Tes spoke to some teaching assistants to find out the reasons why they love what they do.
1. I love the moment a student works out the solution
The nature of a TA’s job means that you will be with the students as they get stuck into the tricky stuff – and this means you will see all of their frustrations but also their solutions.
Teaching assistant Deborah Belcher, of Gordon’s School in Surrey, loves seeing that moment where it clicks for the student.
“I really enjoy the part of my job where you’re watching them tackle a tough task, says Belcher, “and working out if you need to step in, or if it’s OK to stand back.
“It’s a wonderful feeling to see the lightbulb moment when they realise what they can achieve. It is a good feeling to know you’ve been that helping hand when students don’t quite understand what to do.”
2. I love how no two days are the same
A TA can be used between different classes, different subjects and even different schools. This gives you a multitude of experiences and will challenge you in new ways every time a different problem arises.
“Being a TA has taught me to be flexible,” says former TA Roisin Robinson, of Marketfield School in Colchester. “Because I worked with so many different people, it meant every day was different. You learn quickly that you have to be ready for anything.”
3. I love being amazed by what children can do
As a TA, you will be working with students who arrive at school with a myriad of various conditions. Working with children of different abilities is a humbling experience, and you cannot help but be impressed by what children can overcome.
“Working as a TA was an eye opener as I realised how children with different abilities can access the curriculum,” explains Jack Taylor, a learning support assistant at a special needs school in Essex.
“I worked with children who had multiple needs – for example, partially sighted and severely autistic, with limited speech.
“Working with children like this really challenges your own expectations of what people can and can’t do, and I’m constantly amazed by the determination of the young people I work with.”
4. I love where this job is taking me
Being a teaching assistant gives you the experience and skills you need for many other careers.
Many teachers start off as teaching assistants but that’s not the only option for career progression. The work you do as a teaching assistant could lead to careers in social care, speech therapy and many other related fields.
“I was a TA for a year before I decided that I wanted to be a teacher,” explains Niall Robinson, a former TA and now classroom teacher at Powers Hall Primary School in Witham.
“I would never have considered it as a career before becoming a TA, but being in the classroom made me realise that teaching was the job I was just meant to do.”
5. I love the people I work with
Schools are great places because you get such a range of people inside them. When your workplace can range in ages from 4 to 84, you can’t ever say your colleagues are boring.
“I have the pleasure of some pretty fabulous colleagues,” says Tasha Soby, teaching assistant at Fosse Way School in Bath.
“Those colleagues inspire me to be the best I can be, and therefore giving the kids the best teaching assistance I can.”
Not only have they inspired Soby to enjoy her current role, it’s given her an idea of where she wants to take her career next. “I’ve enjoyed being a teaching assistant so much, I am now on a mission to become a learning mentor,” she says. “It’s a great feeling to know you have an awesome job and to love what you do.”
To learn more about the switch from TA to teacher, see our Straight to Teaching QTS programme.