Any teaching assistants about? I need a mentor!

[SilveryMoon]

Hello.
I have decided that I would like to ecome a teaching assistant.
I'm just looking for some advice/guidance/support etc etc.

I have applied for a couple of jobs, not that I think I will get them, but because i have nothing to lose and it's all good practise.

The thing is, I have no experience or relevant qualifications.
I am about to enroll in a distance learning course, BTEC teaching assistant. Will this help me?
I also need to find some voluntary work to get the experience I will need.
Any suggestions on where I can look?

Any information will be hugely appreciated

Pushing my luck with a little bump

The majority of our teaching assistants have started out as parent helpers/volunteers and then done training to upskill themselves. They have great relationships with the children and parents as the majority are local and live in the community.

Best bit of advice i can give is to volunteer in a school. Ring round some schools. Most will be very eager to get extra help - do you have a CRB?

Nothing beats experience - and you get yourself known to the school.

What age range interests you? Do you want to be a general class TA or a SN/SEN TA.

As for a course, does this involve a work placement? These tend to be looked on more favourably than just book work.

hth and good luck with the job hunt

Thank you both
I was hoping to study at home to fit around children, but will look into work-based too.
I will get a crb done and contact local schools.
ds1 starts nursery in sept, so that might be handy

Hi SilveryMoon, Firstly, I think you can only get a CRB done by the school/body who wishes to use you. In our authority it is the school that arranges this. CRBs are not transferable from one body to another, so I would strongly suggest you wait until you have a placement and let them sort it out.

Secondly, I think you will find that any qualification that enables you to work with children, will require you to have a placement for a certain number of hours during the time you are studying. When I did my NVQ 3, I had to do 150 hours placement. It was easy enough as I was already working in a school at that point and the NVQ 3 was just an upgrade of my other relevant qualifications, but I know from others that placement is still a big part of this type of course now. in fact, few schools would want to employ someone who has paper qualifications but absolutely no experience in the area.

It is important, as Voting says, to decide what are you want to work in, as general TA work is very different to SEN TA work. And also, you will need to consider which age group you prefer. In this area it is much easier to find a TA job in secondary schools and very difficult to find one in infant/junior schools. you might find SEN is better in that respect, as classroom TAs tend to stay in a school once they've found a job, whereas , with inclusion etc, there are often more openings for SEN TA's.

Whatever you decide, I wish you luck. It is the most amazing job and my only regret is that I didn't do it earlier!

sayithowitis Thank you for your reply.
I will def look into NVQ's etc. If I find a college that do them, will they sort out a work placement for me? Or do I need to find a job that will offer me the training?

Over the past few days, I have spent alot of time looking at TA vaccancies and saw that SEN TA's seem to be more in demand.
They all want experience with ASD or autistic children, so I will have to find some kind of voluntary work with SN children won't I?

I got a job interview for a TA at a SEN school not far from here.
I told them that I have experience, no qualifications but am eager to learn and they will interview me next wednesday!
How exciting

Would you happen to be the 'JustMoon' of my aquaintance?

No...........don't think so! The words JustMoon mean nothing to me I'm afraid.

Oh. I meant to say that I have no experience

I started as a TA in a school with no experience.

I had a degree which was why they chose me (plus I am incredibly enthusiastic about education). But I worked in a failing secondary school. There's much more comp for primary.

So my advice is get all the experience you can (I had a lot) working with children of the relevant age. And read up on educational policy and the school's policies. Research everything!

Thank you. My interview is wednesday, so I have alot to do before then
I don't have a degree, or even A-levels. I have a GNVQ and a few GCSE's

Then blind them with enthusiasm. Make sure you know what you're talking about. Being a TA is all about supporting the teacher and enabling students' learning. You're not there to do it for them, you're there to support.

Check their website, if they've got a mission statement (and most of them do now!) then paraphrase it and quote it back to them.

When I went for the job there were 2 openings. I got one (for being academic) and the lady who got the other was hired for her local knowledge and passion for working with the toughest of problems (she was incredible). So don't let that deter you.

Think about why you want the job. What you hope to achieve. What do you bring to the table. How you would describe what a TA does.

And be a good TA If you get it. When I was doing teacher training I worked with a TA who I would describe as a "personal insult to the job". She was lazy and gave my students the answers instead of helping them understand.

I am most proud of my work as a TA BTW, it is an incredible job where you can develop a relationship with those you work with that is far more valuable than a teacher's. As long as you see it for what it should be.

Thank you YKNofC for all that advice.
I like to think I have a good balance of encouragement and gentle nudging in the right direction from my own children.

I would be a really good TA, I get on well with children and young people and can give them the encouragement, support and respect they need to feel confident and able to do tasks that are before them. I am patient, relaxed and well organised.
i can follow instruction as well as using initative and am a good communicator and team player.
Over the weekend i will do lots of research to get ready for it and just hope for the best.
Either way I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. It will be good interview experience regardless of the outcome.

I wish you all the luck in the world. You sound perfect!

You are there to support the teacher. Rrepeating that in an interview where the teacher is present can help! It's not a teacher they're looking for (unless you get hints that they are in which case you're happy to teach a child, but your job is to "enable learning" -memorise it)

Thank you. I will do that.
When I spoke to the lady this morning, she said she'd e-mail me some bits over, address, website info, a cv builder etc etc and it hasn't come through.
I called them back just before 5pm and they had down the wrong e-mail address, so I gave them the correct one and they said they'd get it out again but it still isn't through........
I have the number so will call back tuesday if still not received anything

Make sure that you have a reply to every bit of the job description with examples.

But most of all remember why you're applying and what you personally can do (home experience is relevant too).

I always see a job interview as an exam

Ok, that's a good point about the job description.
I'll print a copy of it off, make some notes on it and study it over the weekend.

Do you think it's acceptable to ask them if I can take notes in the interview, would it show interest or would I look like a loon?

Don't make notes, anything you need to recall will come after interview. It could make you look as though you can't remember anything. Make notes before and revise them. But do think of lots of questions you can ask (pref to do with current educational theory) and ask them!

Ok, good point. Disclaimer: I can't remember anything but ssshhhhhh
Right, lots of googling for me then. I know nothing about education really, I'm just really interested in behaviour, development and learning.

Interest is the first thing you need

Education can be really interesting. Just sound interested and stick to your own experience.

Hope I haven't been too confusing.

No, you've been a great help! Thank you so much.
It's nice to get some useful tips and encouragement.
Dp isn't being too supportive about it, but that's just him. Miserable git
But you've been fab.
Can I seek you out if I need to ask anything before the interview?

Course you can Is it primary or secondary you're looking at?

Thank you.
It's right up to 16.
She said that I'd be put in a number of different classes with different children of different ages and needs so I would get loads of experience and would be able to get a handle on what sort of age group I'd be best with.
It all just sounds pretty perfect tbh.
The only thing that I'm concerned about is how2 often they'd use me, seeing as I don't even drive so would take me longer to travel than someone who does drive.
Once I start earning, the first thing on my list of things to do is to learn to drive, so maybe I can mention that in the interview as a way of letting her know I am aware of the downsides to my situation and that I do plan to work towards improving.

Do mention that you are learning to drive (and learn!). Up to 16 is the most interesting time IMO