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Communication Support Worker – *D/deaf Learners

Education Outreach Service

Children's Services – Inclusion

Are you looking for an opportunity to make a positive difference to a child or young person life

Do you have a British Sign Language (BSL) qualification, or lived experience of using BSL?

If helping people comes naturally to you and you find reward in supporting people, this could be the perfect job for you!

What you’ll be doing:

As Communication Support Worker, you will perform an important role in the school life of D/deaf pupils, helping them to communicate with their teachers, and access all parts of the learning. An important aspect of your role will be to ensure these pupils have an enjoyable and typical school experience.

You will assist in supporting the delivery of flexible, high quality education that meets the needs of D/deaf learners within an inclusive environment.

You will work closely with the Qualified Teacher of the Deaf, and school based staff, to enable equality of access to information and education to meet the needs of d/Deaf learners. The support may involve working with pupils whose first language is BSL. This type of support would generally involve a two way exchange of information, through BSL, written notes or clear speech.

You will be responsible for understanding individual learner’s needs, developing and using a range of communication strategies, for example working between BSL signing, speech, note- taking and/or language modification and preparing for support sessions and subject areas, as appropriate.

You will work closely with the QTOD (Qualified Teacher of the Deaf) in ensuring the quality of the curriculum being delivered is linked to national and local curriculum guidelines and where necessary contribute to Individual Educational Programmes (IEP).

You will require relevant experience supporting d/Deaf children/young people and have an understanding of the barriers d/Deaf people face especially in education settings.

You will be focused on and responsive to learners’ needs, with strong communication skills (spoken and written) and ability to listen accurately in noisy surroundings.

What’s in it for you?

Excellent Salary and Conditions
Distant islands allowance
Relocation Package
Generous holiday allowance
Local Government Pension scheme
Flexible working and family friendly policies
A varied and interesting workload
Excellent training and development opportunities
Various other employee benefits

*D/deaf definition: Deaf with a capital D refers to people who have been deaf all their lives, or since before they learn to talk. The word deaf (lower case d) is used to describe anyone who does not hear very much. Sometimes it is used to refer to people who are severely hard of hearing. Deaf people tend to communicate in sign language as their first language. For most Deaf people English is a second language.

Additional Information

Do you share our values?

In Shetland Islands Council, Excellent service is at the heart of everything we do. We provide excellent service by taking personal responsibility and working well together.

It is important that you share our values and would demonstrate this by:

Providing an excellent level of service, by making sure you understand, meet and manage our service users’ needs.
Working in an open and honest way, reflecting on your performance and looking for opportunities to improve and develop.
Having a positive attitude by being open-minded, fair, respectful, trustworthy and honest.
Taking your responsibilities as an employee of the council seriously.

We’re looking for someone who’s compassionate, respectful, empathetic and honest, with a values and integrity to make a very real and positive difference to the children and young people we support.

The grade of this post is H
Rate of pay shown in the advert is inclusive of Distant Islands Allowance of £1.4202 per hour
Permanent Part Time post for 30.0 Hours per Week , 39 weeks per year plus 6.24 weeks (pro rata) paid holiday to be taken during school holidays]
Preferred candidates will be required to join the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) Scheme or undergo a PVG Scheme update prior to a formal offer of employment being made
A relocation package does apply to this post
We will pay interview expenses from within the UK
You must have a full driving licence or the ability to travel throughout Shetland at short notice and where public transport is limited
We are happy to talk flexible working

During the application process you are required to give the names of two persons not related to you, who we can contact to provide a reference to support your application.

This post is based at Education Outreach Services, Children's Services, 28 Burgh Road, Lerwick, Shetland

For further details relating to this post, please contact: Helen Couper, Educational Outreach Manager, Tel - 01595745583, Email - Helen.Couper@shetland.gov.uk

If you have a disability which prevents you from applying online, please call 01595 744032.

Information about Shetland

Shetland is an archipelago in the north of the British Isles where you'll find freedom, wildlife and wild beauty, but also a rich culture and dynamic, forward-looking society. The Islands have a thriving and diverse economy full of opportunities and offer residents the ideal work/life balance. Shetland combines stunning coastal landscapes and wide open spaces with friendly, bustling island communities. Factor in Shetland's impressive modern amenities, highly regarded schools and the Islands offer a work life balance rarely found elsewhere.

Find out more about:

Living and working in Shetland: here

The Shetland Islands Council: here