Your next step in school support
Ofsted inspections get retold in staffrooms like ghost stories — half rumour, half dread. Here's the calmer version: what inspectors actually do, what they might ask you, what's worth preparing, and which pieces of folk wisdom you can safely ignore.
Coming back to TA work after a break is less about proving you never left and more about showing you are ready now. Here is a calm, four-week plan for refreshing paperwork, rebuilding references and choosing a first role that eases you back in.
A TA offer can arrive fast, and it is easy to say yes before you have seen the school on a normal Tuesday. Here is how to ask for a short pre-offer visit politely, what to watch for in corridors and classrooms, and how to read a refusal without talking yourself out of a good job.
Urgent TA vacancies can be genuine opportunities — or a fast route to a messy half-term. This guide walks through the questions worth asking before you say yes to a school that needs someone by Monday, without talking yourself out of a good job.
Most teaching assistants do brilliant work and then forget all of it by the time appraisal lands. Here's a low-effort, twenty-minutes-a-month habit for keeping a record of training, observations and small wins — one that also earns its keep in interviews and pay-band conversations.
A one-to-one TA role can look like the calmest job in the building: one child, one adult, a clear purpose. In reality it is a very particular kind of school job, with its own isolation, paperwork and funding questions. Here is what to ask before you say yes.
Most January TA offers don't fall apart because of the interview — they stall on paperwork nobody chased in the last fortnight of term. Here's the order to tackle DBS checks, references, right-to-work evidence and safeguarding certificates so the festive shutdown doesn't cost you the job.
Snow, burst pipes and winter bugs can shut a school at short notice, but the pay impact depends entirely on your contract. This practical checklist helps permanent, term-time and agency TAs ask the right questions before payroll surprises land.
TA job ads can look like they were written in code, but most SEN initialisms are practical clues about the day you would actually have. Here is a plain-English guide to the terms that matter, what they mean on the floor, and how to use them in an application or interview without bluffing.
Term-time only sounds simple until you compare the full-time equivalent with the actual salary. This practical guide walks through the shape of a TA's year, how pro-rata pay works, and the questions worth asking before you accept.
Most TA job hunters fix their sights on January, but a November or early December start can be a clever move. Here’s the honest case for joining mid-autumn, plus how to hit the ground running when the term is already in full swing.
Supply and agency days run smoother when your bag is doing half the thinking. Here’s a practical, budget-friendly kit for UK teaching assistants — plus the well-meant extras that can cause safeguarding or policy headaches.
Most TA job hunters assume the market goes silent until the New Year. In reality, late November to mid-December is one of the most productive hiring windows of the entire school calendar. Here is how to work it without losing your festive spirit.
A practical, example-led guide to writing the supporting information section of a 2026 teaching assistant application. Learn how to turn 'I'm good with children' into concrete evidence, mirror the job description without sounding robotic, and show schools the impact you have had on pupils.
Being proactive is part of the TA job, but there is a difference between supporting learning and absorbing every "quick favour" going. This guide looks at how favour creep starts, why it matters for pupils and pay, and practical scripts for protecting your time without turning into the staffroom's unofficial PA.
Thinking of moving to a different school partway through the academic year? Here’s how to weigh up a mid-term TA move, handle notice and references properly, and leave your current school on good terms — even if you only stayed a few months.
If you've run breakfast club, wrapped up after-school sessions or worked in a nursery, you already hold most of the skills a TA person specification asks for. Here's how to translate childcare experience into application-form language and interview answers that land.
Plenty of teaching assistant roles are filled before they ever reach a big recruitment board. Here's a practical weekly routine for finding the quieter vacancies, plus a checklist of places to look and email scripts for approaching schools directly.
Starting a teaching assistant job in January means joining a class that already has its rhythms, jokes and seating plans. Here is a calm, checklist-driven plan for your first term, from week one introductions to protecting your energy by Easter.
Cover supervision and teaching assistant roles can look interchangeable in a job advert, but the day-to-day work, pay and progression routes are different. This honest comparison, with two mini case studies, helps you decide which one fits your life.