Your next step in school support
Cover supervision and teaching assistant roles can look interchangeable in a job advert, but the day-to-day work, pay and progression routes are different. This honest comparison, with two mini case studies, helps you decide which one fits your life.
Starting a teaching assistant job in January means joining a class that already has its rhythms, jokes and seating plans. Here is a calm, checklist-driven plan for your first term, from week one introductions to protecting your energy by Easter.
Supply work and a contracted post aren't rivals in a straight fight — they suit different lives at different points. Here's a practical way to weigh up pay stability, holiday, travel, SEN experience and progression without drowning in generic pros-and-cons lists.
A growing number of TA interviews now put you in a room with actual children rather than a panel of questions. Here's what schools are genuinely assessing during the practical task, how to prepare without sounding like a scripted robot, and the small checklist worth running through before and after the day.
A TA advert can look perfect on paper and still be wrong for your week. Here's a simple ten-point scoring method for weighing up commute, term-time hours, split shifts and classroom culture before you spend an evening on an application form.
Higher level teaching assistant roles are achievable, but the route isn't always obvious. Here's a practical 2026 walkthrough of the experience, qualifications, funding and awkward-but-worth-it conversations that take a TA towards HLTA status and specialist support work.
A TA job advert can tell you a lot more than the job title suggests. Here are seven green flags to look for, three red flags to take seriously, and the interview questions that help you trust your instincts without writing a school off too quickly.
TA1 to TA4 can look like a code only payroll understands. Here is what the bands usually mean in 2026, how duties and qualifications shift between them, and how to build a calm, evidence-led case for the grade your job actually deserves.