The information on this web-page has been created by the Trailblazer group. It is aimed at supporting apprentices, educational organisations and providers in making the most of this new and most welcome standard.
We are delighted to introduce you to the Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship. We recognise that for many this is a long-awaited development. This standard seeks to support schools and educational settings to gain capacity to meet learner and staffing needs. We value, celebrate and recognise the significance of our Level 3 colleagues, but practitioners tell us that there is still a huge amount to learn once they have achieved this level. The aim of this apprenticeship is to make visible the inter relationship between intellectual and practical capabilities. As the trailblazer group we are not responsible for job titles, job evaluations or salaries, but we recognise that the apprenticeship might be a useful piece of the jigsaw in such discussions. There are a range of key roles within the education workforce which do not use the phrase ‘teaching assistant’ in their title and yet this apprenticeship will be appropriate in enabling high quality specialist training for such endeavours.
In terms of Early Years, this standard will have value in relation to colleagues looking to extend their knowledge through continuing professional development. The Department for Education (DfE) defines which qualifications count as full and relevant when working within the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS). The Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant standard is not mapped to the DfE criteria and so on its own cannot count in the ‘qualified’ staff: child ratio, rather it is appropriate for staff who are already qualified and who are seeking to develop a specialism.
As a consequence of this apprenticeship, colleagues will
– become knowledgeable practitioners who can advance learning in an informed and enabling manner within their specialist area, leading others through their thoughtful practices.
– be able to adapt practices in a principled way.
– be capable communicators interacting with learners, parents, professionals, colleagues and agencies to the support and advocate for the quality of learning.
– benefit from exploring the productive connection between research, key concepts and systematic knowledge so as to expand and enrich their approaches to working with children and young people.
– develop others by working alongside them directly with children and young people.
The detailed knowledge skills and behaviours (KSBs), together with the duties and end point assessment (EPA) framework can be found on the Institute for apprenticeships and technical education‘s (IfATE) website at: https://www.instituteforapprenticeships.org/apprenticeship-standards/specialist-teaching-assistant
This apprenticeship standard has been approved for delivery. However, starts on the apprenticeship will only be possible once a suitable end-point assessment organisation (EPAO) has obtained Ofqual recognition, we hope that this will be completed early in December 2024. Once the EPAO has obtained Ofqual recognition, funding for apprentice starts will be permitted and we will update this page. In the meantime, the list below included providers that have advised us that they intend to offer the Specialist Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship. If colleagues would like their information to be included here, please email staa.trailblazer@gmail.com
- Aspirations Academies Trust (Covering West London, North Oxfordshire area, South Coast – Bournemouth to Portland and in between)
- Barnsley College
- Education and Skills, Training and Development (Covers all over England)
- Educational and Sporting Futures – We deliver across most areas of the country. We are most prominent in: Hertfordshire, London, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, Kent
- Teaching Assistant Apprenticeships | JCL Skills Solutions – We deliver across all areas of the Northwest and North East regions (Liverpool, Cheshire & Warrington, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Newcastle, Sunderland, Durham, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Tees Valley)
- Leicestershire County Council’s Adult Learning Service is a main provider for apprenticeship training. We deliver apprenticeships nationally, but we mainly focus on the East Midlands region.
- Lift Schools – apprenticeships@liftschools.org
- Manor Green School – A large Special needs school and provider of apprenticeships would be delighted to support your school in obtaining a Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship. The team of assessors has over 20 years’ experience in working in a SEN school and we will support you at your workplace. If you are in Bucks or Berkshire, do contact us at: apprenticeships@manorgreenschool.co.uk
- National Society for Education (Church of England and Church in Wales) will be providing the level 5 specialist TA apprenticeship in partnership with Roehampton University
- Northumbria University – contact sophie.cole@northumbria.ac.uk – Education Department Head of Apprenticeships at Northumbria University
- Orange Moon
- Profile Development and Training – Profile is an Independent Training Provider, based in Broadstairs, but working throughout Kent and across the UK.
- Tarka Learning Partnership, Devon
- Walsall College
The launch event was hosted by the Trailblazer group on 24th October 2024. As one attendee noted, it was very beneficial to hear from so many informed, passionate and informed voices. We are pleased to share the recordings from the event via the links below. The TA digest reported on the event and a link to that article can be found here.
