Your application for a teaching assistant post has been successful, and your chosen school has invited you for an interview. Now let’s look at the next important step and consider what you should expect at your teaching assistant interview. Though each school will have its own interview style, the format will be broadly similar. Usually, the only major difference between schools is that some are very relaxed, whilst others may appear quite formal.

So you’ve applied for a special needs teaching assistant position and now you have been offered an interview, well done! Now you need to make sure that you are fully prepared for any questions they might ask you so you can increase your chances of landing the TA role you want. Here are some examples of special needs teaching assistant interview questions and answers that are popular with school interview panels to help you think of responses that will help you to stand out from the crowd and show exactly why they should offer you the role.

It’s natural to feel nervous about your Teaching Assistant interview. After all, you will be under scrutiny – your appearance, the things you say, and how you express yourself. Much of this is because you will be entering unfamiliar territory and interacting with new people. This ‘fear of the unknown’ is best controlled by thorough preparation so that even when you feel as if you’re treading water you can still command your responses.

We are all used to making judgements about people based on what they wear. Clothes are used to complement body language, and quickly convey information about status and competence. Luckily, it’s easy to tell a policeman from a plumber, which is handy and avoids confusion when you need help and expertise. If you are in any doubt, imagine sorting out the aftermath of a road accident: a) dressed as a plumber, and b) dressed as a traffic cop.

In our last article, we highlighted some common and popular teaching assistant questions and provided you with some sample answers to make the interview process much easier for you. For these interview questions, we’ve covered some popular questions, but instead of providing you with an exact word for word answer, we’ve provided the basis for you to form your answer around. Every interview will be different so anyone preparing for their teaching assistant interview can use the same principles highlighted in the answers below.

Preparing for a teaching assistant job interview is the same as applying for jobs in other fields, but there are certain questions and scenarios that will come up that you should be prepared for. In addition, the interviewer will most likely invite you to ask any questions that you have about the school and teaching assistant position. Due to the trusted position of a teaching assistant, this is a great opportunity to show your dedication to the student’s well-being by asking questions that are focused on them.