Teaching assistant, how to get training and job...

[naughtyorouttacontrol]

I am looking for a new career. I think I would be good at working with children, and just wanted to ask a few questions.

Will a level 2 teaching assistant qualification be enough to get a job with (assuming that I pass the interview stage)

Is there any other courses I would need to do in order to have a good chance of getting a job?

Also can you get a teaching assistant job without doing a course first, and without volunteering as I am currently working.

And lastly I would like to get an idea of salay for teaching assistants.

For a TA qualification you would need to put in a few hours in school a week. If the school know you as a parent it's possible to get the job without qualifications but that is getter rarer by the minute!

Regards salary, think peanuts then you won't be disappointed! The quoted salary (usually around £14 - £15k) is based on a 35 hour week. A TA is usually paid hourly, between 15 and 25 hours a week for 43 weeks a year. So say £600 - 700 net per month.

Thank you for the information. wow that is low, but I think it would be great to have the school holidays free.

Experience counts for a lot. I'd try and get some hours volunteering in a school or nursery first and see how you get on. There are various early years and child development courses that might be useful if you want to work in a primary school. If you like the idea of secondary school, you need some experience with teens, so a youth club, homework club etc might be a good place to get volunteering experience. Maths and English GCSE passes are also usually required (although not always).

A level 2 qualification will help you get a job but you'd have to do some placements as part of that if you weren't already working in the sector.

I got my first TA job after volunteering as a classroom assistant at the local adult ed college - volunteering in an education setting or with young people would help a lot. What about helping out at something that meets in the evenings like Brownies/Guides/Scouts?

Like LadyMary said, Maths and English GCSE are usually required but not always. However if you didn't have them you would struggle.

For my first TA job where I worked 27 and a half hours a week I got approx. £8,300 a year, for my second I got about £10,600 a year for something like 32 hours a week. Once you have some experience under your belt working through an agency is more lucrative. The downside of course is they can't always find you work. When I worked for an agency I got £50 a day before tax. I was fortunate in that they found me a long-term placement for 4 days a week, 2 full days and 2 slightly shorter days. I got £40 per shorter day and the usual rate of £50 per full day, so at least £180 a week. Sometimes - but not very often - they found me work for the fifth day, so in a good week I got £230. You really need to able to drive - I don't and found it hard getting to far flung schools at short notice, which is probably why I got so little work on that fifth day.