Teaching Assistant CV Examples

Format and length

Keep your CV to one page if you're entry-level with limited school experience, two pages if you have three or more years in role. Use reverse-chronological order throughout. No photo, no date of birth, no marital status.

Section order

1. Personal statement (2 to 3 sentences) – your phase, qualification level, and the pupil outcomes you deliver.
2. Contact details – location, mobile, email, LinkedIn.
3. Key skills – 8 to 12 TA-specific competencies (intervention programmes, behaviour management, safeguarding, SEN support).
4. Experience – most recent first, with 3 to 4 achievement bullets per role.
5. Education – qualifications in reverse order, naming the level and awarding body.
6. Achievements – certifications (paediatric first aid, Makaton, Team Teach).
7. Additional information – DBS status, availability (term-time, part-time or full-time), languages, relevant interests.

Tailor to phase and specialism

Primary TAs build relationships across the day and support core subjects broadly. Secondary TAs attach to a department or run targeted intervention groups. SEN TAs deliver EHCP targets and manage complex behaviour. Mirror the phase and specialism in your personal statement, skills list, and bullet selection rather than writing one generic TA CV.

Name your qualification level

Level 2 Award/Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning is a knowledge introduction. Level 3 Certificate requires a school placement. Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support is comprehensive and often SEN-focused. Schools read the level and the awarding body as a shorthand for what you can be trusted to do unsupervised, so write the full title.

Lead with intervention outcomes

Make 1:1 and small-group intervention work the spine of your experience section, not whole-class support. Quantify the intervention: pupils per group, the programme (phonics, daily reading, maths catch-up), the cadence, and the measured outcome. Intervention impact maps directly to pupil progress data, which is what SLT cares about.

No experience? Convert what you have

Tutoring, mentoring, sports coaching, youth groups (Scouts, Guides, faith groups), after-school clubs, and parental childcare all count. Translate each into the classroom verb a school recognises: supervised, supported learning, managed behaviour, built routines. Lead with a skills-forward personal statement and foreground commitment and child experience over qualifications.

The result-plus-metric pattern

Every bullet should pair a TA-specific action with context and, where possible, a measured outcome. The formula: [Action verb] + [what you did] + [for whom] + [result/metric].

Quantify intervention impact

Intervention outcomes are the single strongest TA signal. State the group size, the programme (Read Write Inc, Fresh Start, daily phonics, maths catch-up), the cadence (daily, three times per week), and the result (reading-age gain, attainment-gap closure, GCSE grades, behaviour-incident reduction).

Example: "Delivered daily phonics sessions to a group of 6 Year 1 pupils using Read Write Inc, achieving an average gain of 1.5 reading ages over 12 weeks and raising the phonics screening pass rate by 12 percentage points."

Show SEN competence with specifics

If targeting SEN roles, reference EHCP target delivery, the conditions you've supported (autism, ADHD, dyslexia), de-escalation techniques, and communication tools (Makaton, BSL, visual timetables). Schools treat an SEN TA as a different hire from a general TA, so a CV that names conditions and EHCP work reads as ready to deploy.

Include parental engagement

Most TA CVs omit this. Add bullets on attending parent-teacher meetings, feeding back on a keyworked pupil's progress, and supporting home-school communication for EAL families or pupils with EHCPs. TAs are often the consistent daily adult a parent talks to, so evidence of handling that relationship signals trust and maturity.

Action verbs for TAs

Delivered, supported, managed, supervised, planned, tracked, differentiated, assessed, liaised, mentored, led, ran, built, reduced, raised, closed (attainment gaps), attended, contributed.

Qualifications

List your TA qualifications in reverse order, naming the full title and awarding body. The level matters: Level 2 is a knowledge introduction, Level 3 Certificate requires a school placement, and Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support is comprehensive and often SEN-focused. Schools read the level as a shorthand for what you can be trusted to do unsupervised.

Example:

• Level 3 Diploma in Specialist Support for Teaching and Learning in Schools (SEN and Inclusive Practice) – Manchester Metropolitan College, 2020 to 2021
• GCSEs including English Language (Grade 6) and Mathematics (Grade 5) – Parkside Academy, 2017 to 2022

If you're applying via the Level 3 Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship route, state that you're seeking an apprenticeship position and list your GCSEs (five including English and Maths, or functional-skills support if you're short). The qualification is what you'll earn on the job, so foreground commitment and child experience over credentials.

Certifications that strengthen a TA CV

• Paediatric first aid – required or strongly preferred for most TA roles.
• Makaton Foundation or Level 1 – signals readiness for SEN and communication-needs roles.
• Team Teach or equivalent positive behaviour management – essential for SEN TA positions.
• Safeguarding training – KCSIE, Prevent, FGM awareness (often delivered in-school, but worth listing if completed independently).
• Read Write Inc or Fresh Start phonics training – valuable for primary literacy intervention roles.

Never print certificate numbers or expiry dates on your CV. State the certification name and issuer only.