Calling all Teaching Assistants - please help me with course decision!

[Heartbrokenmum73]

Hi, posting here for traffic.

I'm looking into becoming a Teaching Assistant. My local college is only small and doesn't offer any courses and the Adult Ed courses are now full until next September, so I'm probably looking at distance learning. I want/need to get started ASAP because I'm signing on and the Job Centre are on my case.

However, looking at distance learning courses online throws up different qualifications and examining boards.

Are there any qualified/experienced TAs about who could guide me towards the most recognised qualification and/or which provider to consider studying with?

Any advice or guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Just thought everyone would like to read an update on the TA job situation and why the Department for Education would be mad to get rid of them:

Five things for policy-makers to consider before getting rid of TAs

I'm not sure I'd want an unqualified person with no experience being a TA in one of my DC classes. The TAs at dc primary are excellent and all are fully qualified

Op why not get a job to get off JSA and apply for a place on a course for the next in take

Well, I do have experience (lots of voluntary work) and am a qualified Trainer/Tutor/Assessor in other areas.

I'm applying for jobs all over at the moment, so will definitely get something fairly soon, especially as I now have a 'key worker' (for want of a better word), but not sure I still want to go into TA work anyway.

Next intake is September, so have until then to decide.

I'm not sure I'd want an unqualified person with no experience being a TA in one of my DC classes. The TAs at dc primary are excellent and all are fully qualified do you know that for sure , you may be surprised . It is only in recent years that some areas have insisted on a specific qualification and often in the past volunteers have been taken on as TAs . Even if they are qualified then it may be L2 rather than L3+

We usually take on unqualified tas. Any qualification will help. Just pick one you fancy

OP I'm in the same boat - I'm doing an Introduction to Early Years Setting Level 1 course in February to tide me over.

Please bear this in mind though: I was stopped from starting in January as my college requires you to have been in placement within a school for at least 2 months prior to starting, and to have a DBS check with them before you can start.

Supporting Teaching & Learning in Schools is still available - it's what I want to start in September :)

Oh, well, the OU thing fell through at the first hurdle actually.

I'm not allowed to study with them again because I didn't finish my last course with them (because I was severely depressed, but I don't have it in me to get into that with them now).

So, it's other routes for me now, if I pursue this further.

Oh, and they told me (visually impaired, can't drive due to this, and don't like being out in the dark as my night vision isn't very good) that I HAD to lift the 8-6 restriction on hours I had last time I claimed, that was suggested by them (I've had a job for a few months but it ended by mutual agreement last month) as "buses start earlier, and run later. So transport isn't an issue, is it?"

I couldn't exactly argue with that.

Can you go to a real Uni? There are plenty of courses on Childhood/Early years etc. You do very many hours less than in work and you get rent, council tax paid for/exempt. I got £3,000 every term and still got weekly child tax credit to live on (and no rent or council tax).
You get masses of positive support to finding work (unlike the job centre).

Other than Uni experience in a school will be the single most useful thing in finding a T job. Then prepare for the fact that a part time TA wage isn't enough to even keep working....

I did look into Uni, but the nearest ones are miles away from me and very difficult to, plus the majority of their courses are animal management and stuff like that (quite rural near me), so had to cross that one off.

Tbh, I just want work now, so am concentrating on that, but still looking at education. Hopefully I can do some volunteer work soon, as my CV has a 9 year hole in it from being a SAHM!

Hi op, I am doing cache level 3, supporting teaching and learning in schools. I am a midday at the school where I do my placement. Have a chat to your college. They are very knowledgable at ours about funding and benefits. I have a massive cv hole too! Good luck op, I am so glad I did this. You may get work as a midday at your placement school. They are difficult vacancies to fill, but it means I'm employed and contributing to a pension.

I don't know if this will help at all but I'm doing the level 3 NCFE course through Stonebridge. The course materials came through and looks great. I'm just waiting for my dcs to go back to school before I knuckle down to the course.

Just as a small warning, I have read on mumsnet previously that some people have had problems doing courses with Stonebridge as OFSTED don't recognise some of their courses (or something along those lines - if you search Stonebridge it'll probably bring the posts up?) not sure if that would effect your line of work OP, but it's worthy knowing.

If you want to do a free course just to add to your cv in the meantime whilst you find a TA related one, Vision2Learn do some free level 2 courses in various subjects on line that are fully accredited.

Oh! I actually Tutor for Vision2Learn (ITQ), but we don't do TA courses.

But will research the Stonebridge thing a bit more closely, I think.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Also have you asked your local council? Ours has a community learning dept that provide the TA courses locally? Though they don't advertise them much (unlike the local colleges that also do them) as the local schools, etc, already know and use them to train existing staff. But they still accept other people on the courses. If this is the case in your area it might also help to make some contacts of those already working in the schools? Good luck

I hadn't even thought of that - thanks a lot volvo