What do I need to work as a teaching assistant?

If you think that you’d like to work as a teaching assistant but aren’t sure if you have the right qualifications or experience, then you’ve come to the right place. Spoiler alert: you may not need as much as you think.

Whilst it’s true that you can gain specific teaching assistant qualifications (and if you’re interested in this, we can give you more information), when it comes to Staffroom Education’s requirements for working as a teaching assistant, the most important thing you can have is a bit of experience.

When we register candidates for work with us, the first thing that we ask about is their experience working with children. This doesn’t necessarily need to have been in a classroom setting, so could include volunteering, coaching, mentoring, tutoring or anything similar. This is because we believe that having hands-on experience working with children is the most important thing when it comes to finding good teaching assistants.

If you don’t have any experience working/volunteering with children, but would like to gain some, then we suggest that you contact the local schools in your area (nursery, primary, or secondary - whichever you prefer) and ask if you are able volunteer there. You don’t have to volunteer every day, just however much you can commit to, so perhaps just once a week or so. If you can’t find voluntary work in a school, you could try volunteering in a youth club, sports club, or anywhere that allows you to work with a group of children. Once you have experience, get in touch with us and we can look for paid work for you, either full-time or on a day-to-day basis.

So there you have it, perhaps you don’t need quite as much experience as you may have thought to work with us as a teaching assistant. If you are interested and would like to know more about working with us, please email info@staffroomeducation.co.uk or leave your details below.