A lot of people want to work in a school and assume the door is shut because they have never worked in one. It is not. Teaching assistant is one of the few genuinely rewarding jobs you can still start without a specific qualification, and schools take on people from retail, care, offices and full time parenting every term. Here is what you actually need, what you can skip, and the fastest honest route in.

What you legally need, and what schools prefer

There is no single qualification you must hold to be a teaching assistant in England. What you must have is the right to work here and an enhanced DBS check with a children's barred list check, which an agency or school arranges for you, so do not worry about sorting that in advance.

Beyond that, schools have preferences rather than rules:

• English and maths. Many schools ask for GCSEs in both, or something equivalent. Some ask about it rather than insist on it.
• A Level 2 or Level 3 qualification in supporting teaching and learning. Worth doing at some point, but plenty of people get a first role without one and study afterwards.
• Any experience with children in a group. This is the one that counts, and it is broader than people think.

You probably have more relevant experience than you think

Before you write "no experience" on anything, go through this list properly.

• Running a Brownies, Scouts, Cubs or church group
• Sports coaching, swimming teaching or dance classes
• Childminding, nannying or regular care of nieces, nephews and grandchildren
• Care work, support work or work with adults with additional needs
• Volunteering at a school, a library reading scheme or a holiday club
• Being a parent governor, or running the PTA
• Retail or hospitality, where you learn to stay calm with a queue in front of you

All of that counts. What a head is really asking is whether you can hold the attention of eight children, follow a teacher's instructions, stay calm when a lesson goes sideways and turn up on time every day.

Volunteer for a few weeks if you can

If your circumstances allow it, half a day a week in a local primary for a term is the single most effective thing you can do. Ring the school office, ask if they need help with reading, and expect to be DBS checked.

It gives you three things at once. You find out whether you enjoy it, which not everyone does. You get a reference from someone who works in a school. And you get concrete sentences for your CV.

Write a CV a school will actually read

School CVs are their own thing. Keep it to two pages and get these right.

1. Open with two or three lines about why schools. A straight explanation of what draws you to the work and what you are looking for, not a paragraph of adjectives.
2. Put your child related experience first, even if it was unpaid, and describe what you did rather than what you were called. "Ran a weekly reading group of six Year 2 pupils" beats "volunteer".
3. Explain your other jobs in school terms. Supervising staff, handling complaints, keeping records. Say what transfers.
4. Account for gaps in one line. Raising children, caring for a parent, studying. Nobody in a school finds that odd, but an unexplained gap is a question mark.
5. Line up two referees including your most recent employer, and warn them it is coming.

Consider SEN, and consider early years

Two areas take on newcomers more readily than a general classroom role.

SEN and SEND support is in constant demand. One to one roles supporting a pupil with an Education, Health and Care Plan need patience and a calm presence far more than a CV full of schools, and training is usually provided. If you have care experience, this is often the quickest way in.

EYFS and nursery is the other. Reception and nursery classes want people who are happy on the floor, outside in the cold and involved in the mess, and many of these roles are part time and term time only.

Start with day to day cover

If you want experience quickly, day to day cover is the fastest route. You are booked for single days when a school needs support staff at short notice, and it stacks up fast. In half a term you can see six or seven schools, work out which age group suits you and start being requested by name. Heads and SENCOs notice a good TA, and many long term and permanent roles go to someone who first came in as cover.

What your first week will feel like

Busy, loud and tiring, and you will get home and sleep. That passes. A few things make it easier.

• Arrive twenty minutes early and find the office.
• Ask for the class list and anything you should know about individual pupils.
• Ask the class teacher what they want you doing during the input. Some want you with a particular child, some want you circulating.
• If a child tells you something that worries you, take it straight to the designated safeguarding lead. Never promise a child you will keep a secret.

How to start

Register with an agency that works with schools near you, be honest about your travel and your days, and get your checks underway before you apply for specific roles. Being ready to work is what turns an enquiry into a booking.

We have placed teaching assistants and support staff in North West schools for over 25 years, and we interview everyone ourselves, so you speak to a person rather than an inbox. See what is live on our jobs page, read what registering involves on our candidates page and in how to register, or send us your details through register your CV. If you know someone else who would be good at this, our refer a friend scheme rewards you both.