Classroom assistants

[Alized]

Can anyone tell me what qualifications you need to be come a classroom assistant? Think i need an NVQ. Can anyone help?

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Nothing at our area- although it depends how many unemployed classroom assistants are looking for work in your area. Contact the schools in your area and say that you're interested in work and ask if they've got any vacancies. Also there will be a person at the Local Education Authority who places classroom assisstants. Speak to this person and ask to be put on the register.

Thanks will try LEA. As was told today that schools are now looking for qualified CA. That was buy daughters teacher.

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Wedgiesmum has just started as a classroom assistant - see if you can catch her online (or by CAT). Sure she could help out with info.

Tis me!

I have no childcare qualifications whatsoever - do have some previous volunteer experience working with children, in school and other environments. Oh and at interview said over and over again how much I love working with kids and just love kids in general.

If you want to CAT me I can tell you more about the job and about the sort of things I've been doing as a volunteer.

HTH and good luck!

I am a CA and I didn't have any particular qualifications for CA when I started there. I had previously worked in a playcentre and had completed a GNVQ2 health and social care (not directly child related)
Ask the school what qualifications are needed and find out if you could possibly do the training if you starting working there.

as far as I know, none of our TA/CA/LSA's )choose whatever you want) have formal qualifications, most of them graduated into the classroom from the dining hall. They are fab. We have one fairly youngish LSA who is doing some training at the moment, not sure what it is though.
good luck!

To date DS1's LSA's haven't had much in the way of qualifications. Experience always goes down well - but he is slightly- um- shall we say "challenging". None have had experience of a child like him though. His main LSA is fantastic, absolutely brilliant, spent the first week in shock I think but it great- whatever her qualifications. Unfortunately I think she wants to train to become a midwife (good for her, but will be very sad to see her go).

They are interviewing for an afternoon LSA next week - his teacher told me that some of the applicants are "well qualified" but I know they put more importance on personality and experience. And I agree that is the right approach.

Alized - it depends on your area. Where we used to live they couldn't find anyone to do the jobs for the pay they were offering, so were quite happy for people to train on the job. Here (different area) our school recently had 120 applicants for a position, most of whom had NVQ3 qualifications

Phone a couple of local schools and see what the market is like in your area. Obviously it is better to work and be paid whilst training, and certainly better than spending a year training and then still not get a job.