Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship – Level 3

Course content

The apprentice will study the core knowledge, skills and behaviours as laid out in the apprenticeship plan, This will include understanding how pupils learn and develop, working with teachers to support assessment, and support learning whilst keeping pupils safe. You will also develop your knowledge and skills for communication strategies and teamwork, problem solving, motivating pupils and the importance of technology to enhance learning.

What qualification will I get?

Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship Standard.

Apprentices without English and Maths at Level 2 must achieve these prior to taking the End Point Assessment.

Course assessment

Apprentices are required to attend college once a week, the rest of the training will take place in the workplace with in-house training by the employer. Our Teaching Assistant assessor will visit and observe the apprentice in practice

Knowledge – Your apprentice will attend college based classes and be able to access the college’s online learning environment where specially prepared learning materials are available 24/7.

Skills and Behaviours – This training will be led by yourselves in the workplace. Our Assessors will visit your workplace to observer the apprentice undertaking their normal on-the-job duties, and complete reviews to make sure the apprentice is staying on track with their work. In conjunction with you and your apprentice, the Assessor will develop an action plan to show what knowledge units are being studied, what evidence needs to be prepared, as well as the time and date of the Assessors visits.

Functional Skills – Individuals without level 2 English and maths will need to achieve this level prior to taking the end-point assessment.

End Point Assessment – The EPA for Teaching Assistant contains 2 methods of assessment as outlined below:

Practical Observation with Questions & Answers – The Practical Observation will be carried out over 2 hours and will take place in the apprentice’s workplace. A Q&A session will take place once the final observation has been completed and will last for 15 minutes

Professional Discussion -This is a structured discussion of 90 minutes, following the Practical Observation, which will establish the apprentice’s understanding and application of the knowledge, skills and behaviours identified in the assessment plan. The Portfolio of Evidence will be completed during the on-programme learning and will enable the IEPA to prepare for the Professional Discussion. It should cover the knowledge, skills and behaviours to be assessed by the Professional Discussion

Benefits to employers

Hiring an apprentice is a productive and effective way for any organisation to grow talent and develop a motivated, skilled and qualified workforce. Hiring an apprentice can help you improve productivity and reduce staff turnover.

There’s a wide selection of apprenticeships available, covering lots of different job roles to help you choose a qualification that suits your business needs. This helps you match the skills of the employees to the skills that you need

Fees

If you have less than 50 staff and the apprentice is between 16-18 then the apprenticeship will be fully funded, you will only need to pay for the apprentice’s wages. If you choose to recruit an apprentice who is 19 or above, you will be required to pay 5% of the cost of the apprenticeship (the government will fund 95%)

If you are a large employer with 50+ staff, you will be required to fund 5% of the apprenticeship costs regardless of the age of the learner.

Employers with a wage bill of over £3 million will pay the cost of the apprenticeship through the apprenticeship levy. For more guidance on this please refer to our website.

Benefits to apprentices

As an apprentice you will work alongside experienced, skilled staff, you will gain job-specific skills and training, you will earn a wage and get holiday pay whilst you train.

As well as ensuring full competency as a teaching assistant, this standard provides a foundation for potential progression into a number of career paths in the educational sector, including higher level teaching assistant, assistant teacher and teacher.