Celebrating National Teaching Assistant Day
Did you know there are almost quarter of a million teaching assistants working in schools all over the UK? These often-under-recognised classroom champions are a vital part of our education system. From assisting teachers with lesson prep, to mentoring individual students who need additional support, teaching assistants are well deserving of their own national holiday!
To mark the occasion, we caught up with some TAs of the future and their tutor Sarah to find out a bit more about what is involved in a Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship.
‘There’s no such thing as a “typical” apprentice,’ said Sarah. ‘All three of my groups are so incredibly diverse. I have teenagers who left school two months ago training alongside working parents who are returning to education after twenty years or more – there’s even a grandmother in one of my groups! All of them walk into that first lesson expecting to be the odd one out – until they get to know each other!’
Sarah also explained how one of her learners used to be an Estate Agent before deciding to follow her passion and retrain as a teaching assistant. ‘She’d been offered a position as a TA in a school but insisted on doing the apprenticeship alongside so she could learn from the ground up the “wheres” and the “whys”. The value in the apprenticeships is not just the job but understanding the whole picture – why you’re a TA, what being a TA really involves, how it benefits the children, the reason why you love it.’
All of Sarah’s new learners have job postings in schools alongside their studies – some in secondary schools, Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) schools, some in very tiny village schools, and for the first time, one of our learners has gone to a local Catholic school.
‘Something which really counts for a lot with us is our retinue of “returning customers”, as it were, of schools who will take on apprentices year after year,’ says Sarah. ‘They will have up to five apprentice TAs at a time, and even then keep them on once they’ve gained the qualification.’ For our learners, knowing that there’s someone in their workplace who has undergone the same process they’re currently going through can be hugely encouraging.
The importance of community isn’t something Sarah leaves for outside of the classroom though. ‘One of my learners commented the other day that I was “forcing friendliness” by making them all switch seats in each class. And to be honest, I was! One thing the new apprentices rarely understand to begin with is the value of building a community between learners. They sign up because they know that we (SS&L) will support them all the way from that initial enquiry right through to them getting their results, but almost all of them underestimate the importance of the bond they’ll share with each other. As well as their tutors and employers, they’ll have a fantastic support network in each other.’
And the best thing about being a tutor? ‘We get people from all sorts of backgrounds. They’re not confident, they’re just starting out, the whole process is new to them. But over the months they flourish. They find a vocation, not just a job. They get passionate about it and that’s what I love to see most of all.’
So here’s to the next generation of Teaching Assistants, our unsung heroes, shining light on students’ paths to success. 🫶✨
