Pre-School Assistant (Hailsham Primary)

JOB DESCRIPTION

Hours of work: 37
Working pattern: Full-time, Term-time only
(As the position is term-time only, the above salary will be pro rata)

Closing date: 10am Monday 10 March 2026

For more information and to apply for the above post, please contact:

Hailsham Academy
Bulrush Lane
Hellingly
East Sussex
BN27 4FB

Phone:   01892 603000
Email:      cburgess@markeducationtrust.org
Website: www.hailsham-academy.org

Please note, we do not accept CVs.

Pre-School Assistant  
Start date: As soon as possible 
Grade / Salary: Single Status Grade 3 Point 7, currently £24,795 full time equivalent, actual salary £21,481 
Contract: Permanent 
Hours: Full time, term time only, Monday to Friday – 39.5 hours per week including a 30-minute unpaid break per day 

We are looking for a caring, enthusiastic and dedicated Pre-School Assistant to join our friendly Early Years team. This is a wonderful opportunity for someone who is passionate about supporting young children’s learning and development in a nurturing, play-based environment. This is a wonderful opportunity for someone who is passionate about supporting young children’s learning and development in a nurturing, play-based environment. School Assistant to join our friendly Early Years team. This is a wonderful opportunity for someone who is passionate about supporting young children

’s learning and development in a nurturing, play-based environment. 

Benefits of working with us: 
•    Opportunity to join the Local Government Pension Scheme 
•    Free on-site parking 
•    Access to Blue Light Card offering discounts across various UK retailers  
•    Benenden Healthcare membership at a reduced rate 
•    Free optician’s eyesight test for DSE users 

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 re

vised 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. 

ABOUT US

Additional Information
The Academy is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. All staff will be expected to hold or be willing to obtain an enhanced DBS check or Enhanced check for Regulated Activity with the Disclosure & Barring Services (previously the Criminal Records Bureau). For further information about what is required in this process please go to  https://www.gov.uk/dbs-check-applicant-criminal-record .
All school based staff have the responsibility for promoting the safeguarding and welfare of children.  All school staff should be aware of the school’s Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy and work in accordance with this document at all times.