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Access to Higher Education

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squeakypigs

squeakypigs

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I have got an interview to do the Access to Higher Education course on Wedneday at the local college.

You have to be 19 years or over to do it (which I am now :)) and it is an alternative route to univeristy. I have 2 AS levels in Law (C) and Sociology (D) but I don't want to continue with these subjects so have decided to go for the Access Course.

I would like to go to uni to do primary teaching. I already am interested in doing this at Northampton Uni as it is local to me so I can travel there everyday. The Access Course is 1 year full-time or 2 years part-time. If you have your maths and English GCSE (at grade C!) then you don't need to do as much work as the ones which haven't got this. I find out my retake Maths GCSE result on 24th August (so not long now!)

I enjoy working with kids and while doing the Access Course I would like to still work with them. I don't want to stay at the nursery though as the pay is awful and also, with that lady stealing I don't fancy staying around there either. Also they are 10 hour days there which means if I had classes in the evening I would be so tired after doing a 10 hour day then 3 hours worth of lessons.

Would love to be a full-time teaching assistant while I do the Access Course but with being 19, I bet I would not get a chance at becoming one as I know mostly these jobs go to parents of kids at the school or dinner-ladies. I just really don't know what to do!
 
Our early years classroom assistant is only young, no children and single - she is fantastic!

Good luck with whatever you decide to do and all the best for your interview :)
 
Hi, Good luck with your interview. I'm beginning an Access to Teacher Training course in September and I'm so nervous as I'm 34 and havent been in a classroom since leaving school at 17. I left school with 8 GCSE's but over the years of working in an office and then bringing up two boys, i decided i wanted to do something different.....I'm reall nervous but at the same time i cant wait.

Best of luck to you. Let me know how you got on. :)
 
I will do Amanda. I can do Access to Teacher Training but would have to go to another college which is about 30mins away. If i did Access to HE and changed my mind, you can do anything or teaching but I wasnt sure if you did Access to Teaching you could only do that at coll.

All the best with it though :) You doing it full-time or part-time?
 
I know mostly these jobs go to parents of kids at the school or dinner-ladies.
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Now they are looking for highly skilled teaching assistants who, in some schools cover whole classes and are expected to teach groups with catch up programs and intervention you will find it isn't always parents and mid days anymore. My school find it really hard to get TAs. A good way to get your foot in the door would be to write a letter to your local schools explaining you are doing an ac ;) acess course and hoping to train as a teacher. If they have a vacancy they will no doubt bite your arm off! It would be a good idea to do some work voluntary if you can't do this and get noticed that way but I realsie with the kind of hours you are working thats not humanly possible. Pay is still basic in many schools though, though this is changing now to reflect the added responsibilities TAs have. It will be a great thing to put on your uni applications.

Oh and another thing- my school more and more need supply cover for TAs. People put their name down with the school secratary- many of them end up getting set on when we next have an opening. You could try that or approach an agency?
Good luck with the access course interview- sure you will be fine

Guinea Pig loving Primary school teachers take over the world lol
 
Best of luck with the interview!

And to you Amanda with your course too!

If there is anything I can do to help out just let me know - I have loads of books and stuff here from my PGCE and of course lots of classroom experience!
 
This is so cool that there are so many like minded people on here...not just on the education side either....I'm loving it as a famous fast food restuarant once said!
Good luck with the Access course. For me working as an LSA was the best thing to ever happen to me...I left Uni with no idea what to do...I really believe that getting as much practical experience in whatever area you think you would like to go into is the best way.
We recently interviewed for a new LSA and none of them were parents or the dinner staff. Saying that I'm also a lunchtime supervisor but I was an LSA first! Need the extra cash...really it should be called lunchtime doorman/bouncer cus that's what I'm doing..keeping 6ft year 9's out the building :o lol
 
This is so cool that there are so many like minded people on here...not just on the education side either....I'm loving it as a famous fast food restuarant once said!
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;D ;) Feel the same way!

really it should be called lunchtime doorman/bouncer cus that's what I'm doing..keeping 6ft year 9's out the building lol
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Lol poor you! :o
 
Good luck with your studies :) I did a care course like a Btech when i left school, worked for the NHS as a nursing assistant in a kids home for a year then did some agency work with adults with learning difficulties - I did an access course to HE did sociology, social policy, bits of politics and womens studies also numeracy and communications - loved it, didnt go to the nearest college but went to the roughest in the nearby area - was a great insight to real life!

I never managed to get to uni to do social work, but moved into residential support work. Now for the past 5 years ive been a learning support at my local college which i love. Ive done the City and Guilds 7407 stage one in teaching and now I'm doing my NVQ 3 in care.

Lots of our LSAs are young, our last one whos now left as it was a temp contract was 18 - new to the work but loved it and got on great. We take a lot of part time hourly paid staff on - might be worth trying agency or hourly paid at local schools. The more experience you can get the better.

Our boss got us to do what she calls upskilling - working in a different care setting for a week - so last year i spent a week working for surestart with pre school kids and their families, i loved it but like working with 16 year olds more!

Access courses are great :) Good luck with the interview/course

Alison :)
 
Ellie I'm sure if you write to local school asking for a teaching assistant position and explain to them about wanting to do teaching they might have something for you, good luck with it all x
 
Hi,

I'm doing my access over two years.....i think full time would be too much!

:D
 
Wahoo... I have been accepted on the course.

If I do it full-time its 13 hrs a week which isn't too bad. Part-time is 7 hours!

I think the subjects which I am doing are, English, ICT, Sociology, History and Literature. I might have to do maths if I haven't got my Maths GCSE.

Think it starts September 11th. :D
 
Thanks everyone.

Now I have got a B in maths I don't have to attend any maths lessons - Yay.

The course starts on 11th September so I only have the problem now of seeing if work will let me cut down my hours. I work 40 hours at the moment, 4 days a week (10 hr days) with Wednesday as my day off. The two days I have off when doing my Access Course (if the timetable doesn't change) is a Monday and a Wednesday. The other 3 days I finish about 1/2pm. I am writing a letter to the owner of the nursery to see if she will let me do two full days at the nursery and work at the after-school club the other 3 days. I was told last week that they were thinking about moving me to the pre-school as I want to do primary teaching and they also think that I am the only one from both baby and toddler units that could manage to do all the planning e.t.c. that goes on at the pre-school. This week is the last week for most of the kids in the Toddler unit as they are moving to the pre-school so if they did let me move to the pre-school, I could then be still with the kids I have been with for the past 5/6months :) If the owner doesn't keep me on then I don't know what to do.

When I rang my dad to tell him my Maths GCSE grade, he was really pleased and said that he will offer to pay half of the Access Course which is a couple of hundered quid! That will help a lot too :)
 
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