SEMH Teaching Assistant – Behaviour Support

Rising Hope Education is recruiting a confident and resilient SEMH Teaching Assistant / Behaviour Support Assistant for a specialist school in Barking & Dagenham.

The school supports children and young people with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs, and we are looking for somebody who is comfortable supporting pupils whose behaviour can at times be challenging.

You could be based within either the primary or secondary provision, depending on your experience, strengths and the needs of the school.

The role

You will work closely with pupils who may struggle with emotional regulation, engagement, boundaries and relationships with adults and peers.

This is a highly relational role. The right person will understand that successful behaviour support isn't simply about responding to incidents – it is about building trust, recognising triggers, maintaining clear and consistent boundaries and helping young people regulate and re-engage.

Responsibilities may include:

• Supporting pupils 1:1, in small groups and within the classroom

• Providing proactive behaviour and emotional-regulation support

• De-escalating challenging situations calmly and appropriately

• Helping pupils re-engage with learning following periods of dysregulation

• Supporting teachers with classroom behaviour and routines

• Building positive, professional relationships with pupils

• Maintaining clear and consistent boundaries

• Supporting pupils across either primary or secondary age groups

• Following individual behaviour, safeguarding and support plans

Who are we looking for?

We are particularly interested in people with experience in SEMH schools, PRUs, alternative provision, SEND settings, youth work, behaviour mentoring or similar environments.

You should be:

• Confident around challenging behaviour

• Calm and able to avoid becoming emotionally reactive when situations escalate

• Firm, fair and consistent with boundaries

• Able to build rapport with children and teenagers

• Resilient and comfortable working within a fast-moving specialist environment

• Able to work collaboratively with teachers, pastoral teams and other professionals

• Passionate about supporting young people who may have experienced significant barriers to education

• Committed to safeguarding and professional practice

This role requires somebody with the right temperament. You need to be able to combine warmth and empathy with confidence and clear boundaries.

Pay

£100-£140 per day PAYE, depending on relevant experience.

Why Rising Hope Education?

Rising Hope Education specialises exclusively in SEND and inclusive education. We work closely with specialist schools and provisions across East London and take pride in matching practitioners to environments where they can genuinely make an impact.

Immediate start available.

If you have strong behaviour-management skills and believe that challenging behaviour should never prevent a young person from having access to a supportive education, we would love to speak with you.

Apply today with your CV and a member of the Rising Hope Education team will contact you