Sameer’s Story

Summary

• Partner: Ravenshall
• Course: Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship
• Qualification: Level 3 – Distinction
• HOT Values: We care, We are committed

As a work-based training provider in the Education sector, our Learning and Apprenticeships team collaborate with a range of schools and education settings to deliver Teaching Assistant apprenticeships. For over four years, the team has been working with local SEND school, Ravenshall, in Kirklees to support apprentices with nationally recognised Teaching Assistant qualifications. Sameer recently passed his Level 3 with distinction…

Taking a new career path

Sameer joined Ravenshall as an apprentice as he wanted a change in career. With a degree in ICT, he previously worked as a supervisor at a contact centre, which he couldn’t see being a long-term career path.  

Sameer has always had a passion for teaching and supporting individuals and this is demonstrated in his role as a Trustee at his local community centre, where he has volunteered for over 10 years. Through encouraging and engaging with young people and adults to make use of the facilities instead of being on the streets, as well as running homework and social clubs and other events at the centre, he realised a more suitable career for him would be working with young people.

Considering an apprenticeship

After discussing his desires to follow a different career path with his family and friends, Sameer was encouraged to seek apprenticeship opportunities at local schools. When he learned more about Teaching Assistant apprenticeships, he saw many benefits in the apprenticeship route; he knew he would gain valuable experience from his peers working at the school, he was also encouraged with the many progression paths available, as well as benefiting from other transferrable work-based skills such as teamwork, problem solving and understanding the overall workplace culture.

Sameer comments: “I strongly believe the apprenticeship scheme isn’t just for young people leaving schools or in college, some people have this confusion that it’s for 16-18-year olds.”

Working at Ravenshall

Having some knowledge and experience of working with young people, Sameer wanted to build on this through his apprenticeship, which he hopes will help him to progress into a teaching role. Furthermore, as Ravenhall is a special needs school, Sameer also gained further understanding of the unique areas of work staff get involved with and their approach to supporting students. One of these is communicating in a more accessible way.

Many of the children and young adults at the school use Makaton signs as their main method of communication, which was challenging for Sameer at first as he couldn’t understand what pupils were saying to him.

Sameer adds: “I started an after-school Makaton course, learning the different signs and symbols. I went on to complete and level 1 and level 2, which put me in an excellent position and now I don’t have any issues communicating or understanding the kids.”

As a work-based learning programme, the apprenticeship scheme has helped Sameer better understand the nuances of his workplace and access further training to support his role and future career development. This is another advantage of apprenticeships, as learners like Sameer are able to mould their learning and skills around the children and young people they teach.

Completion and Progression

Despite some challenges, including the pandemic and health issues among his close family, Sameer remained focussed on his apprenticeship and qualified with distinction.  

Sameer comments: “The level 3 apprenticeship in Teaching & Supporting in class was an excellent course for me to start off a career in the education field. The course covered all the key areas to make me a competent and effective ETA.

“I Successfully completed the course with a Distinction which helped me secure a permanent role at the school I was working at. I have now progressed on to become a Cover Supervisor and the knowledge gained from the course is still so valuable.”

Feedback from Sameer’s tutor: “Sameer confidently took part in the programme and achieved distinction in all the areas of the End Point Assessment. He demonstrated work above the required level in the areas of his knowledge of development theory and how this is used for the development of the pupils he is working with in a staged approach to their cognitive and social growth.

“We couldn’t be prouder from the achieved result and most importantly, as training provider, we continue to work with the school and support more Level 3 teaching assistants in becoming fully qualified.”

From tech to teaching, Sameer has been able to unlock his potential in the education sector, thanks to Halifax Opportunities Trust and the work-based apprenticeships we offer.