Recordings from the Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship Launch Event. 24th October 2024. Please click on the links below to access each recording from the event . The slides are available to download here. In the sections above, under the heading ‘Apprenticeship Standard’, you will find an information leaflet, factsheet and PowerPoint Slide decks that you can use alongside the recordings for your own information and events.
| Presenter | Recorded Link(s) |
| Andy Ogden Andy is passionate about the quality of training for all school staff. Currently, he is the Director for CPD at Tarka Learning Partnership in Devon and one of the CPD Directors for SWIFT, the local Teaching School Hub. He was formerly the Director of Devon Primary SCITT for over ten years and a Headteacher and Primary Advisor for Nottinghamshire Local Authority. He is a NASBTT Trustee. He has co-chaired the Level 5 Specialist Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship over the last two years. | Welcome |
| Dr Di Swift Di’s commitment to locality based professional learning led to her involvement in apprenticeships. She sits on the Level 6 teacher group and co-chairs the Level 5 Trailblazer with Andy. Di has extensive experience in both secondary and primary schools as a teacher, senior leader, and a MAT trustee. Di is chair of The Stoke and Staffordshire Teacher Education Collective and for over 10 years she was Director of Keele and North Staffordshire Teacher Education, a SCITT based in the West Midlands. Di is fellow the Chartered College of Teaching and is an associate lecturer with The Open University | Background |
| Professor Dame Alison Peacock Dame Alison Peacock is Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, a charitable Professional Body that seeks to empower a knowledgeable and respected teaching profession through membership and accreditation. Prior to joining the Chartered College, Dame Alison was Executive Headteacher of The Wroxham School in Hertfordshire. Her career to date has spanned primary, secondary and advisory roles. She is an Honorary Fellow of Queens’ College Cambridge, Hughes Hall Cambridge and UCL, a Visiting Professor of Glyndŵr University and a trustee for Big Change, the Helen Hamlyn Trust and an adviser to the Institute for Educational & Social Equity. Her research is published in a series of books about Learning without Limits offering an alternative approach to inclusive school improvement. | Professionalisation |
| Aimee Durning, MBE Aimee works at the University of Cambridge Primary School, the first University Primary School in the country, which has a principled, research informed approach to education. During 2018, Aimee established the University of Cambridge Primary School’s Teaching Assistant Forum, which provided professional development sessions for Teaching Assistants in the local area. Aimee won Classroom Assistant of the Year 2019 at the annual TES Awards and was awarded an MBE in 2021. Aimee, along with Dr James Biddulph, launched the UK’s first Teaching Assistant Network Hub. | Research Informed Opportunities |
| Judith Robson, MBE I have been involved with Education for over 30 years starting as a TA. The HLTA programme started me on a journey of further learning, and I later became involved in support staff development for the local authority. I then became the programme manager for HLTA at Northumbria University and I also assess and moderate on behalf of the National HLTA partnership HNAP. I have been happy to be part of the trailblazer for this new apprenticeship and feel that it will support teaching assistants to develop much needed expertise and recognition of skills they already possess. | HLTA Links |
| School Support Staff Policy Team Teaching Workforce: Teachers and Tutors Directorate, Schools Group | Policy Connections |
| Kathie Dickson and Joanna Parry As National Officers for UNISON, we advise and deliver training on job evaluation issues and schemes used in local government and education. we work alongside UNISON education colleagues advising on the use of profiles for Teaching Assistant, Additional Special Needs and Early Years roles. | A Union Perspective |
| Jo Pountney Jo’s roots are within teaching with over 15 years’ experience in secondary schools. She is committed to supporting the development of the school workforce through utilisation of apprenticeship funding. Jo was led into the apprenticeship world by the needs of school leavers. Jo was one of the founders of the OFSTED Outstanding Sporting Futures Training established in 2011. She is proud to have supported over 1,000 teaching assistants in her Directorship role. Jo is driven to create and deliver provision that raises aspirations and creates lifechanging opportunities that make an impact in the classroom and beyond. | A Provider Perspective |
| Lorna Wardle and Rachel Webster As colleagues who previously held teaching assistant roles with schools, Lorna and Rachel run and develop academic programmes for and with TAs at Nottingham Trent University. They are excited to be considering how a Foundation Degree may complement and enrich the Level 5 Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship Standard. Lorna and Rachel are both passionate about facilitating access to the scholarship involved in the work of support staff within all phases of education so as to contribute to the professionalisation of these essential roles. | An HEI Perspective |
| Alison Corten As Music Service Lead for Edsential, a Community Interest Company, Alison provides high quality learning opportunities for young musicians at all ages and stages of learning. She leads a team of skilled music tutors covering orchestral, jazz, rock & pop instruments. She is equally dedicated to the training of the workforce for music education. On behalf of many music services, Alison has been part of the trailblazer group to see if this apprenticeship standard would work for training instrumental/vocal tutors. The potential for high quality, funded training through an apprenticeship is a significant step forward | A Music Educator Perspective (Curriculum Specialism) |
| Dr Jan Hetherington Dr Jan Hetherington is Deputy Director of Aspirations Learning Institute (ALI). The Institute is the professional development and training group originally for the employees of Aspirations Academies Trust. ALI has successfully become a main provider for apprenticeships, as well as delivering NPQs PRA,s and other leadership and support staff programmes and qualifications. Jan has been part of the L5 trailblazer group and the L6 CDMA apprenticeship review. | A MAT Perspective |