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How to Write a Teaching Assistant CV That Gets Interviews (UK)

A teaching assistant CV lives or dies on describing TA work as 'helping the teacher' rather than naming the interventions delivered and the pupil progress made. Most teaching assistant applications never reach a human: the ATS filters them on missing keywords, and recruiters bin the rest in seconds. Here's how to tailor a Teaching Assistant CV to the specific job ad in front of you.

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What a Teaching Assistant CV needs to pass the ATS

Applicant Tracking Systems screen teaching assistant CVs on exact-match keywords. Stuffing backfires (the recruiter still has to read it), but missing the obvious terms gets you binned before anyone sees the document. The keywords most teaching assistant job ads scan for in primary and secondary schools, special schools and pupil-referral units:

  • 1:1 support
  • SEND
  • EHCP
  • behaviour support
  • intervention groups
  • safeguarding
  • autism awareness
  • phonics
  • learning support
  • pupil progress

Hand-curated for this role, not auto-generated. Use the exact words from the specific job ad you're applying to, that's what the ATS is scanning for.

What recruiters look for in a Teaching Assistant CV

Past the ATS, a recruiter gets seven seconds with your CV before deciding whether to read further. The top third (the title, professional summary and key competencies) has to answer their screening questions instantly. For a Teaching Assistant, that means:

  • Key Stage and year groups you've supported
  • SEND specialism if you have one (autism, dyslexia, behaviour, hearing impairment)
  • Whether you've delivered interventions vs purely 1:1 support

Before and after: one Teaching Assistant bullet

Weak

Supported pupils with their learning in the classroom and helped the class teacher.

Strong

1:1 Teaching Assistant for a Year 5 pupil with an EHCP for autism, supporting access to the mainstream curriculum across English, Maths and Topic; co-planned and delivered a small-group Read Write Inc Fresh Start intervention to 6 KS2 pupils in 2023 who closed an average of 14 months of reading-age gap.

The weak version is generic TA boilerplate. The strong version names the year group, the pupil's need (EHCP for autism), the curriculum scope, the named intervention (Read Write Inc Fresh Start), the group size and the literacy outcome (14 months of reading-age gain). TA roles vary enormously; recruiters need specifics to place you.

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Tailor your Teaching Assistant CV in 30 seconds

Paste your CV and a teaching assistant job ad. TAILOR scores it against the ATS, the recruiter and the hiring manager, then tells you exactly what to fix.

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Teaching Assistant CV FAQ

Do I need a Level 2 or 3 Teaching Assistant qualification?

Most schools require Level 2 minimum, and Level 3 for senior or 1:1 EHCP roles. If you have it, list it in education. If you're working towards it, say so.

How do I write a CV if I've worked across multiple schools as a supply TA?

Cluster the agency or supply work under one role line with the duration, then list the schools as bullets with the key stage and the duration in each. Don't list 12 individual jobs; recruiters read patterns.

Should I list safeguarding training (DSL aware / Tier 2)?

Yes, every refresh. 'Safeguarding Tier 2 refreshed 2024; Prevent training 2023.' One line, removes a screening question.

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