Vacant job

Are you driven by helping others develop and do you find it easy to build relationships? Are you the one who finds a way forward when you encounter everyday problems? Then we believe the position of Student Assistant in Special Education might be right for you!

Your responsibilities

As a Student Assistant in Special Education, you work closely with our students and provide support throughout their school day, both pedagogically, practically, and socially during school hours and also during leisure time. Through a good relationship, you support and provide security to our students so that they can learn, develop, and make progress in their schooling and daily life. Here, you get to follow the students' developmental journey in school up close and celebrate their progress together with both students and colleagues.

Special Education is for students with intellectual disabilities. Since our students have large individual variations in their abilities and support needs, your tasks and working methods will vary, both during the day and over time. The work in our operations is characterized by structure and predictability, while you need to be flexible in how you interact with the student.

Common tasks include:

• Clarify the teacher's instructions during lessons, for example, by communicating through oral explanation, sign support, sensory stimulation, or picture support.
• Support students in practical challenges during the day, such as toilet visits/diaper changes, recess activities, during meals, meeting up for taxis, lifting, and transfers.
• Participate in teaching together with students.
• Lead lessons if needed, based on the teacher's planning.
• Support students in social interaction with others.
• Document the student's school day, either for the students or by supporting them to do it, by taking photos and writing down reflections.
• Follow students' self-care plans, for example, testing blood sugar, injecting insulin, administering medication, and tube feeding.
• Participate in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of students' development.
• Support and prepare students for an independent life after school.

As a Student Assistant, you are responsible for planning, implementing, and following up on teaching in the school-age center together with other Student Assistants in your leisure department. You take independent responsibility for your tasks while working together with colleagues. You also collaborate with guardians and other actors in the school.

Your workplace

In Special Education, students with intellectual disabilities attend school, often in combination with other disabilities such as autism, visual impairment, hearing impairment, or physical motor disabilities. We combine an important pedagogical mission with the care needs that exist. Our daily life is built on the understanding that structure and clear routines are cornerstones for our students' security. Students study subjects and/or subject areas in smaller student groups with high staff density; in the classroom, there is often one teacher and several Student Assistants. There are ceiling lifts and other aids, but the most important tool is your active presence and your ability to build relationships that create trust.

As an employee in Special Education, you will have a fun and rewarding job that will challenge you, but you will also receive support and competence development. The work environment is characterized by close collaboration, and we support each other and work to get through the day. As a new employee, you will receive an introduction and be assigned a buddy. We continuously develop and adapt to our students' needs.

Vallastaden's Special Primary School is an inspiring and development-driven workplace located in a natural and beautiful environment. Here, we work in modern and stimulating learning environments, both indoors and outdoors, with large areas for activity. The operation has a strong focus on collaboration and communication, and you will be part of a professional and engaged team that strives together for continuous development and high quality in teaching.

The Special Primary School at Vallastaden School has approximately 60–70 students and includes teaching in subjects and subject areas, as well as a school-age center. All our students have intellectual disabilities, and many students also have other disabilities. Several communicate using Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) or other individually adapted modes of expression. Our working method is characterized by close collaboration among teachers where security, structure, and relationship-building are central to creating a meaningful and accessible learning environment for each student. For us, it is important to always meet the students in a positive way and with a low-affective approach.

The position is a full-time position with a 40-hour workweek, with working hours scheduled between 06:00–18:00.

You who apply

We are looking for you who have a genuine interest in people and the ability to see each individual's strengths and abilities. You see opportunities where others might see obstacles or challenges. To succeed in the role, it is required that you maintain your calm and focus in intense situations and act controlled when conditions change. That you easily adapt your working method to the student's daily mood and see changes as a natural part of everyday life.

It is a requirement that you have completed upper secondary education. It is also a requirement that you have good communicative skills in speech and writing in Swedish. This is because, according to the curriculum (Lgr22), you must organize and carry out the work so that the student receives support in their language and communication development. Furthermore, it is a requirement that you can work physically, as lifting and transfers with aids occur as a natural part of everyday life. It is meritorious if you have experience with students with physical disabilities and students with Intellectual Disability (ID) and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (NDD).

In this recruitment, personality tests are used as part of the selection process.

Other information

When you apply for a position in Linköping Municipality, you register your application by logging in via electronic identification (such as BankID or FrejaID) instead of email address. Do you lack electronic identification? Please contact the responsible HR consultant so you can get help registering your application.

Start date: By agreement

Employment type: Permanent position

Employment level: 100 %

Ref. no: 17331

Do not attach a personal letter to this application.

Your commitment makes us better

Within Linköping Municipality, there are many opportunities, lots of knowledge, and different areas of responsibility. We work together where your sense of responsibility is a valuable driving force. With your commitment, you contribute to making Linköping even better.