A Teaching Assistant CV has to answer a simple question for a busy school: what will this person actually do in our classrooms? Saying that you love working with children is a start. Schools also want to know which pupils you have supported, how you helped them and how well you work alongside a teacher.
Before writing this guide we read eight Teaching Assistant job adverts from schools in England, from early years and primary to secondary, special school and agency SEN roles. The Teaching Assistant CV example and advice below are based on what those adverts asked for.
Applying for a qualified teaching post instead? See our Teacher CV example.
Teaching Assistant CV Templates for Word (Free Download)
Both examples are completed, editable Microsoft Word files. Pick the one closest to your experience and replace the sample details with your own.
Primary Teaching Assistant CV
For TAs supporting a primary class with phonics, reading, small groups and everyday routines.
SEN Teaching Assistant CV
For TAs and Learning Support Assistants working 1:1 or in small groups with pupils who have special educational needs.
What Schools Ask For in Teaching Assistant Job Adverts
The eight adverts were listed between December 2025 and October 2026 by schools in Barnet, Bolton, Grimsby, Guisborough, Penzance, Yarm and Accrington, plus one agency post in Burnley. Seven came from the Department for Education’s Teaching Vacancies service. It is a small sample, so treat the numbers as a guide rather than a national picture.
| Requirement | How many adverts mentioned it |
|---|---|
| Enhanced DBS check and safeguarding | 8 of 8 |
| Level 3 Teaching Assistant or Early Years qualification | 5 of 8 (required in 4) |
| Supporting pupils with SEND, including EHCPs or support plans | 5 of 8 |
| Behaviour support | 5 of 8 |
| Recording progress and feeding back to the teacher | 5 of 8 |
| Working 1:1, with small groups and with the whole class | 4 of 8 |
| Delivering interventions | 3 of 8 |
| Early years, play-based learning or early reading | 3 of 8 |
| Working with parents, the SENCo or outside professionals | 3 of 8 |
| GCSE English and maths at grade 4/C | 2 of 8 |
| Break and lunchtime supervision | 2 of 8 |
The most useful finding had nothing to do with skills. Two of the schools said plainly that “CVs will not be accepted” and asked for their own application form, while the agency asked candidates to send a CV. So a CV is not always what you submit. It is still worth writing, because it is the document you copy from when you fill in forms and supporting statements, and agencies will ask for it.
The adverts also cared about flexibility. One described support given “individually, in small groups, or provide whole-class cover”, and several others said much the same in different words. If you have worked in all three ways, make that obvious.
Personal care, first aid and Team Teach hardly appeared on the advert pages. Only one mentioned pupils’ medical, hygiene and welfare needs. Duties like these usually sit in the job description and person specification, so download the job pack before you tailor anything.
What Should a Teaching Assistant CV Show?
Put the adverts together and the picture is fairly clear. A school wants to see the age range you have worked with, whether you supported the whole class, small groups or individual pupils, and what that support involved, such as phonics, reading, maths, behaviour or communication. It wants to know who you worked with, from the class teacher to the SENCo and parents, and that you take safeguarding seriously.
If something improved because of your work, say so. A group that moved back into whole-class phonics, a pupil who settled into routines more quickly or a teacher who relied on your intervention notes all count. That says far more than “patient, caring and passionate about education”.
Teaching Assistant CV Example
This fictional example is written to match the requirements that came up most often in the adverts.
Contact details
Rebecca Hughes
Sheffield, UK
07123 456789
rebecca.hughes@example.com
Professional profile
Teaching Assistant with four years of experience supporting KS1 and KS2 pupils in a two-form-entry primary school. Experienced in delivering phonics and reading interventions, supporting pupils with SEND in class and helping teachers manage routines and behaviour. Holds a Level 3 Diploma in Supporting Teaching and Learning and current safeguarding and paediatric first aid training.
Key skills
- Phonics and early reading support
- Small-group and 1:1 interventions
- SEND support and adapted resources
- Behaviour support and classroom routines
- Recording progress and feedback to teachers
- Safeguarding awareness and reporting procedures
- Paediatric first aid
Work experience
Teaching Assistant
Hillcrest Primary School, Sheffield
September 2022 – Present
- Support a Year 2 class of 30 pupils individually, in small groups and during whole-class teaching, working under the direction of the class teacher.
- Deliver daily phonics catch-up sessions to groups of four to six pupils using the school’s systematic synthetic phonics programme.
- Provide in-class support for three pupils with SEND, using visual timetables, adapted worksheets and strategies agreed in their support plans.
- Record notes after each intervention session and give weekly feedback to the class teacher ahead of pupil progress meetings.
- Support positive behaviour using the school’s restorative approach in class, at transitions and during break and lunchtime supervision.
- Follow school safeguarding procedures and report concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead.
Nursery Assistant
Little Oaks Day Nursery, Sheffield
June 2020 – August 2022
- Supported children aged three to four with play-based learning, early language and personal care.
