Are you passionate about developing educational opportunities for future generations? Would you like to support teachers and other professionals to improve educational opportunities for children and young people?
Do you want to develop your skills and expertise in your current role and possibly progress to become a higher-level teaching assistant? If so, this is the course for you.
DCG has an excellent track record for high-calibre, inclusive teaching and learning. We strive for excellence and deliver dynamic lessons to stretch and challenge. We will support and guide you with continuous professional development.
Completing this Diploma with us gives you a nationally recognised qualification.
You will have exclusive access to high-quality course resources, library and career development services, as well as a busy Student Union with all the benefits and discounts that come with membership. We have good links with local schools and offer a progression event every year so you can plan the next steps in your career.
What are the benefits?
You must be aged 19 or over and have evidence of:
Teaching Assistants work in Primary, Special and Secondary/College education across all age ranges encompassing special educational needs and emotional vulnerabilities.
The primary role of the Teaching Assistant is to support the class teacher to enhance pupils’ learning either in groups or individually, ensuring pupils understand the work set, know their learning objectives and stay on task in order to make progress.
Promoting self-belief, social inclusion and a high self-esteem play an integral part in pupils’ well-being, ensuring they thrive in a positive, nurturing, safe environment. Teaching Assistants have an active role supporting the learner to access the curriculum. They are good role models, act with honesty and integrity, take part in team meetings, and contribute to planning and class activities. Promoting Fundamental British Values through spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and positive behaviours is crucial in contributing to improved pupil progress and development.
You will develop knowledge, skills and professional behaviours holistically during this course, and use your work placement to practise what you learn. Your work in classrooms with children, young people or adults is critical in enabling you to develop confidence, understanding and practice. Alongside this, you will work towards your Level 3 qualification, thematically studying the following units:
You will be assessed through a range of methods, including using ‘One File’; individual and group presentations; group tasks; written tasks; professional discussions; assessment of skills during observations of your practice in your school; reflective practice and continuous professional development. Assessment is continuous and is designed to develop your academic skills, communication and confidence.
No
Once you have completed the Diploma, you can:
* Tuition - This figure is the tuition fee to be paid - There are no concessionary fees available.
**** Advanced Learner Loan: if you are aged 19 or over and want to study at Level 3, 4, 5 or 6, you could apply for an Advanced Learner Loan to help with the costs of your study. This is the fee that would need to be financed by a successful application for a loan. Alternatively, you or your employer could pay the fees directly.
Part-time postgraduate student Louise Rae Allen says Derby College helped her land the teaching job she longed for from childhood.
Psychology graduate Louise, 29, from Ambergate, was taken on by Queen Elizabeth Grammar School in Ashbourne while she works towards a Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE).
Louise, who has dreamed of being a teacher from the age of 11, switched direction after working for five years as a careers co-ordinator at Queen Elizabeth.
She chose the course because it gave her the flexibility to study part-time, while continuing to work, and because of the strong reputation of its tutors. In 2016, the college achieved an "Outstanding" Ofsted rating for PGCE provision.
Louise is completing a two year part-time Postgraduate Certificate in Education, Post 14 in Compulsory Education.
She said: "I'm sure I wouldn't have been taken on as a teacher without taking the course.
"The college tutors are excellent, the quality of their teaching and feedback is always of a high standard. The sessions they deliver are intellectually challenging, interesting and engaging.
"A lot of us work full-time, and the tutors are flexible and supportive. They really go the extra mile."