Learning Mentor / Teaching Assistant (Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit)
| Posting date: | 31 December 2025 |
|---|---|
| Hours: | Full time |
| Closing date: | 30 January 2026 |
| Location: | Poole, Dorset, BH12 4HU |
| Company: | Teaching Vacancies |
| Job type: | Permanent |
| Job reference: | 9f481a23-cfe6-4ebf-957e-755a9ec0c63c |
Summary
What skills and experience we're looking for
Have you ever wanted to make a difference at the moment it matters most?
This is not a typical education role, or your standard healthcare position - and that’s exactly what makes it so powerful.
This is an opportunity to be a steady, compassionate presence for young people at one of the most vulnerable moments in their lives. Working within a specialist mental health setting, you will help students reconnect with learning, hope and a sense of possibility when the world may feel overwhelming and unsafe.
You won’t be doing this alone. While the setting is unique, you’ll be fully supported by a caring, experienced school team who understand the challenges and rewards of this work. Every day will be different, demanding emotional resilience, flexibility and heart - but it will also offer moments of real connection, progress and meaning.
If you’re looking for a role where what you do truly matters, where small steps are celebrated and your impact is deeply felt, this could be the most important role you ever take on.
What you’ll do:
• Work alongside students aged 13–18 in our PICU, supporting them to engage with learning and access the curriculum
• Provide practical, emotional, and learning support to students with highly complex mental health needs in a safe, structured, and nurturing environment
• Help adapt lessons and activities to meet individual needs, boosting confidence and motivation
• Build strong relationships with students, helping them feel safe, understood, and valued
• Collaborate closely with teachers, NHS staff, and the school team to ensure continuity of learning and emotional support
• Celebrate achievements, encourage small victories, and help students develop resilience and independence
• Be a vital part of a supportive, inclusive team committed to making a real difference in young people’s lives
Who you are:
• Caring and compassionate – you see potential in every young person, even when they can’t see it themselves
• Emotionally resilient, patient, and calm - able to support students through times of crisis while maintaining a sense of hope
• Skilled at building trusting, positive relationships quickly with young people who may feel anxious, distressed, or disengaged
• Flexible and adaptable, ready to respond to the individual needs of students and support their learning in creative ways
• A warm, encouraging presence who celebrates progress, no matter how small
• Collaborative and committed, happy to share successes and challenges with a supportive team
• Experience working with young people in either an educational or healthcare/clinical setting is welcome, but your empathy, dedication, and positive attitude are what matter most
What the school offers its staff
About us:
We are an Alternative Provision school with four campuses, each supporting students with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs. We see every young person as an individual and work with them in ways that suit their unique strengths and challenges.
Our goal is to help students grow into confident, independent, and happy people who can make a positive impact wherever life takes them.
To do this, we draw on approaches like PACE, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Growth Mindset, and Unconditional Positive Regard, which combines in an overall Restorative Approach. Familiarity with these ideas is helpful, but not essential - you’ll have plenty of support to learn along the way.
If you’re looking for a role that challenges, rewards, and fills you with purpose in a world where every day is unique and every moment counts, this could be the role for you!
Why join us?
• The chance to make a huge difference in the lives of young people, one small victory at a time.
• Friday afternoons off
• Comprehensive support, Induction and training package
• We’re a supportive team who’ll have your back during the good, the bad, and the “Did that really just happen?” moments.
• Professional development opportunities because we’re all about helping you grow, both as a person and in your ability to juggle six things at once!
• You will be part of an inclusive and collaborative team that, no matter what the challenge may be, are ready to face it head on and are committed to seeing it through.
• A school that celebrates progress, not just results.
• A rewarding role where no two days are the same and every day makes a difference!
• The opportunity to develop your career in a School and Southern Education Trust, a growing Trust.
Further details about the role
Join us and make a meaningful impact in the lives of young people, one step, one success, and one positive relationship at a time.
This role is based at our Pebble Lodge Campus, Alumhurst Road, BH4 8EP. Visits are welcome, please contact Dave Baleri-d.baleri@thequayschool.com
Become part of our journey, by completing our Support Staff Application Form and returning it to recruitment@southern.education if you would like to apply. See our Learning Mentor (PICU) Job Description for further details on the role and our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy.