- Added observations to children’s learning journals in line with the EYFS framework.
- Gave parents and carers short daily updates at collection time.
Education and training
Level 3 Diploma in Supporting Teaching and Learning
Sheffield College | 2023
GCSEs
Including English and Mathematics
Training: Safeguarding and child protection (refreshed annually) • Paediatric First Aid • Phonics programme training
Teaching Assistant CV Profile Examples
Keep the profile short. It should tell the school which age group you know, what kind of support you give and which qualification you hold, if any.
Experienced primary Teaching Assistant
Teaching Assistant with five years of experience across KS1 and KS2. Experienced in delivering reading, phonics and maths interventions, supporting pupils with SEND in class and adapting resources with the class teacher. Confident running small groups and keeping routines calm and consistent.
SEN Teaching Assistant
SEN Teaching Assistant with three years of experience providing 1:1 and small-group support for pupils with autism, speech and language needs and social, emotional and mental health needs. Experienced in working towards EHCP outcomes, using visual supports and sharing progress with the SENCo and parents.
First Teaching Assistant role
Reliable candidate looking for a first Teaching Assistant role, with experience supporting children as a volunteer reading helper at a local primary school and a coach at a Saturday football club. Comfortable working with children and adults and keen to build classroom support skills.
Teaching Assistant Skills for a CV
Most TA skills sections read like a list of personality traits. Try replacing each one with the classroom task behind it.
| Generic wording | More useful wording |
|---|---|
| Good with children | Supporting small groups and individual pupils during lessons |
| Patient | Breaking tasks into steps for pupils who need extra support |
| Communication | Feeding back to the class teacher and updating parents where appropriate |
| Organised | Preparing resources and running timetabled intervention sessions |
| Behaviour management | Following the behaviour policy and agreed de-escalation strategies |
How to Describe Classroom Support
The usual problem is that the CV describes the job, not the person doing it. Compare these two versions:
Weak: Supported the teacher in the classroom.
Stronger: Supported a Year 4 class in English and maths, working with a group of six pupils who needed help with written tasks and reporting their progress to the class teacher.
The second one is still simple. It just tells the school who you supported, when, and what happened next.
Interventions
Interventions show that you can work with pupils without the teacher beside you, which is why schools look for them. Say what the focus was, how many pupils were in the group and how often you met. If the school used a named programme, include it.
Be careful with results. If the school tracked progress and you know the outcome, add it. If you do not, describe the work and leave the numbers out. An invented percentage is easy to spot at interview.
SEND Experience Needs Detail
“Supported SEND pupils” appears on a great many TA CVs and tells the reader very little. Explain the kind of support you gave instead, without naming children or sharing anything that could identify them.
Too vague: Worked with SEND pupils.
More useful: Provided 1:1 support for a Year 5 pupil with an EHCP, using a visual timetable, now-and-next boards and planned movement breaks agreed with the SENCo.
Safeguarding and DBS
Every advert we read required an enhanced DBS check, so mentioning safeguarding will not make your CV stand out on its own. What helps is showing that you know what to do: name your current safeguarding training and when you last refreshed it, and say that you report concerns to the Designated Safeguarding Lead. Add paediatric first aid, Prevent or positive handling training only if you genuinely hold it.
You do not need to put your DBS certificate number on the CV. The school will carry out its own checks.
Teaching Assistant Qualifications
In our sample, five adverts asked for a Level 3 qualification, two asked for GCSE English and maths, and three did not mention a qualification on the advert page. One special school accepted equivalent experience instead. Qualifications worth listing include:
- Level 2 or Level 3 Certificate or Diploma in Supporting Teaching and Learning
- Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) status
- GCSE English and maths
- childcare, early years or relevant degree qualifications
- short courses such as phonics programme training, Makaton or paediatric first aid
If you are still studying, write “in progress” with the expected completion date.
Teaching Assistant CV With No Experience
Plenty of TAs start without any previous school job. Parents, nursery staff, sports coaches, youth workers, carers and graduates often have more relevant evidence than they think. Look for times when you supported children with learning or routines, volunteered in a school, worked with people who needed extra patience, or followed rules on safety and confidentiality.
Label volunteering as volunteering, and explain what you did. If your work history is short, our no experience CV template for Word shows how to build a CV around other evidence.
Teaching Assistant, Learning Support Assistant, HLTA or Cover Supervisor?
Schools use these titles in different ways, so go by the responsibilities in the advert rather than the title.
| Role | Likely CV emphasis |
|---|---|
| Teaching Assistant | Classroom support, small groups, interventions, resources and routines |
| SEN Teaching Assistant | 1:1 support, EHCP outcomes, adapted resources and work with the SENCo |
| Learning Support Assistant | Support for individual pupils or groups, often with additional needs |
| Higher Level Teaching Assistant | Leading groups, covering classes within agreed limits and planning support |
| Cover Supervisor | Supervising classes when the teacher is absent, behaviour and set work |
Always use your real job title. You can still mirror the wording of the advert elsewhere in the CV where it honestly describes what you did.
