Tell us a little about yourself
I'm currently studying BSc Psychology and recently completed a placement year where I worked as a teaching assistant at a large secondary school. The placement ran from September to July and gave me the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working with children and young people alongside my studies.
I am continuing to work at the school for one day a week while I complete my final year at university.
What first attracted you to working in a school?
When I started university, I wasn't completely sure which area of psychology I wanted to go into. It's a broad degree and I was interested in a few different pathways, including sports psychology and educational psychology.
As I started looking at placement opportunities, working within education felt like a great way to gain relevant experience and understand more about working with children and young people.
What was your experience as a Teaching Assistant like?
I definitely felt like I was thrown in at the deep end! On my first day I went straight into working with pupils and was learning as I went along. Looking back, that helped me hit the ground running and develop confidence quickly. The staff were really supportive and there was always help available if I needed it.
My role included supporting pupils in lessons, working one-to-one with students and running interventions. One of my favourite interventions was an alternative PE group for SEN pupils who found mainstream PE challenging because of sensory needs, competitiveness or being in larger groups.
What did you enjoy most about the role?
The biggest reward was knowing that I was making a genuine difference. I could actually see the impact of the support that I was providing. Whether it was helping a pupil manage anxiety, engage more in lessons, improve their attendance or simply enjoy school more, you could see those small changes happening over time.
Seeing pupils become happier and more able to access education was probably the most enjoyable and rewarding part of the role for me.
What did you learn from the experience?
One of the biggest things I learned was how differently children and young people communicate. I quickly realised that not every pupil is able to tell you what's wrong or explain exactly what support they need.
Through working with staff and speaking to the SENCO and Educational Psychologists, I learned about different ways of helping pupils communicate, including visual prompts, whiteboards and emotion cards. It really opened my eyes to the importance of adapting your approach to the individual child.
I also developed professional skills that I know will help me in the future. Working with adults in a professional environment, attending meetings and contributing to discussions about pupils gave me valuable experience and confidence.
What surprised you most about working in education?
I was surprised by how much happens behind the scenes. As a student, you go to school each day, attend lessons and then go home. You don't see all the meetings, interventions, training and preparation that take place to support pupils.
Working in a school gave me a much greater appreciation of the amount of work that goes into supporting children and young people and helping them succeed.
How has the experience influenced your future plans?
The placement confirmed that becoming an Educational Psychologist is definitely a future goal. The placement experience gave me the opportunity to work with children and young people with a diverse range of needs.
My dissertation focuses on the alternative PE group I helped to run during my placement year. Having first-hand experience has added depth to both my research and my understanding of the impact inclusive approaches can have on pupils.
I've also been invited by the university to become a placement representative, speaking to other students about the benefits of completing a placement year in education.
What would you say to someone considering a Teaching Assistant role or placement in a school?
I would definitely recommend it. It's hard work and can be tiring, especially when you're balancing it with university life, but the experience is invaluable.
For psychology students in particular, it can offer you practical experience and help you to develop skills that you can't learn in a lecture theatre. Most importantly, it gives you the opportunity to make a real difference to children's lives.
Being able to see pupils become happier and more able to access education was probably the biggest reward for me.