Individual Needs Assistant (Hailsham Primary, Hellingly, East Sussex)

Individual Needs Assistant x2

Start date: September 2026

Grade / Salary: Single Status Grade 3 Point 7 currently £24,796 per annum full time equivalent. Actual salary £18,869

Contract: Fixed term contract to cover the needs of a pupil, part time, term time only. Monday - Friday 8.30am - 3.30pm incl a 30 minute unpaid break per day.

Hailsham Academy Primary Phase is seeking two caring, patient and enthusiastic Individual Needs Assistants to join our supportive team. This role is a wonderful opportunity for someone who is passionate about helping children thrive academically, socially and emotionally. The successful candidate will work closely with class teachers and SEND staff to provide support in and out of the classroom. You will play a key role in helping to create an inclusive, nurturing environment where every child feels valued, safe and able to achieve their full potential.

Benefits of working with us:

• Flexible working approach
• Staff recognition initiatives
• Eligibility to join the Local Government Pension Scheme/Teacher’s Pension Scheme
• Generous annual leave entitlement (support staff)
• Access to Wellbeing Support through our Employee Assistance Programme, this includes free confidential telephone and face to face counselling
• Opportunities to share your views through staff surveys and forums
• Eligibility to access Blue Light Card and discounts
• Discounted use of Gym & Exercise Classes at Uplands Academy
• Free parking available onsite or within close proximity to all our schools

Hailsham Academy is a split site, all through school serving 1,500 students in the secondary phase and approximately 300 students in the primary phase. We are situated close to Eastbourne and the south coast, just minutes from a National Park and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Our staff travel to Hailsham from a variety of locations within the southeast, including Brighton, Uckfield, Seaford, Eastbourne, Bexhill and Tunbridge Wells.​

In the early part of 2018, we were approached by the Local Authority to provide a new Primary and Pre-school provision within the town. In September 2019 we opened a brand-new school approximately a mile from the Secondary site, thus extending the designation of the Trust to a 2-19 all-through school. Since our last Ofsted inspection in March 2023, there have been some important changes that have taken place across the secondary phase of the college, including changes to our leadership structure, a revised pastoral structure to ensure we are providing effective support to our students, and a renewed focus on the quality of education and curriculum implementation.​​

We joined MARK Education Trust in September 2025 as both Beacon Academy and Uplands Academy are based in East Sussex and, like us, the Trust believes in the importance of schools retaining their unique identity whilst working in partnership. There are many benefits that this will bring to Hailsham Academy, as these links will support us in building on excellent teaching and learning throughout the Academy and will enable us to provide further support for our students as we build capacity and make efficiencies. ​

Our vision is to provide the best possible education for all of our students and to be an exceptional and high-performing school, locally and nationally. We do this by relentlessly sustaining our culture that is highly aspirational and ambitious for excellence in all we do.​

Our strategy for the future is rightly ambitious. We are uncompromising in our ambition and pursuing excellence at every level. We have a rigorous focus on consistent improvement and work meticulously to secure our culture of unapologetically high standards. Underpinning this is our shared belief in, and ambition for, the students of Hailsham Academy, and the experienced, loyal, highly skilled and highly effective team of staff who teach them. ​

For further details, please contact the Human Resources department on 01323 841468 or email job.vacancies@hccat.net. Please be advised that we do not accept curriculum vitae.

All schools within MARK Education Trust are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We will ensure that all our recruitment and selection practices reflect this commitment. All successful candidates will be subject to disclosure and barring service checks along with other relevant employee checks.

NB: we advise applying promptly for this post as we reserve the right to close and interview early if sufficient suitable applications have been received.