How to Become a Teaching Assistant

What a Teaching Assistant Role Entails

Working in the teaching profession is undoubtedly one of the hardest yet most rewarding jobs. Teachers and teacher assistants are responsible for shaping the minds of the future generations which is no small feat. The job description of a teaching assistant is to assist teachers with the classroom management, education and care of pupils. While this job on paper appears relatively straightforward, each teaching assistant’s role differs depending on the individual needs of each teacher and pupils. One day you could be in the classroom helping children with their maths and the next you could be assisting on a museum school trip. Every day as a teaching assistant will be different as will be the environment in which you work. This variation in work makes the role exciting and sets it apart from the mundane nine to five. As a teaching assistant, you will most likely be working in either a primary school or a high school. You can pursue this career on either part-time or full-time basis which makes the role highly flexible.

Primary School Teaching Assistant

As a teaching assistant in a primary school, you will play an important role in providing early childhood education and following the relevant education curriculum. A primary school teacher’s assistant tends to work as a particular teacher’s aide in that they normally take their cues from them and carry out tasks to lessen the workload of the class teacher. As you will be working with very young children you will likely be involved in supervising them during lunchtime in the playground and assisting on school trips and extra curriculum activities throughout the school year. Assistant jobs in primary schools are currently predominately filled by women and so there is a great need for more men to be represented in the profession.

Secondary School Teaching Assistant

As a secondary school teaching assistant, you may be required to work with students of different ages and in various subjects across the school. Just as a primary teaching assistant does you will also be responsible for supporting students from a variety of different backgrounds who may have a range of learning or/and behaviour difficulties. Often teaching assistants are entrusted with looking after small groups of students that perhaps need more help than others, for example, providing tailored education to those who have special educational needs. In many secondary schools, teaching assistants have their own work base which allows them to cater this extra care to pupils with individual needs which pose as barriers to learning. These individual conditions, for example, might include dyslexia or autism.

Transferable Skills

Before going on to discuss the formal qualifications and experience that are required to be a teaching assistant, it is vital to discuss the transferable skills that are integral to this role. First and foremost, having a passion for children and learning is the key ingredient in providing excellent help and support to children on their education journey. Your personality and enthusiasm for the role will also be assessed at the interview.

Flexibility

As discussed above, the ability to be flexible is a vital skill needed in any role working with children, as every day will be different and will bring with it its own unique set of challenges. Therefore, you need to be able to adapt to new situations and embrace change.

Excellent Communication Skills

As you will be working with both children and adults you will need to feel comfortable communicating with different age groups.

Patience

Patience is indeed a virtue when it comes to working in the teaching profession as every child’s needs are different and vary in the degree of support that they require.

Qualifications and Experience Required

A good way to venture into becoming a teaching assistant is to volunteer a few mornings or afternoons with your local school. Volunteering acts as an entry level into the profession and allows you to build up experience working with children and get used to the various tasks that teaching assistants carry out. However, if you have no prior experience working with children or adults UCAS recommends that you explore either of the two qualifications:

• Level 2 Support Work in Schools
• Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools

Completing either of these qualifications will help improve your employability and give you new skills and experience that can be applied when you land a job as a teaching assistant.

4 Great British Creative Industries You Need to Know About

Film and Television 

The film and television sector contributes over £4.6 billion to UK GDP and supports over 117,000 jobs.

According to the British Film Institute the UK is currently enjoying the highest level of cinema admissions since the 1970s. In 2018, cinema box offices sold tickets worth 1.387 billion pounds to 177 million people, a figure which includes visitors from abroad. Iconic British films, including Paddington, have even been featured in UK tourism campaigns!

With their reputation for originality, creativity and stunning locations, British films and television productions are eagerly devoured by audiences around the globe. Best selling television exports include Downton Abbey and Doctor Who, which have both been sold to over 200 countries. If you include remakes, television exports contribute £1.34 billion to the UK’s creative economy.

But the film and television industry isn’t all about exports, as Britain also attracts plenty of inward investment. Even the biggest Hollywood producers are coming to the UK, thanks to its state of the art studio facilities, talented production teams and generous tax relief scheme. Big television producers including Netflix and Amazon are also investing in original British drama for their streaming services.

Gaming

The British gaming industry has come a long way since the days of Donkey Kong, as it now contributes nearly £3 billion to the economy and employs over 47,000 people. With games available on computers, consoles and even mobile phones, it’s easier than ever for Britain’s millions of gamers to enjoy their favourite pastime.

The UK is now the 5th largest video game market in the world and British players tend to game for an average of ten hours a week. Inspired by watching professionals compete online, some young gamers even dream of a career in professional gaming.

Britain’s top-selling gaming consoles include the Sony PlayStation 4, the Nintendo Switch and the X-Box One. However, tech giants including Google and Netflix are also launching their own game streaming services and downloads, as they’ve realised that many people enjoy gaming as much as watching television. With breakthroughs in virtual reality and augmented reality expected soon, the British video gaming industry looks set to continue growing in the UK and abroad.

What about the businesses that develop British computer games? Well, there are 2,261 games companies in the UK and over three quarters of them intend to advertise new jobs in 2019.

The Music Industry

In 2018, the music industry contributed £4.5 billion to the UK economy. Thanks to the individual creativity of artists like Ed Sheeran, Dua Lipa, Stormzy, Sam Smith and Coldplay, 8 out of ten top ten selling albums were by UK acts and 142.9 million albums worth £1.33 billion were either streamed, bought or downloaded.

Music sales are now as high as they were in the nineties, and the way we consume music has played a big part in this. While CD sales have fallen, the number of music fans who stream their music via digital technology services such as Spotify and Apple Music has rocketed. Vinyl has also made a resurgence and a number of top artists have even released albums on cassette tape. In fact, so many people pre-ordered the limited edition cassette accompanying Kylie’s latest album, that the tapes sold out before the official release date.

The music industry’s export revenues are growing too according to the British Phonographic Industry, which claims that British music exports have brought in over £5 billion since the millennium. In 2017, UK artists accounted for 13% of global music consumption and one in every 8 albums sold was British.

Of course, music fans have always loved seeing their favourite bands in person, so live music also makes a significant contribution to the UK’s economy. 27 million people attended gigs and concerts last year, while 3.9 million went to festivals, generating a total income of £1 billion.   

Finally, you might be surprised to hear that classical music was the fastest growing genre in 2018. Stars such as Katherine Jenkins and Andrea Bocelli boosted sales by 10.2% compared with 2017. Streaming seems to be bringing in new audiences, as it now accounts for a quarter of classical music consumption

Fashion

In 2018 the fashion industry contributed £32 billion to the UK economy, according to the British Fashion Council’s CEO Caroline Rush, who claims that the industry is going “from strength to strength.” However, if you want to work in this particular creative sector, you may have to relocate to London.

London is a world leader when it comes to fashion, as around half of the specialist fashion design jobs in the UK are based there. Many fashion designers have also chosen to locate their outlets in wealthy London boroughs such as Knightsbridge, South Kensington and Chelsea.

The capital city also plays host to one of the world’s most famous fashion events: London Fashion Week. Over 5,000 people attend this event, including buyers, TV crews, journalists, and photographers. For buyers who are keen to discover emerging creative talent, there’s also The Clothes Show London, which showcases pieces by up and coming designers.