Level 2 Teaching Assistant

The Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools is the qualification you will need to gain employment as a Teaching Assistant in the majority of schools. It is suitable for job roles that support pupils’ learning, including teaching assistants, learning support assistants and special needs assistants. You may be starting out on a new career path or gaining the qualification to move from volunteering in school to professional employment. Either way, the tutor will adapt the learning activities to suit the varied experience, abilities and needs of the class. Significant employment skills and knowledge are included in this course to support securing a placement, understanding various employment contracts and workplace legislation in order to maximise your success in gaining employment at the end of the course.

The course includes: • Children and young people’s development, play and leisure • Safeguarding, Equality, diversity and inclusion and Health and safety • Developing positive relationships with children, young people and colleagues (including working as part of a team) • Behaviour management • Displaying children and young people’s work. • CVs, online application forms and interview skills • Workers rights and employment legislation

There are no exams as you are assessed on your portfolio of evidence. You will attend a weekly class either face to face or online, where you will be provided with the work and activities (online or printed resources) you will be expected to complete at home during the following week. This will cover the knowledge aspect of the course and will involve you writing detailed assignments. Your tutor will give you feedback on your assignments and suggest ways in which you can improve. You will also need to arrange a placement, of at least 6 hours a week for the duration of the course, working with children in a school. You will be assigned an assessor who will observe you in your setting performing various duties. You will be given feedback on your performance. You will also need an enhanced DBS check. This can be obtained for you by us at no cost for the purpose of gaining a voluntary placement. However, if you already have one, we will need to see proof of this for entry onto the course.

You will need to show proof that you have a minimum Level 1 English qualification (Functional Skills or GCSE) and you should ideally have or be working towards Level 2 in both English and Maths as these will be required for employment in statutory education at the end of this professionally qualifying course. You will also be required to complete an initial assessment in order to confirm your current skill level and previous experience to make sure the course is at the appropriate level for you. If you do not have proof of your qualifications (including a statement of comparability for overseas qualifications) you will be asked to complete an initial assessment for English and Maths as this is an essential and non-negotiable entry requirement for this course.

This course will professionally qualify you for employment as a teaching assistant in school, however you will also need to have English and Maths qualifications at Level 2 (e.g., GCSE A-C grade or Functional Skills) to gain employment in the majority of school settings. If you hold Level 2 English and Maths qualifications you can progress onto the NCFE CACHE Level 3 Diploma in Supporting Teaching and Learning after this course, to allow you to apply for career progression roles at level 3.