7 Teaching Assistant CV Examples for Every School Setting (2026)

The number of teaching assistants in England has grown from 221,500 to 295,183 full-time-equivalent staff since 2011/12, a 33% rise, according to the Department for Education’s School Workforce Census. Most of that growth sits in nursery and primary schools, where 63% of TAs now work, against 18% in secondary and 18% in special schools and pupil referral units. With that many schools hiring, the CVs that stand out aren’t the ones that say the most — they’re the ones that name the right setting, the right age group, and the right qualification in the first few lines.

How a Teaching Assistant CV Differs From a US Resume

If you’ve only ever seen American resume advice, a few conventions will look unfamiliar. A UK (and most international) teaching assistant CV typically runs to two pages rather than one. It opens with a personal statement rather than a US-style “objective,” and states your Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check status explicitly — something a US resume never mentions. None of that makes it more formal than a resume; it’s the same friendly, direct tone, just organised around what a UK or international school’s recruitment pack actually asks for.

Three conventions worth getting right before you touch the gallery below:

• Setting and age range named early. “Primary Teaching Assistant” or “KS3 SEN Teaching Assistant” tells a head teacher more in two words than a full paragraph of general description.
• Safeguarding status stated plainly. An enhanced DBS check (or willingness to obtain one) is close to a prerequisite for any role working with children — say where you stand on it.
• No photo, no date of birth. Unlike some European and Middle Eastern CV conventions, UK education recruitment generally avoids both, for the same equal-opportunity reasons US resumes do.

7 Teaching Assistant CV Examples for UK and International Schools

Entry-Level Teaching Assistant

Use this template

Sophie has a Level 2 Certificate in Supporting Teaching and Learning and a two-week primary school placement, but no paid role yet. Her CV leads with the qualification and her enhanced DBS status, then uses her placement to show she already understands a classroom routine — not just that she completed it.

• States the qualification and enhanced DBS status in the first few lines, where a school office checks first
• Turns an unpaid placement into a specific, measurable contribution rather than “observed lessons”
• Keeps the personal statement to four sentences — enough to show fit, short enough to actually get read

Primary School Teaching Assistant

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Daniel has worked across Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 at the same primary school for three years. Rather than listing every year identically, his CV separates what changed as he moved year groups — phonics support in Reception, small-group maths intervention by Year 4 — so a reader can see progression, not repetition.

His skills section groups curriculum-specific terms (phonics screening, SATs preparation) separately from general classroom-management ones, which makes it easy for a school to match him against a specific year-group vacancy at a glance.

SEN Teaching Assistant

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Imogen works one-to-one with a pupil on an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP), and her CV is built around that specificity. It names the strategies she uses — visual timetables, a sensory break schedule — rather than a general “supports SEN pupils” line that could describe almost anyone.

• Names the exact support structure (one-to-one, EHCP) instead of a vague SEN description
• Lists specific strategies and tools, signalling hands-on experience a SENCo can picture immediately
• Shows a measurable engagement outcome tied to the strategies, not just that she “used” them

Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA)

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Ryan holds HLTA status, which lets him take whole-class cover under a teacher’s planning — a real step up from general TA duties. His CV states that explicitly rather than leaving the reader to infer it from his job title alone, and separates “HLTA-specific duties” from general TA experience — the clearest way to signal the qualification actually changed his responsibilities.

• States HLTA status and what it authorised him to do, not just that he “achieved” it
• Separates whole-class cover responsibility from routine TA support, showing real scope
• Quantifies cover frequency (sessions per week) so a school can picture the workload directly

Secondary School Teaching Assistant

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Secondary school TA roles are usually subject-attached rather than general, and Chloe’s CV reflects that. She supports GCSE English and History classes specifically, and names the exam board and specification she’s familiar with, rather than a general “supports secondary students” line.

Her bullets focus on exam-season support (revision sessions, access arrangements for students with extra time) that a secondary school’s SENCo or head of department actually screens for, rather than generic classroom-helper phrasing carried over from a primary-school CV.

Early Years (EYFS) Teaching Assistant

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Mateus works in a Reception class under the Early Years Foundation Stage framework, and his CV uses EYFS-specific language — the seven areas of learning, the Early Learning Goals — rather than general primary-school phrasing. His paediatric first aid certification sits in the header, next to his DBS status, because EYFS settings check for it before anything else.

