Employer contribution to the Local Government or Teacher Pension Scheme
• Employee Assistance Programme
• Opportunity to sign up to the bike2work scheme
• Free parking

To apply please complete the application form that can be found on the school website Vacancies • Admiral Lord Nelson School (alns.co.uk) by Midday Friday 12th June 2026. Candidates should send their completed application along with a covering letter to r.alns@salterns.org.