Apprentice Teaching Assistant Level 3

Summary

We are seeking to appoint Teaching Assistants at our fantastic special school. You will be required to work with a range of pupils whom have severe and profound learning difficulties. A large number of our pupils have challenging behaviours and are within the Autistic Spectrum.

Wage

£19,043 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

Bristol City pays apprentices a living wage. Those under 18 earn £8.72 per hour, while those 18 and over earn £10.90 per hour. The Living Wage is £12.60 per hour for 2025/26. Apprentices under 18 are paid no less than 80% of the Real Living Wage.

Training course

Teaching assistant (level 3)

Hours

Exact hours to be agreed, but you will attend college one day a week.

30 hours a week

Start date

Monday 1 September 2025

Duration

1 year 6 months

Positions available

3

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You’ll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

Under the guidance of the teaching staff, provide direct support for the learning of individual children or groups of children, to achieve defined progress and targets by:

Following planning to support activities
Report behaviour observations to a teacher in order for them to maintain the school’s standard of discipline and behaviour
Facilitating children’s general physical, emotional and educational development through activities and play
Supervising and encouraging safe behaviour of individuals and groups
Reinforcement of structured learning habits and routines which have been defined by the teacher and support access to the curriculum as set by the line manager
Under the guidance of the teaching staff, prepare, store, retrieve, sort and display materials, finished work, equipment, topic work plans and/or assignment documents to assist in providing an effective learning environment as determined by the teacher to;
Facilitate the required standards of achievement and performance, including feedback for individuals and groups within the classroom
Support the development of continuous improvement in both personal performance in the job and the work of the team
Assist in the monitoring, reviewing and progression of children’s learning
Gather resources, make resources and return them as set out by the class teacher
Attend to the day to day needs of children, inside and outside the classroom
Provision of personal, social, hygiene, welfare and behaviour support
Awareness of the progress of individual children in attaining defined goals
Promoting effective pastoral care for individual children, under guidance, and liaising with colleagues to provide accurate records
Reporting concerns about progress, to the teacher
Assisting educational and therapeutic professionals in their delivery of specialist support programmes
Carrying out specified medical care procedures following direct specific training by a qualified practitioner
Contributing to the assessment by the teacher of individual children’s development through observation, record keeping, discussion with colleagues and teachers
To deliver food in the consistency and way suitable for each pupil according to personal meal plans
To carry out personal care routines with/for pupils across the site (including manual handling).
So far as reasonably practicable, the postholder must promote safe working practices by employees, and in premises/work areas for which the postholder is responsible, to maintain a safe working environment for employees and service users. These are defined in the Corporate Health, Safety and Welfare policy, departmental policies and codes of practice
These roles are based at our three various locations

Where you'll work

Briarwood Special School
Briar Way,
Bristol
BS16 4EA

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You’ll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

College or training organisation

SOUTH GLOUCESTERSHIRE AND STROUD COLLEGE

Your training course

Teaching assistant (level 3)

Understanding apprenticeship levels (opens in new tab)

What you'll learn

Course contents

Apply strategies to support and encourage the development of independent learners.
Adapt communication strategies for the audience and context.
Apply behaviour management strategies in line with organisational policy.
Adapt resources to support all learners.
Communicate with teachers to ensure clarity of the TA’s role.
Apply teaching strategies to deliver learning activities or interventions.
Build relationships with learners, teachers, other professionals and stakeholders.
Comply with legislation, guidance, and procedures for Prevent, safeguarding and health & safety.
Support the well-being and mental health of learners.
Observe, record, and report on learners in line with organisational procedures.
Apply methods of formative assessment.
Use up to date technology safely, to support learning.
Encourage safe use of technology by learners.
Adapt teaching strategies to support all learners (for example, scaffolding, open questioning).
Identify and respond to pastoral and academic behaviours in learners.
Provide feedback to learners.
Apply strategies to support and encourage the development of independent learners.
Adapt communication strategies for the audience and context.
Apply behaviour management strategies in line with organisational policy.
Adapt resources to support all learners.
Communicate with teachers to ensure clarity of the TA’s role.
Apply teaching strategies to deliver learning activities or interventions.
Build relationships with learners, teachers, other professionals and stakeholders.
Comply with legislation, guidance, and procedures for Prevent, safeguarding and health & safety.
Support the well-being and mental health of learners.
Observe, record, and report on learners in line with organisational procedures.
Apply methods of formative assessment.
Use up to date technology safely, to support learning.
Encourage safe use of technology by learners.
Adapt teaching strategies to support all learners (for example, scaffolding, open questioning).
Identify and respond to pastoral and academic behaviours in learners.
Provide feedback to learners.

Your training plan

The school will provide a planned induction within a large, strong and supportive LSA and teaching team. Under the guidance of the teaching staff, you will provide direct support for the learning of individual children or groups of children to achieve defined, progression targets.

Throughout the course, you will be engaged in various activities to build your portfolio and enhance your skills in the workplace.

You will be required to attend college workshops and complete a range of activities, weekly at the Filton Campus of SGS College. These tasks and assignments will contribute towards your portfolio of evidence.You will also undertake some self-directed study to further your understanding. There will be observations in the school by both
the school mentor and the college tutor.

More training information

SGS College will support apprentices in building their portfolio to cover the knowledge, skills and behaviours of the apprenticeship standard. On programme learning will be followed by the final End Point Assessment, which includes a practical observation with question and answer, portfolio of evidence submission and a Profession Discussion. Full time apprentices will spend typically 18 months on-programme working towards the apprenticeship standard, with a minimum of 20% off-the-job training.

Each apprentice will be assigned a dedicated tutor who will support them in completing their Portfolio and preparing for the End Point Assessment. The Employer, Training Provider (tutor) and the learner will decide when the learner is ready to enter the Apprenticeship Gateway. The tutor will help prepare the learner to ensure they are confident to complete all components.

The tutor will schedule regular 1:1s and complete progress reviews with the apprentice and their Line Manager/Employer at 8 – 12-week intervals.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE in:

English (grade 4 and above)
Maths (grade 4 and above)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Problem solving skills
Team working
Creative
Initiative
Non judgemental
Patience
Empathy
Listening

Other requirements

Skills you will also need: • Skills of empathy, listening, communication and responding with appropriate language to build rapport with children from a variety of ages, abilities and backgrounds. • Aptitude to develop a knowledge of the role within an education environment. • Ability to demonstrate effective working with individual pupils and small groups under the direction and supervision of a qualified teacher. • An awareness of child protection and safeguarding • The ability to converse at ease with members of the public and provide advice and information in accurate spoken English is essential for the post. • Have a positive approach to education • Energy, enthusiasm and perseverance • Reliability and integrity • Ability to work independently and be a team player • Suitable to work with children • You will need to pass an enhanced background check (DBS). https://www.gov.uk/criminal-record-checks-apply-role

About this company

Briarwood is a Bristol School committed to providing high quality education, care and life experiences for children and young people aged 3-19 with Severe and Profound Learning Difficulties, Complex Needs, Autism and Sensory Impairment. The school is based on 3 sites across East-Central Bristol and is made up of Briarwood Infants, Juniors, Secondary, Sixth Form and The Nexus (a specialist centre for pupils with Behaviours that challenge). The values of Briarwood are that all pupils should Enjoy their time with us, so that they can Engage and Learn to their full potential.

https://www.briarwoodschool.org.uk/ (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

As well as ensuring full competency as a Teaching Assistant, this standard provides a foundation for potential progression into a number of career paths in the Educational sector including Higher Level Teaching Assistant, Assistant Teacher and Teacher.

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