• Uses EYFS-specific terminology instead of generic primary-school language
• Places paediatric first aid certification in the header, where EYFS settings look first
• Shows a specific observation or assessment contribution, not just “supervised play”

International School Teaching Assistant

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Hana supports an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme classroom in Singapore, and her CV is written for an international hiring panel that may be comparing candidates across several countries’ qualification systems at once. She states her curriculum framework (IB PYP), her English-language teaching certification, and her visa/work-authorization status up front — three things international schools need confirmed before they’ll consider a candidate seriously.

Where a UK-based CV can assume shared context about DBS checks and national curriculum terms, hers spells out what each credential means, since the reader may not share that background.

Copy These CV Personal Statement & Bullet Examples

Four lines from the gallery above, written so you can adapt them to your own setting and qualification.

Entry-Level Personal Statement: Qualification First, Placement Second

With no paid role yet, your personal statement needs to prove you already understand a classroom before a school takes a chance on training you.

SEN Bullet: Name the Plan Type and the Strategy

A SENCo wants to know exactly which support structure and strategies you’ve used, not a general “worked with SEN pupils” line.

HLTA Bullet: State What the Qualification Actually Authorised

HLTA status means little on a CV unless you spell out what it let you do that a standard TA role doesn’t.

EYFS Bullet: Use the Framework’s Own Language

EYFS settings specifically look for the Early Learning Goals and the seven areas of learning in a candidate’s own phrasing, not a generic “helped with play.”

Anatomy of a Teaching Assistant CV

Four sections carry the most weight on a UK or international teaching assistant CV — the header, the personal statement, the bullet formula, and a key skills section that names your setting’s own terminology.

1. Header & Safeguarding Line

State your setting, your qualification, and your DBS status together — a school’s office staff check all three before reading further.

2. Personal Statement

Four sentences: your setting and age-range experience, your qualification, one strength, and one measurable outcome.

3. The Bullet-Point Formula

The same shape works across every setting: what you did, for whom, using what method, and what changed as a result.

4. Key Skills

Mix your setting’s specific frameworks (EYFS, SEND Code of Practice, HLTA standards) with the tools and certifications a school will scan for by name.

Teaching Assistant CV Mistakes to Avoid

These patterns show up often enough across teaching assistant CVs that they’re worth checking for specifically before you send yours.

One Opening Line, Two Ways

The gap between a vague personal statement opener and a specific one is often the difference between a shortlist and a rejection email.

If you’re applying to US schools instead, the expected document is a resume, not a CV — see our teaching assistant resume examples for the format US hiring coordinators expect. And if your goal is a qualified teaching post rather than a support role, our teacher CV examples cover the market-specific differences between UK, Middle East, and Asia-Pacific teaching posts in more depth.

Once your content is set, match it to a layout built for your setting — our CV templates page has UK and international-formatted options for every style shown in the gallery above.

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Teaching Assistant CV FAQ

Do I need an enhanced DBS check before I apply for a teaching assistant role?

Not always before you apply, but you’ll need one before you can start working with children. Most schools expect you to state your status — held, in progress, or willing to obtain one — on the CV itself. If you already hold a valid DBS check from a previous role, say so explicitly; it can make you a faster hire than a candidate starting from zero.

How do I get HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) status?

HLTA status is typically achieved through a combination of experience, training, and an assessment against the national HLTA standards, usually arranged through your employing school or local authority rather than a standalone course you book independently. It’s generally pursued after a few years as a standard TA, once you’re already taking on more classroom responsibility informally.

How long should a teaching assistant CV be?

Two pages is standard for UK and most international education CVs, longer than the one-page US resume convention. Entry-level candidates with limited experience can run to one and a half pages rather than padding to fill a second page artificially.

Should I include a photo on my teaching assistant CV?

No, for UK state and most international school applications — it isn’t expected and can work against equal-opportunity screening processes some schools follow. Some private international schools and certain regions (parts of the Middle East and continental Europe) do request one; check the specific application instructions rather than assuming either convention applies by default.

What’s the difference between a teaching assistant CV and a learning support assistant CV?

In most UK schools the titles are used close to interchangeably, though “Learning Support Assistant” sometimes signals a role weighted more heavily toward SEN or one-to-one support specifically. Match whichever title the job advert uses rather than picking one you prefer — it’s one of the terms applicant tracking systems and school office staff search for literally.

Need a resume instead of a CV? See our Resume example for Teaching Assistant.

Written by

Artur Lopato

Artur Lopato is a product designer and the founder of Wensa, with nearly a decade of experience designing digital products for startups. He leads product and design at Wensa, focused on making resume writing simple, clear, and effective for job seekers everywhere.