Behavioural Specialist

Behaviour Specialist / Behaviour Mentor – Primary SEND & SEMH

Location: Leicester (LE5)
Hours: Monday-Friday, 8:45am-3:45pm
Contract: Full-time
Recruitment: Monarch Education

Do you have the skills, resilience and commitment to make a real difference to children with complex behavioural needs?

Monarch Education is seeking an experienced, proactive and resilient Behaviour Specialist / Behaviour Mentor to join a specialist school in Leicester, supporting primary-aged pupils with significant social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs.

This is an opportunity for someone who can build strong relationships with children who may struggle to engage with learning, regulate their emotions or manage challenging situations. You will need to be confident, consistent and committed to helping pupils overcome barriers to learning and achieve positive outcomes.

The school is a specialist setting that supports children who have been permanently excluded, or are at risk of exclusion, from mainstream education. It also provides specialist provision for pupils with SEMH and communication and interaction needs.

This is a challenging but highly rewarding role for someone who understands that behaviour is communication and that building trust is often the first step towards progress.

The role

Working closely with teachers and the wider school team, you will:

● Provide consistent, proactive behavioural support to pupils with complex needs.

● Build positive, trusting relationships with children who may have difficulty engaging with adults, peers and learning.

● Support pupils to regulate their emotions, manage conflict and develop positive coping strategies.

● Respond calmly and effectively to challenging behaviour, using appropriate de-escalation strategies.

● Help create a safe, structured and supportive learning environment.

● Encourage pupils to participate in lessons, activities and routines, celebrating progress and achievements.

● Work collaboratively with teachers, teaching assistants, behaviour mentors and the wider pastoral team.

● Contribute to individual behaviour support strategies and share observations to help inform next steps.

● Promote pupils’ confidence, resilience, independence and social development.

What we are looking for

This role requires more than simply supervising pupils. We need someone who can take initiative, think on their feet and build relationships with children who may have experienced significant challenges in education.

The successful candidate will be:

● Experienced: Confident supporting children with challenging behaviour, ideally within a PRU, SEMH, SEND, alternative provision or specialist educational setting.

● Proactive: Able to hit the ground running, use their initiative and respond confidently to changing situations.

● Resilient: Calm, patient and consistent when faced with challenging or emotionally demanding behaviour.

● Committed: Reliable and motivated to make a genuine, long-term difference to pupils’ lives.

● Relationship-focused: Skilled at earning trust, setting clear boundaries and maintaining positive expectations.

● A team player: Able to work closely with teaching staff and follow agreed behaviour and safeguarding procedures.

Experience of positive behaviour support, emotional regulation, de-escalation and restorative approaches would be particularly valuable.

Why join the school?

The school’s ethos is built around inclusion, belonging and respect, with a commitment to recognising every child as an individual.

It aims to provide a calm, nurturing environment where pupils can re-engage with education, develop resilience and build the skills they need for their next steps. For the right person, this role offers the chance to be part of that journey and see the difference that consistent, skilled support can make.

Essential compliance requirements

Due to the nature of the setting, the successful candidate must:

● Complete all required safeguarding and pre-employment checks before starting.

● Provide at least two satisfactory professional references, including one from the Headteacher at a previous school setting.

● Demonstrate a strong understanding of safeguarding and professional boundaries.