Teaching assistant

Teaching assistants work in classrooms alongside a teacher, usually with the pupils who need the most help to keep up. That can mean sitting with one child who has an education, health and care plan, or taking a small group out to catch up on reading. A lot of the job is noticing what is going wrong before the pupil says anything.

What the job actually involves

Support individual pupils or small groups so they can access the same lesson as everyone else.
Prepare resources and set up the room before the lesson, and clear it afterwards.
Deliver planned interventions such as phonics, reading or number catch up programmes.
Record how a pupil responded so the teacher can adjust the next lesson.
Manage behaviour within the school's policy, including de escalating incidents early.
Support pupils with personal care, medical needs or mobility where that is part of the role.
Work to the targets in an education, health and care plan and contribute to reviews.
Raise safeguarding concerns immediately through the school's designated lead.

On a normal day

Ten minutes into independent writing a pupil has written nothing, and you have to work out whether that is boredom or fear of getting it wrong.
You take four children out for twenty minutes of reading practice and get them back before the next lesson starts.
You laminate, cut and sort resources for tomorrow during what is meant to be your break.
A pupil tells you something at the classroom door that you have to pass to the safeguarding lead before the end of the day.
You feed back to the teacher in two sentences at the end of the lesson, because that is all the time there is.

What it is actually like

Reading about a job only gets you so far. Career Lab drops you into one real situation from it: Help Rio start his writing. Ten minutes into independent writing, Rio, age 8, has written nothing. He says the task is boring - but yesterday he tore up his work when a spelling went wrong.

You respond to the situation, then see what the work asked of you and what your choices changed.

Try being a teaching assistant

Pay and hours

Starting: £19,000 a year
Typical: £22,000 a year
Experienced: £26,000 a year

Source: National Careers Service, checked 2026-07-29.

Usually 16 to 37 hours a week, regular pattern.

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Skills that matter

Patience with repetition. The same explanation may be needed four times in four different ways, and the fourth has to sound as fresh as the first.
Noticing. You see pupils at close range all day and are often the first adult to spot that something has changed at home.
Explaining differently. Your job starts where the teacher's explanation stopped working, so repeating it louder is no use.
Keeping dignity. Support that singles a child out in front of the class costs more than it gives, so most of the skill is discretion.
Behaviour management. Following the school's system consistently is what makes it work, and one adult being inconsistent undermines everyone.
Working under someone else's plan. The teacher owns the lesson, so you have to adapt fast to decisions you had no part in making.
Safeguarding awareness. Children disclose to the adult who feels safest, which is often the teaching assistant rather than the teacher.

How people get in

Direct application (GCSE grades 9 to 4). Many schools hire on English and maths GCSEs plus evidence you can work with children, then fund training once you are in post. Usually Immediate.
Apprenticeship (Level 3). The teaching assistant apprenticeship puts you in a school on a wage while you study, and is the qualification most job adverts name. Usually Up to 2 years.
College course (Level 2 or 3). Supporting teaching and learning in schools, or the T Level in Education and Early Years, which includes a long school placement. Usually 1 to 2 years.
Volunteering (No formal qualification). Regular volunteering in a school often turns into paid cover and then a permanent post, and it is how a large share of assistants started. Usually 6 to 12 months.

Experience that helps

Any regular contact with children counts, and schools say so openly. Volunteering to hear readers, running a club, coaching a junior team or working in a nursery all give you something to talk about at interview. Schools recruit heavily from parent helpers who already know the building, so volunteering locally is a genuine route in.

Who employs teaching assistants

State primary and secondary schools
Special schools and pupil referral units
Academy trusts
Independent schools
Local authority supply pools
Nurseries and early years settings

Where the work happens

Primary and secondary classrooms, plus corridors, playgrounds and small intervention rooms. Hours are school hours in term time, which suits people with children of their own but means around thirty nine weeks of work across the year. Expect noise, interruptions and very little time sitting down.

Where it leads

Higher level teaching assistant, which carries more responsibility and can include covering classes.
Specialist roles in special educational needs, behaviour support or pastoral care.
Cover supervisor, or a move into school administration or family liaison.
Qualified teacher through a degree apprenticeship or a part time degree while working.
Special educational needs coordinator, once you have qualified teacher status.

Common questions

How much does a teaching assistant get paid?

Less than the headline figure suggests, because most contracts are term time only and paid pro rata. A full time equivalent salary is spread over twelve months but earned across thirty nine weeks. Higher level teaching assistant posts and special educational needs roles pay more, and many assistants add income through after school clubs or tutoring.

Can I become a teacher from this job?

Yes, and schools like it because you already know how a classroom works. You need a degree, which you can take part time or through a degree apprenticeship while still employed, followed by qualified teacher status. Several routes let you keep earning throughout. Expect it to take four to six years alongside the job.

What is the hardest part?

Most assistants name the same two things. The first is having responsibility for how a child gets on without any control over the lesson plan. The second is holding your nerve when a pupil is distressed or angry in front of thirty others, and doing it in a way that leaves the child able to come back into the room.

Do I need a background check?

Yes. Every school post working with children requires an enhanced check with the children's barred list, arranged by the school before you start. You cannot apply for one yourself. Schools also check your right to work, references covering recent years and, for many roles, an online search. None of this costs you anything.

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