Meet our teachers

Are you unsure which home study Teaching Assistant course is for you? To give you the best opportunity to discover more about becoming a Teaching Assistant, we run a series of Teaching Assistant workshops around the country where you can personally meet Deputy Head Teachers, Teachers, and QCF Assessors.

Excellence in distance learning

Meet experienced professionals working within a school, who are fully qualified to explain all the different courses to you. They’ll make clear how the QCF syllabus works, introduce you to the different Awarding bodies and explain what schools are looking for when they want to employ a Teaching Assistant. You’ll be able to ask them any questions you may have and given all the information needed to become a successful Teaching Assistant. You will also be given all the different courses to take home and keep forever. This will give you the opportunity to have a good look at the course content and if you later choose to enrol on a course, you can be certain it will be the right course for you.

It’s a great way to see the course content and talk to real people who will offer valuable advice on a one to one basis. By providing our students with this personal interaction, we make sure you get the best support through distance learning.

Work activities

As a teaching assistant you would support teachers and help children with their educational and social development, both in and out of the classroom. Your exact job will depend on the school and the age of the children.

Your job may include:

• getting the classroom ready for lessons
• listening to children read, reading to them or telling them stories
• helping children who need extra support to complete tasks
• helping teachers to plan learning activities and complete records
• supporting teachers in managing class behaviour
• supervising group activities
• looking after children who are upset or have had accidents
• clearing away materials and equipment after lessons
• helping with outings and sports events
• taking part in training
• carrying out administrative tasks.

You would also support children with particular needs, working with them individually or in small groups.

In some schools you could have a specialism, such as literacy, numeracy or special educational needs (SEN). If you are bilingual, you might do more work with children whose first language is not English.

At secondary level, you’re likely to concentrate on working with individuals and small groups and, depending on the subject, you may assist with practicals, for example in science.

A teaching assistant might also be called classroom assistant or learning support assistant.

Working hours and conditions

Full-time teaching assistants work up to 40 hours a week, during term time, with a typical day starting between 8.30am and 9.15am and finishing around 3.15pm to 4pm.

You might also take part in other activities such as school outings, staff meetings and training, which could mean working extra hours. Many teaching assistants work part-time.

You would work either in the classroom, or with individual children or small groups in a separate room nearby.

Income

Salaries for full-time teaching assistants range from £12,000 to over £17,000 a year.

Salaries for full-time HLTAs can be between £16,000 and £21,000 a year. This will vary depending on the Local Education Authority (LEA) and the responsibilities of individual jobs.

There is no national pay scale and wage rates are set by each LEA. Teaching assistants who work part-time, or are paid only for term-time, earn a proportion of full-time rates. This is known as pro rata payment.

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

Entry requirements

LEAs and individual schools decide which qualifications and experience they want applicants to have. You can get an idea of what you are likely to need by looking at jobs advertised locally or by checking your LEA’s vacancies online.

Previous qualifications in nursery work, childcare, play work or youth work can be useful for finding work. If you have enough experience of working with children or can show employers that you have the right personality and potential, you may be able to start work without qualifications. Volunteering to help in a local school for a few hours a week is a good way to start.

The following qualifications are also available for those not yet employed in the role and for those just new to the job, whether paid or volunteering:

• Level 2 Award in Support Work in Schools
• Level 3 Award in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools.

If you would like more information or an informal discussion about any of our activities, please contact the education sales on: info@dmc.ac or 0345 652 0098