Tutor to secondary school teaching assistant
A tutor already meets 48% of what the secondary school teaching assistant role asks for. The move turns on 9 required skills not yet in the profile.
55.1/ 100
1 How much of what a secondary school teaching assistant is expected to do is already part of a tutor’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the secondary school teaching assistant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A secondary school teaching assistant role treats 10 of its required skills as things a tutor already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- adapt teaching to student's capabilities
- apply teaching strategies
- assess the development of youth
- assist students in their learning
- encourage students to acknowledge their achievements
- give constructive feedback
What stands in the way is 9 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 21 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A secondary school teaching assistant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a tutor background worth leading with.
- already held provide teacher support communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held identify learning disorders information skills
- already held consult student's support system communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held maintain relations with children's parents communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held perform playground surveillance assisting and caring
- already held encourage students to acknowledge their achievements management skills
All 21 carried skills, including the 10 the secondary school teaching assistant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 26 missing skills fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn teach secondary education class content required
- still to learn compile course material required
- still to learn manage student relationships required
- still to learn provide lesson materials required
- still to learn support the positiveness of youths required
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held consult students on learning content optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- still to learn maintain students' discipline required
- still to learn monitor student's behaviour required
- optional, not held perform classroom management optional
- optional, not held recognise indicators of gifted student optional
- still to learn handle children's problems required
- still to learn support children's wellbeing required
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held disability types optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held instructional strategies optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held keep records of attendance optional
- optional, not held monitor educational developments optional
3 further areas in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a secondary school teaching assistant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 teach secondary education class content practise this
- 02 compile course material practise this
- 03 handle children's problems practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 21 skills that carry over
- already held adapt teaching to student's capabilities skill
- already held apply teaching strategies skill
- already held assess the development of youth skill
- already held assist students in their learning skill
- already held encourage students to acknowledge their achievements skill
- already held give constructive feedback skill
- already held guarantee students' safety skill
- already held perform playground surveillance skill
- already held provide teacher support skill
- already held secondary school procedures knowledge
- already held assess students skill
- already held assist in the organisation of school events skill
- already held assist students with equipment skill
- already held consult student's support system skill
- already held curriculum objectives knowledge
- already held escort students on a field trip skill
- already held identify learning disorders skill
- already held learning difficulties knowledge
- already held liaise with educational staff skill
- already held maintain relations with children's parents skill
- already held prepare lesson content skill
The 3 learning areas not shown above
- optional, not held teamwork principles optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
17 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held instructional strategies optional
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held advise on lesson plans optional
- optional, not held arrange parent teacher meeting optional
- optional, not held consult students on learning content optional
- optional, not held disability types optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held keep records of attendance optional
- optional, not held monitor educational developments optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held perform classroom management optional
- optional, not held prepare youths for adulthood optional
- optional, not held promote the safeguarding of young people optional
- optional, not held recognise indicators of gifted student optional
- optional, not held teamwork principles optional
- optional, not held work with virtual learning environments optional
15 held skills the secondary school teaching assistant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role adult education knowledge
- not needed by the target role apply pre-teaching methods skill
- not needed by the target role assessment processes knowledge
- not needed by the target role assist children with homework skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with youth skill
- not needed by the target role coordinate educational programmes skill
- not needed by the target role demonstrate when teaching skill
- not needed by the target role identify clients' needs skill
- not needed by the target role keep personal administration skill
- not needed by the target role manage a small-to-medium business skill
- not needed by the target role oversee extra-curricular activities skill
- not needed by the target role perform services in a flexible manner skill
- not needed by the target role show consideration for student's situation skill
- not needed by the target role tutor students skill
- not needed by the target role use food preparation techniques skill
7 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held instructional strategies optional
- optional, not held social development optional
- optional, not held adolescent socialisation behaviour optional
- optional, not held disability types optional
- optional, not held first aid optional
- optional, not held pedagogy optional
- optional, not held teamwork principles optional
Common questions about this move
Can a tutor become a secondary school teaching assistant?
Yes, and it is a substantial move. A tutor already covers 48% of what a secondary school teaching assistant is expected to do: 21 skills carry over, 10 of which the secondary school teaching assistant role treats as required.
What skills does a tutor need to become a secondary school teaching assistant?
9 required skills are missing, plus 17 optional ones. They fall into 9 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is teach secondary education class content.
How hard is the move from tutor to secondary school teaching assistant?
Its learning distance is 55.1 out of 100, which is the substantial band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.