How much does a teaching assistant get paid?

Being a teaching assistant is a highly challenging, but rewarding career. If you enjoy working with children on a daily basis, then becoming a teaching assistant may be just the right path for you. It’s the perfect opportunity to really make a huge difference to the lives of children in your local area.

The average salary of a teaching assistant

The typical salary for a full-time teaching assistant can range from £13,000 to £21,000 per year. A part-time teaching assistant receives a pro rata payment.

There are no National Pay Scales for teaching assistants, with each Local Education Authority setting the rates. Local authority schools use local Government pay scales to pay their support staff and the rates of pay can often vary, depending on the particular responsibilities.

Teaching assistants in private schools are often employed on a term-time only basis and paid for the weeks they work. Some private schools use the local Government pay scale as the basis for paying support staff. They also increase salaries by the local government pay award each year.

Teaching assistants could be responsible for various tasks, including managing classroom behaviour, helping pupils who may need extra help and support to complete tasks and making a positive contribution to the learning environment.

(Source: ATL)

 

The increasing number of teaching assistants

In November 2012, the number of full-time teaching assistants rose to 232,000, compared to 219,000 in November 2011. There was a 6% rise in teaching assistants between 2012 and 2014. Publicly funded schools are mainly female – 92% of the 232,000 full-time posts have been filled by women. Only 8% of teaching assistants are male.

Higher level teaching assistants

A higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) has increased responsibilities. These include teaching the class alone, assisting with lesson planning, monitoring, recording and reporting on the progress of children, covering the teacher during authorised absences and giving teachers time to plan and mark.

Due to the increased responsibilities, the salary of a HLTA is slightly higher than that of a regular teaching assistant. The pay rates are set by the employer and salaries can also vary from £16,000 to £22,000. In most cases, HLTAs are salaried only in term-time on a pro rata basis.

(Source: TES)

Interested in becoming a teaching assistant?

We have years of experience in training teaching assistants, having helped well over 3,000 to qualify at Level 3.

We offer a wide range of teaching assistant courses. For example, our NCFE Teaching Assistant Level 3 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools focuses on understanding, supporting and helping children to develop in a learning environment.

If you’re aged 19 and over then you may be interested in our 19+ Learner Loans. There’s no credit check and household income isn’t taken into account. What’s more, you won’t have to pay anything back until you’re earning over £21,000 per year.

See a list of our distance learning courses…