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Free Qualifications for Teaching Assistants and Classroom Support Staff

The role of teaching assistants and classroom support assistants has changed dramatically over the last few years; so much so that the days of the role comprising of helpful parents volunteering a few hours a week to help with reading and writing and going on the occasional school trip are long gone.

On the plus side, there are more classroom support staff than ever (a [i]survey conducted by the Department for Education and Schools (DfES) found that in January 2002, there were 216,000 full-time equivalent support staff in schools. This was an increase of over 50% since 1997) and successive governments have placed support staff at the heart of their programs to improve standards in education.

However, many schools are facing budget restrictions while at the same time dealing with increased requirements from OFSTED and pressure to achieve better results on league tables. Additionally, moves to raise the compulsory school leaving age to 18 coupled with moves to increase the amount of time a teacher needs to be away from the classroom to prepare with their TA covering their absence means there is more onus than ever before for teaching assistants to take on responsibilities previously held by teachers.

The result is that schools have a greater need than ever for their support staff to have demonstrable skills and qualifications to back up the knowledge they have gained from their career thus far.

There are a number of routes that teaching assistants can take to be able to face the new challenges and expectations that are now upon them: attending seminars and conferences, reading magazines like this one or even joining internet forums to can offer valuable insights into the latest developments in this ever-changing profession.

However, as previously stated, schools and other places of learning often require qualifications and certificates from their staff to be able to clearly show levels and frameworks of knowledge.

Over the last few years NVQs (National Vocational Qualifications) have been developed to cover most of the duties carried out by support staff in schools.

The preferred route of choice for most Local Education Authorities and Schools is to encourage their staff to enrol on certified courses either through distance or face to face learning. The problem is that this can be very costly; with courses coming in at just under two thousand pounds on average, and most of the cost borne by the individual.

So where does that leave you, the teaching assistant? Even if you have some experience, you may still require a professional qualification before you can join or progress in this rewarding and fulfilling profession.

The solution is a lot easier and cheaper than you might think.

Twin Employment and Training, an award winning training provider based in South East London have been working with companies, organisations and individuals to reach their potentials since the mid-nineties and in that time have helped to transform the lives of our clients and have facilitated them in their need and desire for success.

Our work with schools began in 2005 when we started to run accredited teaching assistant training courses for the former London Development Agency and in fact were nominated for an award for ‘Most Inspirational Project’ in the 2006-9 round of funding.

We are currently running the Certificate and Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools at both Levels 2 and 3. These are ideal for candidates wishing to gain a first professional qualification in the case of the Level 2 certificate and are an ideal stepping stone for those wishing to take on more responsibility or are thinking of progressing onto an HLTA, PGCE or even branch out onto youth work in the case of Level 3 diploma.

Included within the course are Literacy, Numeracy and ICT at a Level 2 stage, thus helping all learners of all needs keep up with the ever-changing face of the modern classroom.

Twin Employment and Training are aware of the demands of the scholastic environment and busy lives of learning support professionals, so, as a result of this, arrange for all training sessions and assessor liaison to be carried out within the learner’s school at dates and times convenient to both employer and employee. This means that the Assessor only need visit the school in question once a month from the start to the end of the training

The qualification is entirely based on a learner’s portfolio thus saving the need for a, potentially nerve-wracking, final exam and meaning that, for the organised learner, the whole course need only take a few hours each week to complete meaning that the whole the process should take no longer than a year to finish.

The portfolio is built up from a selection of mandatory and optional units. These cover such aspects as supporting Literacy and Numeracy development, supporting children and young people with special needs, assisting and organising school trips, working with bilingual learners and working with colleagues amongst many other relevant, stimulating modules.

The assessment is based on workplace performance and is based on the evidence collated within that setting. This can be drawn in a number of different ways including case studies, witness statements, recordings of professional discussions, log books, observation and simulation.

One of the key considerations for both potential schools and learners is that of cost. Well, the great news is that, for learners who meet our entry requirements, the course is 100% free and is available throughout the UK whether you be a small privately run school, or a large state funded institution.

Where’s the catch, I hear you cry? None, believe it or not! Twin can offer the course free of cost to you thanks to it being included under the umbrella of the government sponsored Apprenticeship Programme. This initiative was set up in 1994 and [ii]"are work-based training programmes designed around the needs of employers, which lead to national recognised qualifications.”

The requirements are as follows:

• Learners must be employed for a minimum of 30 hours per week within a school setting
• While there are no minimum qualifications needed to get on the course (the Level 2 or 3 courses could even be a learners first qualification), we can only accept learners with prior learning up to but not including a Level 4 qualification.
• Learners from outside of EU must show proof they have been resident of the UK/ EU for the last 3 years.

NB. We can accept learners with contracts of less than 30 hours but the duration of the course will be longer.

The sign up process is very straight forward. Either the learner or the school contacts us using the contact details below and we will talk them through the process from there.

If required, one of our team can come to your place of learning to give a talk to explain the course in more detail and encourage team members to join the training programme. Give us a call to find out if we can send someone out to your school.

While we have no maximum or minimum numbers for groups we feel that a larger group will encourage colleagues to support each other during their course although every learner will be given the contact details of their Assessor and can speak to them at any time with any questions or queries related to their course.

Unfortunately, there is only a finite amount of time before this government funding stream dries up so please get in touch with us as soon as soon as possible to book a place on this training opportunity for yourself or your staff.

As one school I visited recently stated ‘What a fantastic way for TAs to celebrate what they do already!!’

With the life and times of schools and government policies rapidly changing are you ready to face the renewed challenges head on or are you and your colleagues going to find yourselves drowning in the sea of change?

Whether you are a head teacher, a school governor or one of a team of support professionals it has never been so important to stand up and be counted. With schools closing throughout the country it is more important than ever to be on top of the changes taking place throughout the UK.

If you need any further information or wish to arrange for one of our team to visit your learning centre I can be contacted by telephoning 0808 168 2262 ext. 2064 or via email on sgreen-fried@twinuk.com or by writing to Twin Employment and Training, Tower House, 67-71 Lewisham High Street, London, SE13 5JX.

Simon Green-Fried