SEN Teaching Assistant – The Perfect Starting Point for a Career in Education
Location: Leeds & Bradford Contract: Full-time | Term Time Only
If you're considering a career in education but don’t yet have experience or qualifications, this is where to begin.
We’re working with several SEN (Special Educational Needs) schools across Leeds and Bradford who are looking for resilient, proactive, and curious individuals to join their teams as Teaching Assistants. These roles don’t require any previous classroom experience, just the right mindset and a genuine desire to learn.
You’ll work closely with children and young people with additional needs such as autism, ADHD, learning difficulties, or social and emotional challenges. Your role will be to support them in the classroom, build trust, and help them thrive, both academically and emotionally.
Where Can This Role Take You?
A role as an SEN TA is not just a job, it’s a real launchpad for a long and rewarding career in education. Depending on your interests and strengths, you could progress in a number of directions:
- Teaching & Leadership RouteGain classroom experience, complete a funded teaching qualification (e.g., PGCE or School Direct), and move into a teacher or subject leader role. With time, this can lead to Senior Leadership (SLT) positions such as Assistant Head, SENCo or even Headteacher.
- Pastoral & Behaviour Support RouteIf you’re passionate about wellbeing and emotional development, you can move into roles such as Pastoral Lead, Behaviour Mentor, Family Liaison Officer or Safeguarding Lead, supporting students beyond academics.
- Business & Operations RoutePrefer something behind the scenes? Your experience in schools can transition into roles in school administration, data and exams teams, HR, finance, or even school business management, all vital to keeping schools running smoothly.
✅ What We’re Looking For:
- A calm, resilient and proactive approach to challenges
- Willingness to learn and adapt, every day in SEN is different
- Strong communication skills and a team-first mindset
- Patience, empathy, and a genuine interest in working with children
What You’ll Gain:
- Hands-on experience in real classrooms
- Training and professional development
- Clear progression routes in multiple areas of education
- Term-time working and all the benefits of the education sector (pensions, CPD, holidays)
- The chance to make a difference every single day
If you’re not sure where your future lies, but you know you want to do something meaningful, start here. This could be the first step in a lifelong career where you’ll continue learning, growing, and helping others do the same.
Apply today and we’ll talk you through the next steps.About Zen Educate:
Register from the comfort of your own home - Upload the required safeguarding documents and complete a video conference interview without ever leaving the house.
Set your preferences - Receive and manage bookings through either your phone or laptop on our beautifully designed online platform. Create your profile with the information you want to highlight to schools.
Hassle-free - You no longer have to struggle with continuous unnecessary phone calls, timesheets, or any of the other hassle that comes with supply work.
Completely transparent - We always charge the school the same transparent, flat-fee and not a commission. As a result, our mission is always to facilitate the fairest match between schools and Teachers.
Temp-to-perm - Like the school you’re working at? Zen Educate makes it easy for a school to hire you on a permanent contract.
By applying to this job post, Zen Educate collects your information in accordance with our terms of service and privacy policy (found on our website). We may also contact you by email/phone/text about your registration.
Reference: IND-ST-LEE-SEN
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time
Pay: £108.50-£118.00 per day
Work Location: On the road
