Teaching assistant supporting statement: what schools look for (with example)

Updated · By the Tick the Spec team

Schools usually shortlist teaching assistant (TA) applications by checking your supporting statement against the person specification. Most TA person specifications ask for experience of working with children or young people, a good standard of literacy and numeracy, the ability to support learning under a teacher's direction, behaviour management, team working, and a clear commitment to safeguarding. Give one short, specific example for each criterion, show how you help children learn rather than just supervise, and say what you understand about keeping children safe.

What TA person specifications usually ask for

  • Qualifications: GCSE English and maths at grade 4/C or equivalent is common; a TA qualification (for example a Level 2 or 3 certificate) may be essential or desirable depending on the level.
  • Experience: working or volunteering with children of the relevant age; experience with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) for SEN TA roles.
  • Knowledge: how children learn, phonics or maths approaches used in primary schools, the SEND code of practice in outline for SEN roles, and safeguarding responsibilities.
  • Skills: supporting individuals and small groups, encouraging positive behaviour, communicating with children, staff and parents, using ICT.
  • Qualities: patience, reliability, warmth, discretion, willingness to learn.
  • Safeguarding: suitability to work with children, subject to an enhanced DBS check with a barred list check.

Step by step

  1. Read the school's website, especially its values, SEND information and recent news. Mention one specific thing that draws you to the school.
  2. Use the person specification as your structure, one paragraph per criterion.
  3. Show learning support, not supervision: what you did to help a child understand, and what changed.
  4. Show behaviour support: calm, consistent, following the school's policy.
  5. Show safeguarding awareness: that you know to report concerns to the designated safeguarding lead and not to promise confidentiality to a child.
  6. Show team working with teachers and parents.

Worked example (fictional)

This is invented. The applicant, children and settings are fictional, and no real details are used.

Applicant: Leah, a parent volunteer and lunchtime supervisor, applying for a Level 2 TA post in a primary school's Year 2.

Experience of working with children. For two years I have been a lunchtime supervisor at a primary school with 300 pupils, and for one year I have volunteered weekly in a Year 1 class, hearing readers and helping with group activities.

Supporting children's learning. In my volunteering, the class teacher asked me to read with a boy who was reluctant to try. I found out he loved dinosaurs, brought in decodable books on the topic from the school library, and used the sound cards the class used in phonics so he heard the same approach. Over a term he went from refusing to read aloud to reading a short book to me, and his teacher said his phonics assessment had improved.

Encouraging positive behaviour. At lunchtimes I follow the school's behaviour policy, praising specific good behaviour and using the agreed steps when needed. When two Year 4 children regularly argued over football, I helped them agree a simple rota for choosing teams, which stopped the arguments.

Safeguarding. I complete the school's annual safeguarding training. I understand that I must report any concern to the designated safeguarding lead straight away, record what I saw or was told in the child's words, and never promise a child to keep a secret.

Working with others. I talk with the class teacher after each volunteering session about which children need more practice, and I pass on anything I notice at lunchtime to class teachers promptly.

Qualifications and learning. I have GCSEs in English and maths at grade C, and I am studying for a Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning.

SEN teaching assistant roles

For SEN or 1:1 roles, add examples of adapting activities, using visual timetables or communication aids, supporting sensory or emotional needs, and working with the SENCo and parents. Show you understand the child's education, health and care (EHC) plan sets out the support they need.

Common mistakes

  • "I love working with children" with no example.
  • Describing your own children as your only experience, without linking to school practice.
  • Not mentioning safeguarding, which every school treats as essential.
  • A generic statement that could go to any school.
  • Breaching confidentiality about children you have worked with.

Tick the Spec's free shortlisting sheet maps your experience to each line of the school's person specification so you can see what still needs an example. For changing career into education, see our career changers guide.

Sources

All guides