Teaching assistants support teachers and help children with reading, writing and learning activities.
£11,500 Starter
to£23,000 Experienced
32 to 40 term time
evenings occasionally
You can get into this job through:
You can take a college qualification to get started, for example:
You'll usually need:
You can get into this role through:
You'll usually need:
You could get experience by volunteering in a local school or community organisation. This can sometimes lead to paid work or a chance to get relevant qualifications.
You can apply to your local education authority for jobs. Each school sets its own entry requirements, though you'll usually need GCSEs grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) in English and maths.
You'll also need to show that you can work well with children, teachers and parents. A qualification in nursery work, childcare, playwork or youth work will give you an advantage.
Many teaching assistants specialise in extra areas of support, for example in languages, and physical or learning difficulties.
You can find more on working as a teaching assistant from Skills for Schools.
You'll need:
You'll need to:
In this role you could be:
You could work at a school or at a special needs school.
Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.
With experience, you could become a senior assistant or apply for a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) role.