Any advice for becoming a teaching assistant in a secondary school?

[Valhalla]

I'd love to become a teaching assistant at a secondary school but without any relevant qualifications I'm not sure how I'd go about it. I know that our local primary school will happily accept parent volunteers who help out at the school whilst doing their TA training, but does this happen at secondary level as well? Would it be a good idea to write or phone the high school directly? All advice welcome. Thanks.

Hi, generally (and I can only speak from my own experience as a Teaching assistant and my Husband is a secondary teacher) Teaching assistants in secondary, tend to be there for individual students rather than often, at primary, for general classroom. Experience is always an advantage. I'm not sure if they would let you help out as in Primary. I know my Husbands school wouldn't - as like I say, they only have teaching assistants attached to specific children, sometimes they have gone through primary school with the child and moved up, so it may be a better place to start? I think you're very brave!!

The situation mazybrown describes isn't the same everywhere. I guess it depends how many children your school has on the SEN register.

At my school many, many TAs have started with no qualifications and have done their NVQ training during their first year. Of course they do come with experience, but this might just be helping to run a youth club or having teenagers of their own.

Being a TA in a secondary school is a very demanding job and you do need to be cut out for it. In my school I don't know of any TAs who have come up with a child from primary, or even transferred from working in primary (though some teachers have), as it is a very different sort of job in secondary. So if secondary is what you want, I don't think I'd recommend that route in.

As well as some being attached to individual children, we have a lot of TAs who offer general support in classes with many children with low abilities. Or sometimes they are attached to a specific group of, say, 6 children within the class.

You can be a cover supervisor without any specific qualifications - basically you deliver preprepared lessons whilst the teacher is training or off sick - and generally fill in with admin etc otherwise. Some areas do run a non-accredited taster TA course for secondary level - there is one based at George Abbot in Guildford for example - including local placements.

Lizs, CS jobs round here now all require NVQ3 minimum, preferably HLTA. Many applicants have degrees and some are qualified teachers who have chosen not to teach for various reasons.

Thanks everybody for advice. My impression is then that high schools don't have volunteer helpers, but I could apply for TA level 1 positions, and then do the nvq2 training.

roisin - would you recommend writing to individual schools on spec, or just wait for jobs to come up? Experience-wise, I am the proud mum to a dyslexic ds, so I think I've encountered and tried almost every single learning strategy going! Thanks.

In terms of volunteer helpers the only thing we do occasionally have is someone who is planning on applying to do TA work or Teacher Training and asks to come in for a few odd days to do an observation.

I would definitely write to individual schools on spec, as things do come up from time to time. And in particular they may just have a couple of afternoons a week or something where they are short-handed.

If you have experience already with a ds who has SEN, then that puts you in a strong position. Many of our TAs at school also have children of their own with SEN.

Agree with roisin about writing to individual schools. A personal approach is the best way and will show that you have looked at that particular school, rather than just a scattergun approach.

I would have thought that many secondary schools would be over joyed to have you help as a volenteer with a bottom set. There are lots of dyslexic kids who don't have statements who would benefit from having an adult to read for them for example.

I think the reason that many secondary schools don't have volenteer helpers is that volenteers don't tend to come forward.

Certainly they would be prepared to tell you what experience you need to get to become an LSA in a secondary school.

Just ask, you have nothing to lose.

I did this job 11 years ago. They advertise in the local paper here- think you've missed it for this year as the ads have dried up now.

I had a degree and took the job as a precursor to teacher training (put me off teaching altogether) but also had 2 DSs with SEN which helped at interview.

Although attached to several individual children there was a lot of "whole class" work involved.

"I did this job 11 years ago. They advertise in the local paper here- think you've missed it for this year as the ads have dried up now."

I doult you have missed it for this year. A lot of councils advertise TA jobs on their websites. Vacancies appear through out the year.

Unlike teachers, support staff only have to give one months' notice that they are leaving.

you don't have to have exp to be a ta. our local authority has a non teaching section on its jobs website with loads of ta jobs all year. otherwise phone local schools and ask to speak to the special needs coordinator as they usually manage ta's. the schools i worked in hired all yr round from those with ta qualifications to gap yr people.

I work as an SEA (special education assistant) SEA's have very different roles than TA who are teacher's assistants and do not directly deal with the students but rather help with the photocopying, putting things up... etc. The education required for each is different. As an SEA you can be put in any situation. Sometimes you are put with one specific student and you're their SEA full time. Other times, you are supporting a group of students in a class. I prefer high school myself.