What Is A Teaching Assistant And Their Role?
Have you been looking into or are interested in the role of a Teaching Assistant (TA)? However, you have been seeing some negative aspects that worry you as to whether this is the right career choice? Well, it's time to get these myths debunked as we go over some of the most popular myths that have been written on the internet about being a TA.
If you are interested to find out about the roles and responsibilities of a TA, check out our past blog here which will have all the answers.
As you will be working closely with pupils to support them in every step of their education, this job can be very rewarding, though it doesn't come without its challenges. This is where the first myth comes in; being a TA is easy…
Being a TA Is an Easy or Non-Technical Role
For some reason, people have been led to believe that being a Teaching Assistant is easy, and it's not a challenging role. Well, this is simply not true, though you won't be going home feeling like your stress balloon is about to pop, you can be rest assured that you will be active and there won't be a minute you can relax and drift off while you work.
TA’s are not hired to photocopy work or tidy up classrooms, they are there to assist the Teacher and play a key role in developing the children’s abilities to learn, especially ones who need additional support or help with the challenging or disruptive children. You are essential for helping the Teacher do what they need to do, teach!
What you gain from being a TA and how much you make of the role is entirely upon yourself. Use your initiative to make the role as fulfilling as you want, the more tasks you accomplish and achieve, the greater your CV will become when you decide to progress.
It Will Be Hard To Find Jobs
For many people, it's a common concern that there are no jobs out there for Teaching Assistants; this isn't true! On reed.co.uk right now (these statics where form July 2020 during COVID-19) there are still 5,680 teaching assistant jobs available in England.
Furthermore, our Teaching Assistant course comes with the additional benefit of three years career support. Not only that, if you relocate or are ready for a new opportunity within those three years, we will still be here to help. We also have a long list of partners that we work with, so finding a job is straight forward with The Training Room.
My Grades Aren't Good Enough
Grades are not everything when it comes to becoming a Teaching Assistant. If you didn't do well at GCSE's, and now you are worried you don't have the skills or education to be a Teaching Assistant there are multiple courses online that will help you get your foot in the door towards becoming a TA. You are also only required GCSE's is in Maths and English; these too can be completed via other educational providers. So, you don't need to fret; you are more than able to redo GCSE’s even if you have left school.
Even if you are still worried that you don't have the best qualifications or grades, being a TA is all about representing yourself with confidence, as a friendly, warm individual with a can-do attitude. Most of the time, when schools are hiring, they are looking at your experience. If you are worried about having no experience, read our blog on ways you can gain this experience even from home.
There Is No Progression
There is really no excuse for not being able to progress in any job; it's all about the work you put in and the will to achieve more. If you want to move from being a Teaching Assistant to a Teacher, you need to be able to show that. If you are looking to progress from a TA, you will want to explore the possibilities of additional qualifications. With these qualifications, you will be given more responsibility, such as teaching classes independently, becoming a specialist subject assistant, supervising other support staff, and more.
You can also consider doing a SEN qualification; this will give you the addition certificate to work with children who have special educational needs, making you a more useful aspect to the school. Many schools are willing to pay for these qualifications if you show yourself to be a key aspect in their school and are wanting you to have a more critical.
Interested in becoming a Teaching Assistant, why not check out our Teaching Assistant course here:
Find out more here