Teaching assistant CV example

Reading a TA advert: term time, pro rata and hours

Teaching assistant adverts are written in a language of their own, and it helps to understand it before you tailor your CV. "Term time only" means you are paid for the weeks the school is open plus a share of holiday, not all year. "Pro rata" means the salary shown is what the job would pay full time, all year round; your actual pay is lower because you work fewer hours or weeks. So an advert may quote one figure and a much lower "actual salary" underneath. The National Careers Service lists typical hours of 16 to 37 a week, in term time only.

Adverts also name a level or grade, and the job description sets out what that level does. A level 1 or 2 post is often general classroom support. Higher levels usually involve running interventions, supporting pupils with complex needs, or covering classes as a higher level teaching assistant (HLTA). Read that description closely, because the school will shortlist against it and your CV should use its words.

Put your SEND and one-to-one work at the centre

Many TA roles involve supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities, and many are funded to support a named child. That makes SEND experience the thing a head or SENCo most wants to see. Be specific without identifying any child. Give the kind of need (autism, speech and language needs, a physical disability, social and emotional needs), whether the pupil has an education, health and care plan, and what you did: adapted work, a visual timetable, sensory breaks, a communication system, feeding back to the SENCo and parents.

Interventions and what came of them

Name the interventions you deliver and the programme they use, if the school follows one. Phonics catch-up, reading fluency, number sense groups, speech and language programmes from a therapist, fine motor sessions, nurture groups. Say how often and with how many pupils. If you track progress, give a result the school measured, such as "five of the six pupils in my phonics group passed the screening check re-sit". Only use results the school recorded; never invent them.

Qualifications: Level 2, Level 3 and beyond

The Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools is one of the routes the National Careers Service names, and a Level 2 certificate is a common first step. There is also a Teaching Assistant Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship and a T Level in Education and Early Years. List whichever you hold with the college or provider and the year. If you are part way through, write "Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning, completing next summer". With experience, the next step up is the HLTA status, and if you are working towards it, say so.

Then list short training that matters in primary schools: phonics programme training, Team Teach or other positive handling training, paediatric first aid, Makaton, epilepsy or diabetes care for a named pupil, and safeguarding.

Safeguarding and the DBS check

Working with children needs a DBS check, which the school requests as part of safer recruitment. You do not need to add a certificate number. You can mention that you have an enhanced DBS on the Update Service if that is true, and list your most recent safeguarding training with the date. School application forms usually ask for your full work history, so explain any gaps in a line. A career break to raise children is a perfectly good reason, and saying so is better than leaving a blank.

Coming back after time at home

Plenty of teaching assistants start after raising a family, and schools are used to it. Put the break in your work history with dates and a short description. If you volunteered as a reading helper, went on school trips, ran a toddler group or helped at a Brownies unit, add it there. Your first TA or nursery job can then lead your experience section, with the most recent at the top.

Small details schools notice

• Year groups and key stages named on every school job, so a Reception teacher can see you know early years and a Year 6 teacher can see you know SATs preparation.
• Lunchtime, breakfast club or after-school club work listed, even if it was a separate contract.
• Languages you speak, which help when talking with families who speak little English.
• No photo, and no child named anywhere, including in a thank-you quote from a parent.

Turning your CV into a supporting statement

Most schools and local authorities ask for an application form, not just a CV, and the part that decides the shortlist is the supporting statement. Use your CV as the source. Take the person specification, and for each point write two or three sentences with a real example from your CV: the pupil you supported, the group you ran, what changed. Keep the headings in the same order as the person specification so the panel can tick them off. Your CV then goes in as a tidy summary, or stays at home as your notes for the interview.

For pay, the National Careers Service gives an average of £19,000 a year for a starter teaching assistant and £26,000 for an experienced one. Many posts are term time only, and pay is often quoted pro rata.