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Advice on becoming teaching assistant with little one

4 replies

Hi2every1 · 25/01/2016 20:26

Hi all I'm after some advice I want to become a teaching assistant, what are your opinions on getting started? Volunteering and hoping to get a job/training through a school or getting reinvent qualifications and then applying for TA's job. Also how hard would this be with young children? Ds1 is at school but ds2 is still at home (for now) tia

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AngelSings · 31/01/2016 13:48

Volunteering is hugely important, so that should be your first step to take. It'll also show you whether or not being a TA is what you expect it to be. Some schools are quite happy to employ you without a qualification if you've volunteered there for a while and they have gotten to know you.

I volunteered at my DD's school and did a qualification as well since the school is quite small and vacancies are rare (not much chance ever getting offered a job there). I also worked as midday supervisor and after school club leader and eventually applied for and got a TA job at another school. Both my experience and qualification were invaluable since they had no prior knowledge of me.

TA jobs can vary in hours, although the majority are fulltime (i.e. school hours). There are some that are only an hour or two each day and so could work out for you and DS2, but they're not as common.

Good luck.

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Hi2every1 · 31/01/2016 17:10

Thanks for your reply. I asked to volunteer at ds1 school but they are completely full, they advised me to send in a cv and cover letter for them to keep on file for future. So I'll also drop them into our other local schools.

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fruitpastille · 31/01/2016 19:38

What are your childcare options? It might be a struggle to pay for a childminder on your salary unfortunately.

I'm sure many schools would like a volunteer for something like hearing readers/helping with cutting out, laminating etc in the first instance which would hopefully lead to doing a bit more once they know you.

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Hi2every1 · 31/01/2016 19:59

Ok thank you. well my DH is at home in between jobs at the moment, DS2 is eligible for the free 15hours a week so that will bring the cost down. X