CV for a teaching assistant job

A teaching assistant CV should open with a short introduction, put your work with children and schools first, and give every period of work, study or time out with dates. Most schools will also want you to fill in an application form, because the safeguarding guidance for schools in England says a CV on its own does not give enough information. Treat the CV as the document you build the form from, and send it only when the school asks for one or accepts it alongside the form.

When a CV is enough and when it is not

Schools in England follow Keeping children safe in education, which says schools should only accept a CV alongside an application form. The form asks for a full employment history since leaving school, including education and voluntary work, with reasons for any gaps, plus a statement of the personal qualities and experience that fit the person specification. So a CV may be requested as an extra, or not at all. Read the advert first.

Your CV still earns its place. It is where you collect every job, course and volunteering stint with accurate dates, so you can copy them into a form without hunting for details. Applying for school support staff jobs walks through the form itself, and Writing a CV for public sector jobs covers the general rules.

What to put in the introduction

The National Careers Service advises a few short lines just below your name and contact details, saying who you are and what you want to do, written to suit the job. For a teaching assistant, give the type of experience and the age group: for example, two years helping with reading groups in Key Stage 1, or a childcare qualification and a term of volunteering in a primary school. Leave out age, date of birth, marital status and nationality, which the same page tells you to omit.

Which experience goes first

The National Careers Service lists what employers look for in a teaching assistant: good relationships with children, clear communication, patience under pressure, flexibility, teamwork and basic IT skills. Its profile also says it helps to show evidence of working well with children, teachers and parents.

Put the most relevant experience first within each role, whether paid or unpaid. Useful examples include:

• supporting small groups or individual pupils
• preparing materials for lessons
• tracking pupils’ progress
• working with families
• any specialism, such as SEN, behaviour, language and communication, or pastoral care

Qualifications in childcare, playwork or youth work can help, and so can volunteering in a local school or community group. If you are short of school experience, How to get a job in a school with no experience lists ways to build it, and the National Careers Service says to draw on projects, work experience and volunteering if you have little paid work.

Writing the role entries

List your most recent job first. For each one, give the employer, your job title, the dates and two or three lines on what you did. The National Careers Service suggests the STAR method for these lines (situation, task, action, result), which is covered in The STAR method.

Say what you did and what it led to. “Ran a daily phonics group for six Year 1 pupils” tells a reader more than “supported literacy”. Where you can add a result that is true and checkable, such as a pupil moving to a new reading group, add it. Do not invent figures.

Dates, gaps and safeguarding

Because schools are expected to look for gaps and ask about them, show them yourself. Give month and year for each start and end, and add a line for any break: caring for a family member, travelling, illness or job hunting. The National Careers Service says gaps are normal. Explaining employment gaps on an application has wording ideas. The enhanced DBS check comes after an offer; DBS checks explains the levels.

Layout and finishing

The National Careers Service recommends a clear font such as Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri at size 11 or larger, one consistent style, headings and bullet points. Ask someone else to proofread it. Tailor it to each advert by using the wording of the essential criteria, which for school jobs are in the person specification.

Hobbies are optional. Include them only if they show something relevant, such as running a youth sports team. For the role itself, including term-time hours and what the job involves, see How to become a teaching assistant.