Teaching Assistant certificate

This programme is designed for people who wish to gain an understanding of principles and practice of teaching / classroom assistant roles. It is intended for people not yet employed but who wish to gain a general understanding of the classroom support role.

Aims

The aims of the course are to provide comprehensive knowledge and understanding appropriate to the conduct of a classroom support role, and to participation in a wide range of classroom support activities.

Certificate of completion

Digital certificate - Included

The course is designed for home study or distance learning and is comprised of comprehensive printed course notes presented in an A4 ring binder, together with course assignments and study guide. Tutor support and a student helpline facility are integral to the course, and students have a full 12 months in which to complete their studies. Actual study time will be of the order of 90-100 hours.

The course is divided up into seven study units, each with one tutor marked assignment to be completed. Students undertake four set units plus three options drawn from a choice of five. Each assignment contains approx 8-10 written tasks to be completed which are then submitted to a subject tutor for marking. Where required assignments can be re-submitted after amendment in the event that the assessment standards are not full met on first submission

The course units and topics are as follows:

MANDATORY UNITS

ELEMENTS

1 Supporting the Teacher

Element 1. The learning environment

Element 2. Pupil behaviour

Element 3. Observing and recording

2 Supporting the Pupil

Element 1. Care and support

Element 2. Health and hygiene

Element 3. Child protection

3 Supporting the Curriculum

Element 1. The National Curriculum

Element 2. Planning, evaluating and assisting

Element 3. pupils during all learning activities

4 Supporting the School

Element 1. Legal requirements

Element 2. School organisation

Element 3. Policies and procedures

5 Supporting ICT in the Classroom

Element 1. Preparation and Maintenance of ICT Equipment

Element 2. Supporting the Use of ICT Equipment

Element 3. Keeping Pupil Records

6 Supporting Pupils with Special Education Needs

Element 1. Inclusion and Special Educational Needs

Element 2. Support for Learners

7 Supporting Literacy Development

Element 1. Supporting the Development of Reading Skills

Element 2. Supporting the Development of Writing Skills

Element 3. Supporting the Development of Speaking and Listening Skills

8 Supporting Numeracy Development

Element 1. Supporting the Development of Number Skills

Element 2. Supporting the Development of Problem Solving and Data Handling Skills

Element 3. Supporting the Understanding of Measures, Shape and Space

9 Working with Others

Element 1. Working in Teams

Element 2. Working with Colleagues

Element 3. Working with other Professionals and Parents

The course is desiged for anyone wishing to gain the skills required to support classroom activitries as a classroom or teaching assistant. No placement is required in order to complete this course.

There are no study pre-requirements as the course is intended for learners who have not studied this topic beforehand.

Intended for people seeking to fulfil the role of teaching assistant, classroom assistant or any aspect of general teaching support in schools.