Language Teaching Assistant (French)

Language Teaching Assistant (French) Location: Duffield, Derbyshire Contract: Term-Time plus INSET days Start Date: As soon as possible Salary: Unqualified Teachers’ pay scale points 3 The Ecclesbourne School is a thriving secondary school in Duffield, and we are looking for an enthusiastic and engaging French Language Teaching Assistant to join our Modern Foreign Languages Faculty.

About the Role

You will work primarily with our A Level French students, supporting them in developing their spoken French and building confidence ahead of their oral examinations. This is a fantastic opportunity to make a real difference to students’ fluency, pronunciation and cultural understanding. Duties will include:

• Running small group and one-to-one oral sessions with A Level students.
• Preparing students for the speaking component of their exams, including discussion of film, literature and current affairs topics.
• Helping students improve pronunciation, intonation and conversational fluency.
• Providing authentic insight into French language and culture.
• Supporting class teachers with resources and speaking activities.
• Supporting GCSE conversation practice as needed.

About You

We are looking for someone who is:

• A native or near-native French speaker.
• Fluent in English (essential for explaining grammar and supporting students).
• Confident, patient and able to build rapport with sixth-form students.
• Reliable, well-organised and able to work as part of a team.
• Previous experience teaching, tutoring or working with young people is desirable but not essential. You will work for 39 weeks per year, which is term-time plus five whole school closure days. Applicants should note that hours are determined each year based on curriculum need and as such hours will either increase or decrease each academic year based on student numbers. Core hours are worked between 9:00am and 4:30pm to suit the needs of the school and its students. We anticipate that there will be approximately 5.8 hours of time working with students during the academic year 2026 to 2027 plus 10% allocated planning and preparation time. This post will be paid on the unqualified Teachers’ pay scale at point 3 which is £28,758 per annum pro rata. Actual pro-rated salary will be in the region of £6,680 per annum. Why Join The Ecclesbourne School:
• The opportunity to gain invaluable experience in a school setting, ideal for aspiring Teachers.
• Make a real difference: See the tangible impact of your work on the school and its students.
• Supportive environment: Join a welcoming team in a school that values and invests in its staff.
• Professional Development: Opportunities for training and career development within our supportive academy.
• Local Government Pension Scheme: Immediate membership of the Local Government Pension Scheme with a high percentage of employer contributions.
• Wellbeing: We value our staff and recognise the on-going contributions they make to the continued success of the whole school.
• The school motto: ‘Integrity. Tenacity. Service.’ is at the core of school life.
• School admissions: Children of members of staff, with a minimum of two years’ service at the school at the time of application, are included in our admissions criteria. If you are interested in contributing to the future of one of the East Midlands’ leading schools, we look forward to hearing from. Please note that we do not accept applications by CV. Closing date for applications is 8am on Monday, 5 October 2026. We encourage applicants to apply early as we reserve the right to close applications on an earlier date should there be a high number of candidates. Our commitment to safeguarding: Our school is committed to ensuring the highest levels of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of our students, and we expect all our staff to share this commitment. We adopt a fair, robust and consistent recruitment process which is in line with Keeping Children Safe in Education. This includes online checks for shortlisted candidates. All offers of employment will be conditional on a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check, references, health check and, where applicable, a prohibition from teaching check. The amendments to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (exceptions) Order 1975 (2013 and 2020) provides that when applying for certain jobs and activities certain convictions are considered “protected”. This means that they do not need to be disclosed to employers and, if they are disclosed, employers cannot take them into account. Guidance about whether a conviction or caution should be disclosed can be found on the Ministry of Justice Website and on the websites of charities NACRO and UNLOCK. Our commitment to equality and diversity: As a school we are passionate about diversity and recognize that as individuals we all bring something unique to the role regardless of any protected characteristics which is why we treat all of our people equally, without compromise. We are committed to providing equality and fairness throughout our recruitment and employment practices and not discriminating on any grounds