How to become a teaching assistant

You can become a teaching assistant without a degree. Schools mostly ask for decent GCSEs in English and maths, some experience with children and a clean enhanced DBS check, and a Level 2 or Level 3 teaching assistant certificate helps you get shortlisted. Pay in council-maintained schools sits on the national NJC pay spine, but almost every TA job is term-time only and part-time, so the salary you receive is well below the full-time figure on the advert.

What a teaching assistant does

A TA supports learning in the classroom under the direction of the teacher. In a primary school that might mean running a phonics group, hearing readers, helping a table of pupils through a maths task or preparing resources. In a secondary school TAs are more often attached to particular pupils or departments and move between lessons.

Some TAs work one-to-one with a child who has special educational needs. Others give general class support, and many do both over a week. Break and lunch duties are part of it, along with helping on trips and passing on to the teacher what you notice about pupils. The work is physical in early years and key stage 1, and in some classes challenging behaviour is a daily matter.

For the specialist version of the job, the profile of the SEN teaching assistant covers special educational needs work.

Qualifications and experience that help

No qualification is legally required. Job adverts commonly ask for:

• GCSEs (or equivalent) in English and maths
• experience with children, paid or voluntary
• for higher grades, a Level 3 qualification in supporting teaching and learning

The Level 2 certificate covers the basics of the role and is often done before or in the first year of a TA job. Level 3 is the usual expectation for “TA Level 3” posts, which carry more responsibility for groups and planning. Both can be studied part-time or through an apprenticeship.

Volunteering in a school is the most common way in. Parents who help with reading, former lunchtime supervisors and former childcare workers often move into TA roles. The guide on getting a school job with no experience goes through the options.

Checks before you start

Schools follow safer recruitment rules. Expect an application form rather than a CV, two references, an interview that may include a short task with pupils, and an enhanced DBS check with a children’s barred list check. In England and Wales the enhanced check costs £41.00 from 5 October 2026, and the school usually pays. The list of teaching assistant interview questions shows what panels tend to ask.

How the pay works

Maintained schools in England and Wales usually pay support staff on the NJC “Green Book” pay spine, through the council’s own grading structure. Academies can set their own pay, but many use the same spine. The 2026/27 NJC award was 3.3% on spine points 3 to 43 from 1 April 2026, and spine point 2 was deleted, so SCP 3 at £25,614 is now the bottom of the spine.

Which points a TA post sits on depends on the employer’s job evaluation. A council might put a Level 1 or 2 TA a few points above the bottom and a Level 3 TA several points higher. A handful of spine points for comparison:

Spine point	Full-time annual salary 2026/27
SCP 3	£25,614
SCP 5	£26,427
SCP 8	£27,709
SCP 12	£29,542
SCP 17	£32,046

These are full-time, full-year figures for 37 hours a week. The spine values above are calculated from the 2025 figures plus the 3.3% award, so confirm the exact rate with the school.

Why your term-time salary is lower

Most TAs work only in term time and for fewer than 37 hours a week. The NJC advisory model works out how many weeks you are paid for: weeks worked plus a pro-rata share of leave and bank holidays. In the NJC worked example, someone working 39 weeks with a 36-day leave entitlement is paid 86.778% of the full-time rate, and that is then reduced again for hours.

Say a TA post is on SCP 5 (£26,427 full-time) and you work 32.5 hours a week, term-time only. Your salary would be about £26,427 × 86.778% × 32.5 ÷ 37, which comes to roughly £20,144 a year, paid in 12 equal monthly instalments. Councils use their own percentages, so the figure on your contract may differ slightly. The full method is in the guide to term-time-only pay, and the take-home pay calculator shows the effect of tax and pension.

Because pay is spread over 12 months, you are paid in the school holidays even though you are not working.

Pension and holidays

TAs employed by councils or academies are enrolled in the Local Government Pension Scheme. In 2026/27 members earning up to £18,400 pay 5.5% and those earning £18,401 to £29,000 pay 5.8%, based on actual pay. There is also a 50/50 option where you pay half and build up half the pension. The LGPS guide explains it.

Holiday is built into term-time pay. You cannot normally take leave in term time, though schools may agree unpaid leave for exceptional reasons.

Moving up from TA

A TA with a Level 3 qualification can take on more responsibility and apply for higher-graded posts. The next formal step is higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) status, which lets you cover classes and plan work; see what an HLTA does. Plenty of teachers started as TAs and moved on to a salaried teacher training route, which needs a degree. Current TA vacancies are listed under teaching assistant jobs.