Teaching Assistant, Level 3
What made you choose this apprenticeship?
I’ve been working since I was 15 years old. I'm a practical person and one of my jobs involved working as a postie. But my mum has worked as a Higher Learning Teaching Assistant (HLTA) in a Reception class. Since I was 14 years old, I’ve been going into school to help her. I had a spell working as a non qualified teaching assistant on a supply basis. I approached the Head of the school where my mum works, and he suggested that in order to hire me, I needed to get qualified. So that’s how I came to be doing this apprenticeship and I’m loving it.
What has your journey been like?
It’s been good. Its not difficult because a lot of the work is set out really easily and then I just carry out the tasks. My assessor, Lucy is really good. There are 3 categories, Knowledge, Skills and Behaviour. For example, in knowledge I’ve been learning about safeguarding, in Skills I have demonstrated running interventions through pastoral care and academic sessions, and in Behaviour, it has been about adopting a professional manner. I love my job and my role, and it doesn’t feel like hard work as I have been doing this for ages. I just need to provide evidence about what I’m doing while stretching myself.
What challenges have you faced during your apprenticeship?
Initially my previous assessor wasn’t setting the right tasks against my learning outcomes. But now the tasks are clearly set out against the KSBs about how to get the evidence. I had to duplicate evidence gathering because of this. I’ve had my new assessor since September and its much better.
Another challenge is that I have always volunteered in a Reception class and so moving into Year 1 was initially a hard transition. There is a change in curriculum from the Foundation Stage which is more play based to the National Curriculum. To help smooth the transition we have a play base practice in Year 1 but it can be hard to link this to the National Curriculum. You need to find a balance for those children who learn through play and those who are ready for a more formal structure. I’ve never worked in KS2 . I’m comfortable with the younger children.
What life skills is your apprenticeship teaching you?
On a professional level, I have to work with different levels of people, such as the Learning Support Assistants and understand their different roles, office professionals, Head Teacher and other levels of management.
What are your plans once you have completed?
In the short term, I need to book my End Point Assessment. In the longer term, I need to work out if I can stay where I am. The next step would be an HLTA in my current school but it depends if they can afford to hire me. I would like to consider doing a teaching apprenticeship as learning on the job would be easier than getting a degree.
Would you recommend an apprenticeship?
100%. For people like myself, I had no intention of going back to formal academic studies so this is a perfect way to learn through experience.
Maddi won the Best Teaching Assistant Apprentice of the Year, 2023 from City of Bristol College.