Closing date: 1st February 2026
Interview date: 11th February 2026
Commitment to safeguarding
The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, this role involves directly working with children and significant contact with children, and therefore we expect all staff and volunteers to share the same commitment. Please ensure a full work history is completed in your application form including any gaps of employment. Applicants will be required to complete a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check for this post prior to commencement. The Trust is an equal opportunities employer.
Have you ever wanted to make a difference at the moment it matters most?
This is not a typical education role, or your standard healthcare position - and that’s exactly what makes it so powerful.
This is an opportunity to be a steady, compassionate presence for young people at one of the most vulnerable moments in their lives. Working within a specialist mental health setting, you will help students reconnect with learning, hope and a sense of possibility when the world may feel overwhelming and unsafe.
You won’t be doing this alone. While the setting is unique, you’ll be fully supported by a caring, experienced school team who understand the challenges and rewards of this work. Every day will be different, demanding emotional resilience, flexibility and heart - but it will also offer moments of real connection, progress and meaning.
If you’re looking for a role where what you do truly matters, where small steps are celebrated and your impact is deeply felt, this could be the most important role you ever take on.
What you’ll do:
• Work alongside students aged 13–18 in our PICU, supporting them to engage with learning and access the curriculum
• Provide practical, emotional, and learning support to students with highly complex mental health needs in a safe, structured, and nurturing environment
• Help adapt lessons and activities to meet individual needs, boosting confidence and motivation
• Build strong relationships with students, helping them feel safe, understood, and valued
• Collaborate closely with teachers, NHS staff, and the school team to ensure continuity of learning and emotional support
• Celebrate achievements, encourage small victories, and help students develop resilience and independence
• Be a vital part of a supportive, inclusive team committed to making a real difference in young people’s lives
Who you are:
• Caring and compassionate – you see potential in every young person, even when they can’t see it themselves
• Emotionally resilient, patient, and calm - able to support students through times of crisis while maintaining a sense of hope
• Skilled at building trusting, positive relationships quickly with young people who may feel anxious, distressed, or disengaged
• Flexible and adaptable, ready to respond to the individual needs of students and support their learning in creative ways
• A warm, encouraging presence who celebrates progress, no matter how small
• Collaborative and committed, happy to share successes and challenges with a supportive team
• Experience working with young people in either an educational or healthcare/clinical setting is welcome, but your empathy, dedication, and positive attitude are what matter most
What the school offers its staff
About us:
We are an Alternative Provision school with four campuses, each supporting students with Social, Emotional and Mental Health needs. We see every young person as an individual and work with them in ways that suit their unique strengths and challenges.
Our goal is to help students grow into confident, independent, and happy people who can make a positive impact wherever life takes them.
To do this, we draw on approaches like PACE, Solution-Focused Brief Therapy, Growth Mindset, and Unconditional Positive Regard, which combines in an overall Restorative Approach. Familiarity with these ideas is helpful, but not essential - you’ll have plenty of support to learn along the way.
If you’re looking for a role that challenges, rewards, and fills you with purpose in a world where every day is unique and every moment counts, this could be the role for you!
Why join us?
• The chance to make a huge difference in the lives of young people, one small victory at a time.
• Friday afternoons off
• Comprehensive support, Induction and training package
• We’re a supportive team who’ll have your back during the good, the bad, and the “Did that really just happen?” moments.
• Professional development opportunities because we’re all about helping you grow, both as a person and in your ability to juggle six things at once!
• You will be part of an inclusive and collaborative team that, no matter what the challenge may be, are ready to face it head on and are committed to seeing it through.
• A school that celebrates progress, not just results.
• A rewarding role where no two days are the same and every day makes a difference!
• The opportunity to develop your career in a School and Southern Education Trust, a growing Trust.
Further details about the role
Join us and make a meaningful impact in the lives of young people, one step, one success, and one positive relationship at a time.
This role is based at our Pebble Lodge Campus, Alumhurst Road, BH4 8EP. Visits are welcome, please contact Dave Baleri-d.baleri@thequayschool.com
Become part of our journey, by completing our Support Staff Application Form and returning it to recruitment@southern.education if you would like to apply. See our Learning Mentor (PICU) Job Description for further details on the role and our Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy.
Closing date: 1st February 2026
Interview date: 11th February 2026
Commitment to safeguarding
The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people, this role involves directly working with children and significant contact with children, and therefore we expect all staff and volunteers to share the same commitment. Please ensure a full work history is completed in your application form including any gaps of employment. Applicants will be required to complete a satisfactory enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check for this post prior to commencement. The Trust is an equal opportunities employer.