Teaching Assistants

Teaching Assistant Courses Overview

Imagine your first day as a Teaching Assistant. You have worked hard on successfully completing your course, been interviewed and selected. Now you stand in the playground of the school, smartly dressed, proud but nervous, very nervous! Your own children attend this very school and they are nervous too, but for a different reason - classroom credibility. Their Mum is now a “Teacher”.

Will your course have prepared you? There were many teaching assistant courses to choose from but you're confident that the one you chose has prepared you to be the best teaching assistant you can be. It was informative, practical, you learned a lot and enjoyed it. But what is real life like in your new role?

Life in the classroom will be varied, challenging but very rewarding. Your course has made you ready to face the everyday challenges you will now face.

Schools vary in their needs and requirements of their teaching assistants. Your role as may vary quite a lot from another teaching assistant in a nearby school, or even within the same school. You may be required to support an individual child or even a group of “students”. The teacher may even need some support.

Let's take away some of those nerves and list a few things that your course has prepared you for.

Overview 1 – Supporting the teacher

• Preparing the classroom for different activities
• Observing pupils performance and communicating such to the teacher
• Setting up ICT equipment
• Helping with school outings and other events such as sports and parents evenings

Overview 2 – Supporting the pupil

• Looking after distressed pupils
• Playing educational games
• Reading to the children or listening to them read
• Telling them stories
• Looking after craft activities and art displays
• Supporting pupils who are slow to learn or behind in their activities

Overview 3 – Supporting the school to carry out routine activities

• Performing administration tasks
• Understanding and ensuring all the schools policies are followed
• Making sure all health and safety and legal issues are in order

Overview 4 – Supporting the Curriculum

• Understanding the National Curriculum for your age group
• Planning, evaluating and assisting pupils during all learning activities

Overview 5 – Supporting pupils with special needs

• Ensuring that pupils with special needs are and feel included
• Always supporting learners

Overview 6 – Supporting pupils with Literacy development

• Supporting the development of reading skills
• Supporting the development of writing skills
• Supporting the development of speaking and listening skills

Overview 7 – Supporting pupils with Numeracy development

• Supporting the development of number skills
• Supporting the development of problem solving and data handling skills
• Supporting the understanding of measures, shape and space

Overview 8 – Working with others

• Teams
• Colleagues
• Other professionals and parents

Summary

Wow, that's some task BUT don't worry as a new teaching assistant you will be introduced slowly into all this and most schools actually have an induction programme that blends beautifully with your teaching assistant course to help you enjoy your work from day one.

Please note that (as stated in your course) you are not required to lead lessons but may supervise a class if the teacher is absent temporarily. Higher Level Teaching Assistants work alongside the teacher acting as a specialist assistant. But hey that's getting ahead of ourselves and your course has not prepared you for that.

Skills You Need in order to become a Good Teaching Assistant and Enrol on a course

If you've got through the interview then you must have the skills required, the main skill you possess is that you enjoy working with children. Good organisational skills are important too as well as the ability to develop good relationships with both pupils and adults.

Do our Teaching Assistant Courses Meet that Criteria?

Relax. We even supply our teaching assistant courses direct to schools often ordered by the Head Teacher for his teaching assistants who have no qualifications. Vocational Training Organisations also enrol many students on our teaching assistant courses and The Prince's Trust no less, fund younger students for teaching assistant courses with us.

So What about You?

There you stand outside the door of your chosen school, outside the door of your new and exciting career as a teaching assistant. Your teaching assistants course has prepared you well.

Walk through that door and enjoy your life as a teaching assistant knowing that you can and will make a difference in the lives of many pupils.

Thanks and Enjoy the Journey.