New job career

[NoisyRedCat]

I'm currently a SAHM of an almost 2yr old. My partner has recently been mentioning me getting a job. I don't want to go back to my old career so looking at training in something new. I'm really interested in working in a primary school as an assistant. I think it would be fun and work well around my child who would be starting nursery 2026. (I already have private childcare 2 days a week). Any advice on how to get in to that? Can I work at the school I want my child to go to? Google is way too confusing! I have an AET but I don't think that helps with early years education.

Primary schools are absolutely crying out for support assistants but they prefer some experience if that’s possible? Can you volunteer in a primary school and see if it’s what you think it is?

Yes you can work in your child’s school - personally I think it’s a very bad idea but lots of people do it 😄

Thanks! Do you know what kind of qualifications you need? There's so many options. Do you just call up local schools? I've checked for jobs in my area and there's nothing.

Depending on the post you don’t necessarily need any qualifications to start with - but there are NVQs and things you can do now. Any qualifications that involve supporting kids with additional needs will be a huge plus. I’m amazed there are no vacancies - assume you don’t live in the SE!

www.thinkteaching.co.uk/which-teaching-assistant-qualification-is-best-for-you/

Where did you look for vacancies? Ours are usually listed on local authority websites.

You don't need any formal qualification to the a Teaching Assistant. I started by volunteering listening to readers and doing lots of sticking stuff in workbooks then graduated to helping in small group maths and English work in KS1. This was at my DCs school and it has never been a problem. They just never put me in the same class as my DCs and I made it very clear to my children that when I'm in school I'm not mum, I'm Ms X, although they still enjoyed the odd cuddle when younger if I happened to pass them and that was absolutely fine! After a couple of years the school offered me a part-time TA job and I've been there a few years now. My DCs have all left but I've stayed! In fact the majority of TAs are actually parents of current DCs or former DCs. In terms of qualifications I did end up taking a City & Guilds Level 3 Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools as I felt I needed more theoretical knowledge to deal with situations that arose in the classroom. I did this PT over 2 years around working. The other preferable thing would be to already be DBS checked. Good luck, hope you find something, it's a very rewarding (if poorly paid!) role.

That's really helpful thank you both. I need to stay home another 12 months until LO is 3yrs and gets her free nursery hours. I thought I could do a course in that time to help secure a better paid position. I think my plan at the moment is to ask the local schools for advice when we look round in the new year for nursery placements.

Check your local authority adult education department,ours always runs courses for people wanting to get into school support work. But in reality what will stand you in good stead is personal recommendation, so with a view to this, and to make sure you enjoy working in school,( it’s not for everyone ) I would try volunteering at a local school, hearing readers, tidying library shelves, washing painting overalls etc.

You absolutely must volunteer or otherwise spend time in schools before you commit to this direction. It is not quite the job people imagine it is, and you may need to consider whether you are fitted to eg working 1:1 with a very high needs child, for example. School budgets are stretched extremely tight, so ‘general classroom assistants’ are now rare, and you nay be really surprised by the range of needs and behaviour you are asked to deal with.

A lot of the TAs at my kids school start off in other roles e.g. lunchtime supervisor or working at breakfast/afterschool club. Some may also have volunteered e.g. to hear children read. Then they move into the TA role when a job comes up. It can be quite competitive, as lots of people want to work the hours and lots of TA roles have been cut/had hours reduced.

It’s doable. I started off just as a parent volunteer at a playgroup. I didn’t get any qualification until I did my HLTA. But I was working in the days when TA post were easier to come by. It’s a job. Not a career. The pay is dire. But it does fit in very well with having children.

I'm a teacher in a lovely village primary. Being a TA is many many things, a lot of them positive, but I don't think it's very often 'fun', particularly in KS2.

I agree with @Nineandtwenty . I'm a primary teacher too. It's an absolutely invaluable role but really not well paid. I do know it can be very rewarding and all of our TAs are fabulous.

Two of our TAs have children at school though they don't work directly with them. One started as a lunchtime supervisor and the other's role came about from a chat with one of the teachers.

Am quite surprised at some of these answers.
TA roles are pretty sought after here. You definitely need childcare qualifications and English and maths, and experience working with children, particularly those with SEND.

This was the case where I am 5+ years ago. Now it's very difficult to recruit and we often need to readvertise. I imagine we're a very desirable school as well, and not in an area where housing is horribly unaffordable for staff.

Where I live we have dozens of TA roles unfilled now - everyone wants a wfh job and also doesn’t want the level of abuse for the shit pay. We can’t recruit for love nor money 😢

I think you need to be a little cautious OP. The govt are pushing hard to get DC with quite severe SEN into mainstream.

You could end up supporting an autistic DC who's non verbal and in nappies one to one without the level of training and support required to do that well.

My DSis is a qualified teacher who chooses to work as a HLTA for the hours. Her first job was 1-1 with a child who couldn't regulate their behaviour at all so her role was basically to remove him from the classroom and try to contain him while he was in it.

I work with some really good TAs. None of them have come to the job as a deliberate career/strategic decision, more a series of accidents.

What you need is: a partner with a secure source of income; lots of patience; excellent soft skills; luck in finding a school environment where they don't exploit you. Look out for things like being expected to arrive early or stay late with no extra pay; being expected to work through lunch; being asked to teach the class or even plan for the class; term-time only salary so salary quoted may be misleading.

Hi OP, why don’t you try signing up with a teaching agency and see how it goes? But would definitely recommend doing a bit of volunteering before hand. I would give the local schools a call and ask if they have any volunteer positions. From experience, schools are absolutely desperate for help (especially free help). I have tried a few agencies previously. I would recommend Zen Educate.

Agency is a good idea. We've had a few agency TAs and some of them are trying the job on for size.

Best route would be to start volunteering at one of the local schools. You can gain some experience/a reference, try the job on for size or at least what goes on in a classroom/see what the expectations are of actual TA's and after a while you can always ask the head if there are any jobs going either at their school or any others.

Some primary schools (such as the one where I was governor) are part of the government apprenticeship scheme (this is for all trades and professions, not just teaching) and offer training places as TAs. Money is weedy, but qualifications follow. There is usually an organisation locally that deals with these apprenticeships. Ask at a job centre and they will point you in the right direction.

Schools have to pay the apprenticeship levy anyway (or that used to be the case), so we thought we might as well capitalise on it.

Good luck.