Abbot’s Lea School kickstarts the term with new recruits

Abbot’s Lea School is excited to welcome new colleagues to its team, including three new classroom assistants under the Kickstart Scheme.

The Kickstart Scheme offers six-month jobs for young people aged 16 to 24 years old who are currently claiming Universal Credit and, without organisations opening opportunities to them, may be at risk of long-term unemployment.

Abbot’s Lea School worked closely with the work coaches at Jobcentre Plus to attract the best quality candidates. The school was delighted to offer jobs to Ross Pendleton, Nieve Grierson and Stevie-Lea Johnstone.

The classroom assistants will support the class teams with providing high-quality education for students with complex needs, and will carry out a range of tasks from preparing classrooms and resources to supporting students’ participation in the planned activities.

As well as carrying out the role of classroom assistant, there will be a programme of career advice and training to support the young people in gaining the skills and experience they need to move into permanent roles or further study.

Participation in the scheme allows the school to provide valuable career opportunities for young people within a vibrant sector and to use its own expertise to provide high-quality training.

The scheme also supports the longer-term workforce plans by providing a pool of well-trained and experienced candidates should vacancies within the school arise.

Headteacher, Mrs Ania Hildrey, is thrilled to be part of this Government scheme. Mrs Hildrey said: “I am so pleased to welcome Ross, Nieve and Stevie-Lea to the team. Their roles will be incredibly valuable not only to students but also to our teachers and support team, as we continue to deliver an exceptional curriculum to children with Autism and a range of associated communication, interaction, social, imagination, sensory and learning differences.”

“We are big advocates of supporting the employability of young people and helping them with their career journeys, and it is something that we work tirelessly on for own students, as well as others in our wonderful city.

“If we can provide our new recruits with the right skills and knowledge to gain full-time employment, it will certainly be a job well done on many accounts.”