LSA job interview and observation

[nervousinterviewee]

I have applied for several TA/LSA positions with minimal experience and have been given an interview for one of them. There will be a tour, interview and also be a 20 minute observation in a class. I assume this will be them observing me with a class, asking the teacher if there is anything I can help with, interacting with pupils. Is there anything glaringly obvious that I am missing?

The job is in a secondary school and I am heading for my own diagnosis of ADHD as an adult so am keen to do well as this is something which is really important to me.

I would be grateful for all and any advice.

I'm a secondary schoool TA. The important thing is going to be how you interact... you need to be friendly and confident. They may observe you in a small group of students in the SEN department and ask you to listen to a student reading. Good luck!

Thank you. I've been a sahm for a few years now so am utterly bricking it. Have realised I have nothing to wear as well (mum uniform of t shirts, jeans and trainers) and no spare cash until Friday so hoping interview is after then, or at least gives me enough time to do a supermarket dash for trousers and shoes. I think I can squeeze a suitable top.

Have a look around the secondhand shops - there might be something smart and cheap or could you borrow something? I would also get a friend to give you a practise interview. Get the job description and base some questions on what they are looking for. They may ask you what you would do if.... ? Here are a few more tips... when working with a student in class, it's important not to single them out for your attention, so you might want to speak to some other students around them before targeting them for help. It's important to foster independence in the students so you don't want to make them TA dependent. Another thing I would do is to show them what to do, do something together and then get them to try it by themselves. Always ask the teacher if you are unsure about something. If you don't know what to do then ask the teacher what they would like you to do. It's important to build relationships with the students (I always have spare pens in my bag). Some curriculum knowledge is useful. I often take notes in class when the teacher is talking and then I'm able to help more effectively. I might start writing for a reluctant writer but then get them to share the writing once I've got them started. It's important to tell a student that you cannot keep a secret if they ask you - for safeguarding purposes. Hope this helps. Let me know if you have any more questions. Good luck! It's a fun job!

Thanks again for your advice. Questions were pretty much as you suggested. Nothing I couldn't handle. Was a few minutes late due to traffic and was a bit of an issue for my obs lesson, in that the teacher had forgotten. But we winged it and I said I could do another lesson if they wished, which I did after my interview. Typically ended up being a lesson which is my absolute worst subject and I ended up asking the lady doing my obs to explain how to do the work quickly so I could do what I thought they would expect. Anyway, what they saw they must have liked enough as I got a message offering me the job if I was still interested and asking when I could start! Left an answerphone message saying yes and that I will call back Monday. I'm so excited!

Well Done! I love my job! No two days are the same and there are magic moments every single day! Good luck!