Anyone a Teaching Assistant ?

[Whizzz]

Where do you start - Look for a vacancy or find a training course ????
I'm looking to do a career swap (will post a thread once I've got my head round it !) and am interested in peoples experiences & advice.
TIA

I'm a teaching assistant. I've worked in a playcentre in the past so did have some experience. I think the easiest way to get a job as a teaching assistant is to volunteer to listen to some children read in the school, or help out with events.

When you hear of a job vacancy there, you can apply and hopefully stand out from the rest of the applicants.

Wedgiesmum is - but she's not on here much these days. I'm a cover supervisor in secondary schools, which is a bit different.

It depends on your area as to what the best approach is. In some areas you can get a job without qualifications and then do the training whilst you work. In other areas it's impossible to get a job without the piece of paper first. It's all supply and demand. Basically it depends on the employment prospects/average wages/house prices in your area, as to whether it's a desirable job or not.

If your children are at school already I would phone the school and ask the Head what it's like in your area.

Or you could look on your local LEA website and see how many vacancies there are - that would give you an idea.

me .I have been doing it for 2 weeks now . The best way is to volunteer to read to kids and hopefully you will be in the right place at the right time

Yes - I have just completed a CRB check for my sons school - hoping to sneak in & get my feet under the table

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thats the best way, I helped out in my ds reception class, when he moved up I stayed in the reception class with the new kids, whilst there start a course, IME schools always look within first before advertising positions. Just by volunteering, I now get paid work there. Good luck

As a Teaching assistant - what sort of jobs do you do on a day to day basis ?

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Same situation as golds. Just finished first week as TA in Early YEARS. I do all sorts-assessments, play board games, get snacks ready, help children change for PE, do puzzles, hear reading-you name it I do it really

I used to work in a secondary school. Things may have changed since 1997 but I just responded to an ad in the paper and they took my experience as a mum into account.

I?m a teacher in a special school and I have two teaching assistants. My advice is
Try to get some experience ? anywhere, mainstream, special, nurseries, after school clubs,
Think about what you might like to do - Work with a whole class or an individual child (although 121 TAs often will take small groups).
Be prepared to do anything, toileting, swimming cooking etc.
Look at LEA websites / job bulletins and other posters are right, jobs are often done internally. You might get offered regular ?supply? work at first
You could also try teaching agencies (e.g. Select) certainly in London many schools get supply TAs from these too

Lots of the staff I have worked with have child care qualifications but lots have not and have got jobs on their common sense skills gained from parenting. Hope this helps

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I daren't Google 'Vacancy + Sinner Lady'

Cod you are right, and people might find that their pay scale is linked to this. It certainly is in Greenwich.

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But where are you Whizz?
We are in an area of very high unemployment, and very high levels of deprivation. TA jobs here are therefore very desirable, and are always filled by people with qualifications. The people who are training do a day in college a week, and then 3-4 days in school a week for no pay. In our school there are usually at least 8 NVQ students at any time, (i.e. one in every KS1 classroom). I think the school may actually receive some dosh for having them! But they are an invaluable help to have around.

Also here incidentally there are way insufficient 'childcare/TA' jobs for all the trainees that qualify each year from the college. So many of them do the training then still can't get a job!

I used to live in Oxfordshire, so I am well aware this is a world away from the experience in many areas. But that is how it is here. (SW Cumbria).

I'm in Cheshire, Roisin. I can find teacher vacanies on the web in this area, but not assistants jobs. I am lucky as there are quite a few schools in the immediate area that I could try. Just need to get a few things sorted first.
Keep the advce coming!

Our library has the LEA vacancies bulletin Whizz. It has TA jobs as well as teachers, playworkers and pre-school Maybe yours does too?

Doh - I was in the library today ! Thanks for the tip