Special needs teaching assistants work in schools, helping pupils with a wide range of severe learning, physical or behavioural difficulties. They may also be known as:

• special needs classroom assistants
• learning support assistants
• non-teaching support staff
• support workers
• special needs assistants.

The work of a special needs teaching assistant depends on the on the age of the pupils and their individual needs, but will normally involve:

• helping with school work under the supervision of the teacher
• helping pupils to increase their confidence, self esteem and independence 
• helping to implement individual education, social, behavioural and personal care programmes 
• helping pupils who have difficulty communicating with others, including those whose first language is not English
• supporting pupils in social activities and on outings
• assisting pupils during therapy sessions
• attending to pupils' physical needs.

Special needs teaching assistants may work in special schools, or with an individual pupil or small group of pupils in a mainstream class. They are also employed in mainstream schools to provide literacy and numeracy support to pupils with less severe special educational needs, or to provide general assistance to class teachers. See the Teaching Assistant profile for more information on this role.

Hours and Environment

As a full-time special needs teaching assistant you will usually work school hours, Monday to Friday, during term-time. You may sometimes have to attend training outside of these times. Many teaching assistants work part-time.

Some special schools are residential. If you work as a teaching assistant in this type of school you may have to work a mixture of shifts covering seven days a week.

Skills and Interests

To be a special needs teaching assistant you need:

• an interest in education and in working with children
• the ability to build good relationships with children, their parents and carers, teachers and other professionals, such as speech therapists or arts therapists
• the ability to work well as part of a team
• good literacy and numeracy skills
• a responsible attitude
• patience
• the ability to be firm when necessary
• willingness to help with pupils' personal care needs.

Fluency in community languages or the ability to communicate in sign language can also be useful.

Entry

Individual local education authorities (LEAs) and schools decide what qualifications and experience they expect, so it is worth checking local job advertisements.

It is unlikely that you would find paid employment without relevant experience, and most qualifications for teaching assistants are aimed at those who are in paid or voluntary employment in a school. A useful way to start is to volunteer to help in a local school, perhaps for a few hours a week at first. You will need to have a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check before being accepted. It may also be useful if you have general experience with children or young people with disabilities or learning difficulties. 

Some employers may expect you to have a nursery nursing qualification. Please see the Nursery Nurse profile for details of the various relevant qualifications and their entry requirements. 

When you have gained some experience you can work towards qualifications which will improve your opportunities for finding paid employment. Relevant qualifications include:

• level 2 and 3 Certificates for Teaching Assistants awarded by City and Guilds, Edexcel, CACHE, NCFE and ABC
• NVQ levels 2 and 3 for Teaching Assistants awarded by City and Guilds, Edexcel, CACHE and OCR.

The Level 3 qualifications include optional units on working with pupils with various special educational needs.

To be accepted on a course you will usually need to be working in a school (on either a paid or voluntary basis) for a set number of hours a week, and may need qualifications such as GCSEs or the equivalent. You should check with colleges for their entry requirements.  

To work with hearing-impaired pupils you are likely to need a sign language qualification such as the Council for Advancement of Communication with Deaf People (CACDP) Level 1 Certificate in British Sign Language. Visit the CACDP website in Further Information for details.

Training

As a newly-appointed special needs teaching assistant in England you will do a short, nationally-approved induction training programme  Some local authorities also have a range of in-house training, some leading to qualifications.

You can also work towards qualifications including:

• level 2 and 3 Certificates for Teaching Assistants awarded by City and Guilds, Edexcel, CACHE, NCFE and ABC
• NVQ levels 2 and 3 for Teaching Assistants awarded by City and Guilds, Edexcel, CACHE and OCR.

The Level 3 qualifications include optional units on working with pupils with various special educational needs.

You should be able to get advice from your school on which qualification would be the most appropriate.

Local education authorities, some colleges, and charities or disability organisations provide in-service training relating to particular types of disability or learning difficulty. Your employer will usually help you to arrange this training.

Depending on your job, it could be useful to do training in relevant communication skills, such as:

• CACDP qualifications, including Deaf Awareness, British Sign Language, Deafblind Awareness and Deafblind Support Work
• Makaton, or similar, sign-supported English
• Royal National Institute of the Blind (RNIB) courses, including Partners in Learning, a modular BTEC course for teaching assistants working with pupils with sight problems.

See Further Information for contact details for CACDP, the Makaton Vocabulary Development Project (MVDP) and RNIB.

When you are experienced as a special needs teaching assistant, you may be able to study for a foundation degree. These are offered by a number of colleges and universities, and have various titles, such as:

• Teaching and Learning Support 
• Education Studies for Teaching Assistants.

After completing a foundation degree you might be able to progress to a related honours degree which could provide a route for qualifying as a primary school teacher.

For information about foundation degrees see Foundation Degree Forward

To search for colleges and universities offering foundation degrees, HNDs and degrees see Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)

Opportunities

You will find opportunities throughout the UK, with pupils of all ages, in special schools or in mainstream or independent schools. Some special schools are for pupils with a specific disability, while others are organised according to the severity of learning difficulty. Local authorities run most special schools. Others are run by disability organisations or charities.

There is a move towards integrating pupils with disabilities into mainstream education, so this is likely to increase the number of opportunities for assistants to support individual pupils with special needs in mainstream schools.

Vacancies are advertised in local newspapers, jobcentres, in local authority job bulletins, which are available in libraries and other public offices and on LGjobs (see link in Further Information).

When you have experience you may be able to progress to a senior assistant position in some schools. If you work in England you may be able to take on more responsibility by applying for training and assessment for Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) status. You will need the support of your head teacher or school manager before you can be considered for this. You can get full details of the HLTA programme in your local area from your local authority. Visit the HLTA website (in Further Information) for contact details.

You could also go on to train as a teacher if you meet the entry requirements which apply to all teachers. You can find out about careers in teaching by looking at the Teacher profiles or visiting the Training and Development Agency for Schools website in the Further Information section.

Annual Income

Figures are intended as a guideline only.

There is no national pay scale and wage rates are set by each Local Education Authority. Salaries do differ on a regional basis and some teaching assistants are paid term-time only.

The full-time rate for teaching assistants is likely to be between around £11,000 and around £14,500 a year.
This could increase to around £16,000 a year.
Higher Level Teaching Assistants are likely to be paid between £18,000 and £21,000 a year.

Further information

105 Judd Street
London
WC1H 9NE
Tel: 020 7388 1266 Durham University Science Park
Block 4
Stockton Road
Durham
DH1 3UZ
Tel: 0191 383 1155
Textphone: 0191 383 7915 151 Buckingham Palace Road
London
SW1W 9SZ
Teaching Information Line: 0845 6000 991