Currently delivering this programme with
What will you learn?
Level 2 Certificate in Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
This is an optional add-on that will be delivered by The Childcare Company.
What You’ll Gain As An Learner
Through expert teaching, quality resources and ongoing support from industry professionals, you will gain the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to support children and young people in their most important years. With nearly 20 years of training expertise and a 99% learner success rate, we are your trusted partner in supporting your career growth and helping you empower young lives. We are committed to growing careers and nurturing the careers of people who impact young lives.
What You’ll Gain As An Employer
Your success is our priority. We provide expert teaching through quality resources and ongoing support to take your staff to the next level. With nearly 2 decades of training expertise and a 99% learner success rate, leave the teaching to us as we support the next generation of teaching professionals on their journey to empowering the lives of children and young people.
Frequently Asked Questions
A Level 3 Teaching Assistant supports teachers and helps pupils get the most from their learning in schools or educational settings. In this role, you’ll work closely with teachers to help plan activities, support lessons and assist pupils with their development. You may also help monitor progress, encourage independent learning and support pupils with additional needs.
The Level 3 Teaching Assistant apprenticeship helps you build the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to support children and young people effectively in the classroom.
During the apprenticeship, you’ll learn how to support teachers and pupils effectively in the classroom. This includes understanding child development, safeguarding, communication, behaviour support and curriculum delivery. You’ll also develop professional skills such as working with other professionals, building relationships and reflecting on your practice. You’ll gain experience planning learning activities, supporting pupils’ progress and responding to individual needs, and have the opportunity to learn about supporting those with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
This apprenticeship is ideal if you’re passionate about supporting children and young people in their learning and make a positive impact in the classroom. It’s suitable whether you’re starting your career in education or looking to build on your current experience. It’s designed to help both learners and employers develop confident, skilled teaching assistants.
Yes. Many learners start a Level 3 Teaching Assistant apprenticeship with little or no previous experience. The programme is designed to support those taking their first steps into a teaching assistant career. You’ll learn on the job while receiving structured training and support to build your knowledge and skills.
Once you’ve completed the Level 3 Teaching Assistant apprenticeship, you can continue to build your skills and progress your career within education support roles. A natural next step is to advance onto our Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant apprenticeship.
As part of this programme, you will choose one specialist pathway to focus your development:
- SEND Specialist Teaching Assistant – focusing on understanding and supporting learners with special educational needs and disabilities.
- Social and Emotional Wellbeing Specialist Teaching Assistant – developing strategies to promote emotional wellbeing, resilience and positive behaviour.
- Curriculum Provision Specialist Teaching Assistant – supporting curriculum planning, delivery and assessment to enhance learning outcomes.
Each pathway is designed to build on your existing experience and help you take on more responsibility, develop specialist knowledge and progress into more advanced support or leadership roles within a school or educational setting.
The Level 3 Teaching Assistant apprenticeship typically lasts around 16 months. During this time, you’ll complete a combination of face-to-face and online learning alongside your job role. Apprentices must also complete a minimum of six hours per week of off-the-job training. At the end of the programme, your knowledge and skills will be assessed through an end-point assessment.
Off-the-job training is structured learning that takes place during your paid working hours but is separate from your normal day-to-day duties. You’re required to complete a minimum of six hours per week of this training to develop the knowledge, skills and behaviours needed for your apprenticeship. Activities can include online learning, workshops, research, mentoring and other development tasks relevant to your role.
You can also use our Learner Enrichment Calendar to help plan and log suitable off-the-job activities that count towards your training hours, giving you a variety of ways to grow your skills throughout the programme.
All off-the-job training hours must be recorded on your e-portfolio system, Aptem, to ensure your progress is tracked throughout your apprenticeship.
For the learner, there is no cost.
For employers, the cost depends on whether you pay the apprenticeship levy:
- Levy-paying employers: You can use your apprenticeship levy funds to cover the full cost of the programme. These funds are accessed through your digital apprenticeship service account.
- Non-levy employers: The government will fund 95% of the training cost, meaning you only pay the remaining 5%. Based on the £5,000 funding band, this equates to just £250.
This makes apprenticeships a highly cost-effective way to develop your workforce, with the majority of training costs covered through government support.
