SWAP student secures full-time TA role

Finding the SWAP Teaching Assistant Course

I went to the job centre to enquire about working in a school setting and they told me about the SWAP Teaching Assistant Courses with Cidori at Chesterfield College.

The course was an intensive 5-week long course. This was purely lessons and then you had to use your own time around the course to study. I knew a few bits heading into the course from having my own children but the course gave me a lot more insight and taught me about important subjects around safeguarding that I wasn’t familiar with before.

It was great to be able to share life experiences and knowledge with the group as we were all from different backgrounds. We had a WhatsApp group and the lady that organised it had done a bit of work in a school setting which was helpful for those that had questions. No question was too silly, every tutor was happy to help.

During the 5 weeks, we purely focussed on our studies as the course was intense. There was so much to get through but it was full-time so you could purely focus on it. I’m so glad I did the course, it was enjoyable and the hard work was worth it.

Volunteering helped me secure a role

I finished the course just before Christmas. I was set up with a teaching agency and got my DBS checked with Cidori. Then started looking for job opportunities. I have looked at a few positions from permanent to part-time. The first thing I did was volunteer work for a few weeks, I did a forest school, sports lessons, and lessons with SEND learners. This helped me decide what sort of setting suits me. The schools I have looked around seem big on self-development and making sure there are areas for you to progress if you want to go into a teaching role, which is a big positive.

After volunteering, I got contacted by the agency for a 1 day a week TA role in a SEND school. I used everything I learnt in the course to help me interact with the learners. I got invited back the next day and then was told that they wanted me until the Easter holidays. I couldn’t believe it.

I feel blessed to have found the course

I wouldn’t be where I am now if it wasn’t for the SWAP. I was looking for TA roles and kept being told it would be a few years before anything came to fruition. I feel blessed to have found the course. It’s been amazing, I couldn’t recommend it more.