Overview
If you’re after an interesting career with a great work-life balance that promises plenty of opportunity for progression, then training to become a teaching assistant could be the right choice for you – and it’s easier than you’d think! This Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning (STL) is a competency-based course that lets you study as you gain practical experience, and at the end of it, you’ll be fully qualified to apply for jobs as a teaching assistant.
On this recognised course, you’ll delve into the health and safety legislation that impacts learning environments, child protection, and the safeguarding of children in an Ofsted-regulated environment. You’ll gain a comprehensive understanding of child development and examine developmental and psychoanalytical theories. Finally, you’ll discover how to offer the very best support to children as they learn and grow, including how to support development with exploratory and imaginative play.
What you'll learn
In the opening unit, you’ll take a look at the structure of education in the UK from early years to post-16. You’ll learn about the roles and responsibilities of the other members of staff you’ll likely find yourself working alongside, and the legislation affecting schools such as Equality Act and the Education Act.
In the second unit, you’ll learn what the school you work at should be doing in order to create a safe environment for you and other staff to work in, as well as what will be expected of you in order to keep children safe and well at school. You’ll become familiar with some important legislation, and issues you’ll need to consider when planning learning activities.
Next, you’ll discover how to spot signs of harm and abuse, bearing in mind that these might not always be obvious. You’ll find out what to do if you suspect abuse is taking place, and also learn how to deal with bullying within peer groups. Moving on, you’ll take a look at how to help your students stay safe online, and how to support their mental health and resilience.
In unit four, you’ll identify the knowledge and competence needed to effectively communicate and develop professional relationships with children, young people and adults.
Unit five will focus on developmental theories which help explain how children learn, and the way they behave. You’ll examine psychoanalytic theories suggested by Freud, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, the operant conditioning model outlined by B.F Skinner, John Watson’s behaviourism model, and more. You’ll also take a look at child development from birth, right through to the teenage years. You’ll learn what’s typical in terms of physical, cognitive, social, and emotional development, learning about the issues that children may face along the way.
In unit six, you’ll develop the skills to support positive behaviour in children and young people. You’ll look at policies and procedures, and learn how to promote positive behaviour as well as manage the challenging behaviour of learners.
In this unit, you’ll learn to recognise the skills needed to support all learning activities, including planning, preparation, delivery, assessment and the review cycle.
In the eighth unit, you’ll gain the ability to provide English and maths support across teaching and learning. You’ll learn a range of strategies that develop a learner’s confidence to read, write, communicate and solve mathematical problems.
Unit nine will develop your capacity to offer ICT support across all teaching and learning environments. You’ll become familiar with policies and procedures, resource preparation, as well as the skills needed to promote learning and support learners to review their achievements.
Moving on, you’ll gain the knowledge needed to support assessment learning. You’ll gain awareness for assessment strategies to promote learning, and support learners to review their strategies and achievements. You’ll also recognise the importance of working with teachers to review assessments for processes and outcomes.
This unit is vital to people working with children or young people in a range of learning environments. You’ll consider your own personal development, reflective practice and performance evaluation, which will be fundamental to your career going forward.
Extra info
Awarding Body
CACHE stands for the Council for Awards in Care, Health and Education, and are the leading specialist Awarding Organisation for the Care and Education Sector.
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Course Outcome
At the end of this course, successful learners will receive the following qualification: NCFE CACHE Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Teaching & Learning. This means that it is independently accredited at a level of learning equivalent to Level 3 on the National Qualifications Framework (NQF) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
NCFE CACHE has been developing courses in the childcare, education and healthcare sectors since 1945 and is one of the most reputable awarding bodies for qualifications in the UK and overseas. Practitioners working in these areas are much more employable having gained NCFE CACHE certification and many employers specifically ask for their qualifications when taking on members of staff.
How is this course assessed or examined?
During your course, you will compile a portfolio of evidence which demonstrates your learning against various assessment criteria. Some portfolio evidence will need to be witnessed by a suitably competent person in the workplace. As a student, you’ll need to be employed in a school or arrange and complete a work experience placement in Key Stage 1 or above.
Observation:
You’ll need to be observed in a suitable workplace (employed or voluntary) whilst carrying out relevant tasks for 100 hours in total. This observation can be completed by a qualified teacher, assessor, or a higher level of management.
If you arrange your own observer, they will need to be suitably qualified and evidence of this will be required. If needed, your tutor can provide information, support and training for your chosen observer to fully understand the requirements of observation. Find out what is required of an assessor. If you are unable to find a suitable observer, we can send one of our tutors to observe you for an additional fee, just let us know.
Entry requirements
As part of this course, you’ll need to complete 100 hours of placement in a school working with pupils in Key Stage 1 and upwards – not in nursery or reception. There is a minimum study age of 16.
