Help with application form

[mrsmummy]

I am currently attempting to find part time work after being a sahm for 5 years and finding it hard.I am trying to fill in an application form for a teaching assistant level 1 job (dinner lady )and I am really struggling, they want a short supporting letter with the completed form,what on earth do i put in it??,I have some experience as a parent helper at my childrens school, have helped out on trips suppervsing small groups of children etc, and recently did a course on helping and working in schools. How can I word it so it stands out, this is the 4th form for simmilar jobs i have completed and have got nowhere so am going wrong. Any ideas as to what i can put in and also the advert states the post could be extended to level 2`for staff who show potential and addentional skills which would be great, any help would be greatly appreicated

I would just confirm your application & confirm how interested you are in this role. I would also draw their attention to any bits on the application for which you think are relevant to the role...highlighting your best bits twice. This may generate their interest enough to read the application form with more concentration. Sounds like you're a great candidate, good luck

How much can you fit on the form ? I'd keep that fairly factual (dates, duties etc). Then use the covering letter to draw attention to those relevant experiences and how much/what you enjoyed. Mention the course(especially if you can show initiative in doing it), what you personally got out of it and how you want to build on that experience. Was it accreditted or count towards the next step of qualification? Have you already had a CRB .

PS check your spellingn too, details matter !

as lizs says, keep the form down to facts and figures, use the letter to really bring out your skills and pervious experience. The best applications we receive (and shortlist) are ones which bring out each of the parts of the 'person specification' with some brief but clear examples of how they meet the criteria - for example we might have on the person spec "assist the teacher in implementation of individual programmes" and a good way of showin this would be in the personal statement/letter, saying
"from 1999 until 2002 I worked in Mrs Browns class at Muggletown school, where i helped joe blogs with his reading. As this was such interesting work I went on to do a course to enhance my skills in classroom support" and so on. d'you want to post some of the job description and person spec so we could help out in a bit more useful way?

pervious???????
meant PREVIOUS...

is there a job spec/person spec? if so use it - organise your letter using the person spec headings and try to add a bit extra to what's in the form eg (very roughly)

Dear xxxx,

please find attached my completed application form blah blah. As you will see my experience matches the requirements contained in the person specification.

experience of working with children

I have blah blah

knowledge of blah

My course on xxx included study of y...

Hi,

Thanks for all your responses,there is no job spec as such, just supervising children at dinner time, it's the bit where they have said the post could be extended to level 2 for those that show potential and additional skills that i really need to glam up a bit!,wish me luck and thanks again

is this or this any help? [substitute the key stage you would be working with for 'foundation stage']

here's another good one

That's helped a lot thanks very much