Primary and Secondary Teaching Assistant CVs
A primary TA CV usually centres on early reading, phonics, number and supporting one class through the day. The secondary advert we read was different: it asked for the “ability to develop and adapt curriculum resources to scaffold learning tasks” and to report assessment data, and it wanted someone who could build relationships with older pupils. If you apply to both phases, reorder your bullet points for each one.
How to Tailor Your CV to a Teaching Assistant Vacancy
Take the requirements from the advert and person specification and check that each one is answered somewhere in your CV with real evidence. Here are three lines from the adverts we read, with one way a CV could answer them:
| Line from the advert | How a CV could answer it |
|---|---|
| “Support pupils individually, in small groups, or provide whole-class cover.” (primary, Grimsby) | Supported a Year 2 class individually, in small groups and during whole-class teaching, adapting support to the lesson and to pupils’ needs. |
| “Ability to assess pupil achievement and report quantitative and qualitative assessment data.” (secondary, Accrington) | Recorded scores and observations from weekly reading interventions for KS3 pupils and shared progress summaries with the English department. |
| “Provide dedicated 1:1 support to a pupil with Special Educational Needs in line with their EHCP.” (agency SEN post, Burnley) | Provided 1:1 support for a Year 5 pupil with an EHCP, working towards communication and independence outcomes agreed with the SENCo. |
Use your own experience on the right. Where you cannot meet a requirement honestly, leave it and put more weight on the ones you can. Before you start, check the key stage, whether the role is mostly 1:1 or class-based, any named needs or programmes, extra duties hidden in the job pack, and whether the school wants a CV at all.
Format, Length and File Type
A reverse-chronological layout suits most applicants: contact details, a short profile, key skills, work and volunteering experience, then education and training. One page is usually enough for a first TA job. Two pages are fine if you have several school roles and relevant training.
If Word pushes a few lines onto a new page, see why a CV moves to a second page in Word. Send the file type the school or agency asks for; Word is easier to edit, and PDF keeps the layout fixed. Changing one of our templates? Read how to edit a CV template in Microsoft Word without breaking the layout.
Common Teaching Assistant CV Mistakes
- Personal qualities with no evidence. “Patient” and “caring” need an example from your work with children.
- No age range. Schools want to know if you have worked in EYFS, KS1, KS2 or secondary.
- “Supported SEND pupils” and nothing else. Describe the support and the strategies.
- Details that identify a child. Never include names or private information about pupils.
- Made-up progress figures. Only include results the school actually measured.
- One CV for every school. A primary class role and a secondary SEN role need different emphasis.
Teaching Assistant CV Checklist
- Does your profile state the age range and the type of support you give?
- Is it clear whether you have worked 1:1, with small groups or with the whole class?
- Are interventions described with a focus, group size and frequency?
- Is your SEND experience described without identifying pupils?
- Have you listed current safeguarding and first aid training?
- Have you checked the job pack and whether the school accepts CVs?
- Are dates, contact details and spelling correct?
Teaching Assistant CV FAQs
What should I put on a Teaching Assistant CV?
A short profile, relevant skills, school and childcare experience, qualifications and training. Focus on the pupils you supported, the kind of support you gave, interventions, SEND experience and safeguarding.
Do schools accept CVs for Teaching Assistant jobs?
Some do, but many use their own application form. Two of the eight adverts we read said CVs would not be accepted, while the agency role asked for one. Follow the instructions in each vacancy and use your CV as the source for the form.
Do I need a qualification to become a Teaching Assistant?
Not always. Most of the adverts we read asked for a Level 3 qualification, but some did not mention one and a special school accepted equivalent experience. Some schools also ask for GCSE English and maths, so check the person specification.
Can I become a Teaching Assistant with no experience?
Yes. Volunteering in schools, childcare, sports coaching, youth work and parenting can all give you relevant evidence. Describe it honestly and link it to what the school is asking for.
Should I include my DBS check on my CV?
You can say that you hold an enhanced DBS check or are on the DBS Update Service, but leave out the certificate number. Schools carry out their own checks before you start.
Can I download a Teaching Assistant CV template in Word?
Yes. This page has two free DOCX examples: a Primary Teaching Assistant CV and an SEN Teaching Assistant CV. Both open and edit in Microsoft Word.
How we researched this guide
We read eight Teaching Assistant job adverts from schools and one education agency in England, listed between December 2025 and October 2026, and counted how often each requirement appeared on the advert page. We did not include details that only appeared in downloadable job packs. Last checked: October 2026.
Related CV examples: Teacher CV · Nurse CV · Career Change CV · Student CV
Create Your Teaching Assistant CV in Microsoft Word
Start with a clear Word layout, show who you supported and how, and adjust the details for each school you apply to.