Do I need qualifications or would volunteering be enough?

[AmberGer]

I have been a lunchtime supervisor in a primary school for 5 years now and I love my job.

I would love a T.A. job.

I left school mid 90's with some G.C.S.E's grade C including English but I only got an E in Math's, no other qualifications at all.

Would I definitely need a Math's G.C.S.E or T.A. qualifications to get a T.A. job?
Or, If I volunteered in school, to gain (classroom) experience would this on its own, be enough to secure a T.A. job without gaining further qualifications?

It depends on your local authority, or, more and more with academies and free schools etc, what qualifications you need to be employed as a TA.

If you browse through the Mature Study and Retraining board, here:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/mature_students

you’ll find some threads on the subject of gaining GCSE and other school level exams as an adult.

(I have no idea if you’d need any for the TA post, but there’s never any harm in preparing for the future. You might need extra qualifications for your next job.)

I would look at job adverts from your LA to see what they are asking for. Otherwise, you could ask the HT / Business Manager where you currently work. If you do need to pass Maths, you could look at doing Level 2 Functional Skills as an evening class at college - it would be accepted as equivalent to GCSE and you don't need to wait for June / November to sit it.

Depends on your school policies, i started as an smsa, and i am volunteering as a TA whilst i do my qualification, HT would willingly pay me now but cant due to the school partnership. They have however paid for my course in full whilst i continue my other role.

It will also depend on the general labour market in your area. I remember a few years ago a head id a primary in inner London telling me that if he insisted on GCSE English and maths he wouldn't have any TAs at all.

On the other hand, some areas have lots of TAs with degrees.

OP, will you feel comfortable helping with the Maths. I'm a TA and I often have to explain the work to a group of children.