IB Complex Needs Educational Assistant

Temporary

Internal/ External Posting

0.60 FTE Monday to Friday

Start date: November 2026

End Date: June 2027

$33.05 – $34.70 depending on years of service with SMS.

This is a bargaining unit position in the Professional Employees Association.

Summary

St. Margaret’s School (SMS) is Western Canada’s only girl-centered, independent day and boarding school located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on the unceded traditional territories of the Esquimalt Nations, Songhees Nations, and W̱SÁNEĆ Nations. Founded in 1908, SMS is an international centre for girl-centered learning and leadership development, providing empowering education for girls from Junior Kindergarten to Grade 12 (boarding grades 7–12). St. Margaret’s School is an International Baccalaureate (IB) School offering the Diploma Program.

The Complex Needs Educational Assistant (CNEA) is a specialized educational support professional who enables students with complex learning, communication, behavioural, sensory, medical, mobility, and self-regulation needs to access learning safely and meaningfully within the school environment.

Working as a member of the Personalized Learning & Enrichment Team, the CNEA applies specialised training, skilled judgment, and evidence-informed practices to support student communication, engagement, independence, regulation, personal care, and safety. The role requires advanced competence in individualized support strategies, collaborative problem-solving, and the implementation of student-specific educational, behavioural, and health plans.

Core Competencies

- Integrity & Trust
- Service Orientation
- Communication & Collaboration




- Adaptability
- Innovation
- Resilience
- Interpersonal Savvy

Duties and Responsibilities

The Complex Needs Educational Assistant role requires specialised knowledge and skills beyond those typically associated with general classroom support. Employees in this position are expected to develop and maintain competence in areas such as augmentative communication, autism support, self-regulation strategies, sensory supports, behaviour intervention, physical assistance, personal care, student safety planning, and collaborative multidisciplinary practice.

- Implement and contribute to the ongoing monitoring of Individual Education Plans (IEPs), behaviour support plans, communication plans, and individualized health and safety protocols, providing regular feedback to support continuous student growth, under the direction of the PYP Personalized Learning & Enrichment Specialist and student’s teacher and the Personalized Learning & Enrichment Coordinator.
- Facilitate student communication and participation through the skilled use of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems, visual supports, social narratives, assistive technology, and individualized communication strategies.
- Apply strategies to support student self-regulation, executive functioning, transitions,



sensory needs, mobility, and personal care while promoting dignity, independence, and student agency. Maintain active supervision and implement approved response procedures.
- Use approved de-escalation, physical assistance and emergency-response methods within the employee’s training and authorization.
- Implement evidence-informed behavioural, social-emotional, and sensory supports designed to increase student engagement, independence, self-advocacy, and successful participation in classroom and school life.
- Recognize and respond proactively to indicators of student dysregulation, anxiety, sensory overload, or emerging behavioural concerns using preventative and strengths-based intervention strategies.
- Provide planned coverage during defined periods when qualified CNEA coverage is required to support individual students.
- Support the collection of observational and educational data related to student learning, communication, behaviour, regulation, and goal attainment to inform school-based decision-making and programming.
- Collaborate with student’s teachers, Personalized Learning & Enrichment Team, parents and any student external providers while maintaining clarity and confidentiality.
- Participate in student-specific training, planning meetings, debriefs and periodic competency reviews at school.
- Support other students or school programs as assigned and when consistent with the classification, training and operational needs of SMS.

Required Education and Experience

- Completion of an Education Assistant Program, which could include Education

📌 Complex Needs Educational Assistant (Canada)
🏢 St. Margaret's School
📍 Canada