Teaching Assistant

[Boogiewonderland321]

I am considering becoming a TA. I’m wondering how academic you have to be, I passed maths GCSE but would I need to be able to understand the work the children are being given in the classroom?

TIA

GCSE grade C level in maths and English. That’s it.

GCSEs of Functional Level 2 in English and Maths. From there you can train up

What age children? Academics aren't usually the biggest challenge. Spreading yourself pretty thinly, handling stressful and escalating situations, building relationships with staff and students, adapting quickly and so on. All far more important.

thanks for replying. It’s in a secondary school. Everything you described sounds much more up my street.

You need gcse maths and English (or functional skills equivalent).
TA roles include many different aspects, working 1-1 and in small groups. You should be able to understand the work the children are being taught, across the year groups, and the language used to convey the information to them, so that you can support their learning.
Lots of training on the job and a willingness to ask questions and learn.

Just so long as you have a c in maths and English you'll be ok. When you are in the lesson you can support the kids with the information the teacher gives them. You can't be expected to have the same knowledge as the teacher- if there are 12 subjects taught in the school you can't have deeper knowledge of all those separate subjects. That is the teachers job who has specialised.
Your job will be more about breaking down the work for the kids in manageable tasks and keeping their focus. Good luck.