Interview for TA placement

[nerrvouss]

I am (hopefully) going to be starting a college course for L2 ta, and as part of that I need a placement in a school.

I have got a meeting with a school today, they asked me to go in for an informal chat, and said if it goes well they will be able to accommodate a placement for me.

Naturally I'm nervous! Anybody have any ideas what an 'informal chat' will entail? Any questions I should prepare for?

Anyone?

It might be informal, but treat is as part of the interview process. Be punctual, dress smartly.
I would imagine they want to see if you will be a good fit for their school. Have a look at their website, see if there's anything there that particularly interests you or you would like to know more about.
Be prepared to answer questions about yourself and why you want to do this.
Be calm and friendly. Give yourself time to answer the questions without getting flustered, be prepared to ask for clarification if you're not sure what they are asking. Good luck!

Also, have a particular read of their safeguarding policy, who the safeguarding leads are etc. They may well ask you how you might handle safeguarding situations.

Eg if a child tells you they're worried about something, or something simple like what to do if you see a gate is unlocked.

Good luck!

Thank you so much!

Do you know what year group it will be for?

No, it's just a chat today I suppose like an informal interview to see if they think I'd fit in.

My preference would be early years and/or children with SEN so I will ask to work there if I am able to choose but if not I will happily work with any year group.

Remember you haven't done the course yet so not expected to know stuff. They just want to meet you so a friendly demeanour and come across like a cooperative person. Schools are busy places and working happily alongside a busy staff is very important.

That's a good point.

I'm expecting to answer things like

About myself
Why I want to do my placement there
Why I want to work in a school
What age group I'd like to work with and why
Maybe safeguarding type questions

That kind of thing...