The job of a teaching assistant includes a broad variety of responsibilities. But, at its core, the role of the teaching assistant is to provide essential support to teachers. Generally, as a teaching assistant, you will need to be able to monitor and aid the progress of students, help with lesson planning, prepare classroom resources, read to students and listen to them read back to you, help with extracurricular activities that take place after school and many other similar duties. This article discusses 3 essential courses offered by Simply Education that will help give teaching assistants the edge over their competitors.
Top Course for New Teaching Assistants
Virtual Introduction to the Teaching Assistant Role (VITAR)
The responsibilities of a teaching
assistant may seem daunting or confusing to those new to the role or to those
who are starting their first teaching assistant job soon. For these candidates,
Simply Education offers the perfect course: Virtual Introduction to the Teaching
Assistant Role (VITAR). This two-day online course has been made for teaching
assistants with limited to no relevant working experience and for those who
might be interested in changing to this field. On the first day of the VITAR
course, you will be introduced to an in-depth definition of the teaching
assistant role and the ideal qualities and skills you need to have. On the
first day, the course will also cover expectations and assertiveness of SEND
teaching assistant roles, jargon and intervention safeguarding.
The second day of the course
explores more in-depth concepts and skills that will make you stand out from
other teaching assistant candidates. The second part of the course covers
various topics including:
Behaviour Management
A vital skill for any good teaching assistant. Having good behaviour management skills enables teaching assistants to better help the teacher control the class and keep them focused.
Supporting Progress
The course will help teaching assistants learn how to effectively support and monitor student progress, as well as understand how to feedback effectively to pupils.
Learning Approaches
Current learning approaches are discussed within the VITAR course, along with the different school assessment types and differentiation tactics.
The VITAR course is designed to be
completed BEFORE new TAs are placed in a role, in accordance with compliance
guidelines. Our next VITAR course is taking place from 31st August – 1st
September. If you are interested, then book your place today!
Top Courses for Experienced Teaching Assistants
Behaviour Management for Teaching Assistants
Simply Education’s behaviour management course is based on maintaining the maximum focus on learning in the classroom. The webinar allows attendees to discuss four classroom scenarios from the perspective of a teaching assistant, helping them understand the most effective way to tackle the situations. This course is a webinar that is run regularly – free of charge - exclusively for Simply Education’s registered candidates.
Teaching Assistant Workshop
This half-day virtual course serves
as a refresher and a learning opportunity for experienced teaching assistants.
The workshop will discuss the expectations of you as a teaching assistant, as
well as those of your pupils. Removing barriers to learning is a topic covered
extensively in this workshop, as this is a vital skill for a teaching assistant
to have. Learning assertiveness skills helps attendees diffuse situations by
using encouraging words while still holding the respect of their students. The
workshop also walks attendees through common scenarios experienced by teaching
assistants to test their skills practically, while also providing feedback on
the way they handled the situation. All this and more are addressed in this
comprehensive workshop. This course is a must-have for any experienced teaching
assistant who wants to bring the most value to the classroom.
Simply Education offers CPD courses to all registered candidates to cover a variety of education-based topics. Whether you’re a teacher, teaching assistant or cover supervisor, we have suitable courses that can help you further develop your teaching skills. To gain access to these amazing courses and several others, all you have to do is register with Simply Education.
