Adam Snow heads back to the classroom – this time as a teaching assistant!
Adam started his Level 3 Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship at Crooksbarn Primary School through Northern Skills, the apprenticeship and training arm of Middlesbrough College Group.
After he successfully completed his End-Point Assessment, we caught up with Adam about his experience.
He said: “After I left college, I was working part-time in a bar and looking at a career in the police, but it just didn’t seem to fit what I wanted to do and I didn’t really enjoy it.
“I came across the apprenticeship after working at a sports charity. We worked closely with a local primary school, and it was that aspect of the job that I really loved, so I just thought – this is what I want to do full time!
“My role at the school is so varied – I can go from supporting a phonics lesson in Year 1 to a maths lesson in Year 5, and then a PE lesson in the afternoon. I’ve been given a lot of responsibility with PE because of my background and running the sporting events at the school has been a real highlight.
“The support I’ve had from the school has been amazing. I feel like in any school setting you can learn about the job role and build a relationship with the children, but it’s the other staff members that make a real difference. I’ve learned so much from everyone and I know that everyone here has my back – they really want me to succeed!
“If I think back to what I was like at school, I would never have imagined myself in a role like this, but I honestly love it. I want to continue working as a teaching assistant and learn everything I can about the role, but eventually I’d really love to complete my teacher training – we’ll see what happens in the future!”
Chris Twiby, Headteacher at Crooksbarn Primary School, said: “Adam has been fantastic to work with and has made a massive difference in the school. He’s adaptable and has been really willing to learn new things.
“Our experience of having Adam as an apprentice within the school has been very positive, and I think we’ve had a really good all-round package with Northern Skills – we’ve had the support from staff at the college and everything has just really fit into place for us.”
Matthew Chan, Skills Development Manager at Northern Skills said: “It’s great to see apprentices like Adam flourish in the workplace. It really shows that apprenticeships can create a career path for young people. In this instance, the apprenticeship has been a real benefit to the school, the employer and the trust as a whole and long may that continue.”
Apprenticeship: Teaching Assistant Apprenticeship – Level 3
Employer: Crooksbarn Primary School