Walsall College is looking to speak to schools that could be affected by new government proposals, in which all schools with at least 250 headcount will have to take on apprentices. Earlier this year the government published a consultation document outlining its plans to lean on the public sector to take on more apprentices, as part of its bid to create 3 million apprenticeships by 2020. The results of the consultation are yet to be published, but it is widely expected that this initiative will be rolled out to local authority schools and academies.

Walsall College already works with a number of local Primary and Secondary schools as well as special needs and behaviour referral schools’, to train teaching assistants and classroom support staff with its apprenticeship or work based courses at Levels 2 and 3.

However, Karen Roberts, Head of Employer Responsive at Walsall College says there are still many schools in the region that are not making the most of the funding available to take on apprentices and benefit from the positive impact trainees can have on their school’s attainment levels.

She said: “Teaching assistant duties can vary wildly, ranging from providing administrative and classroom support to providing targeted academic support to individual pupils or small groups. With the right training, staff supporting teaching and learning in schools can play a crucial role in supporting pupils, parents and colleagues.”

Following a work experience placement at Lindens Primary School in Streetly, Oliver Johnson, 19, was offered an apprenticeship after the headmaster saw the difference he made in just a few weeks. Now working as a qualified teaching assistant at Level 2 and working towards his Level 3, he said: “I loved being in the working environment and gaining practical skills, and also felt like this would be a very rewarding career path to follow. I also wanted to learn new skills from actually being in the situation rather than just studying from books, which I could with an apprenticeship. It has helped me to progress in the role quite quickly and be of more value to my employer.”

Tameside Primary School has been working in partnership with Walsall College for more than a decade and has taken on several apprentices to help support pupils with English, maths and IT skills in the classroom. Yvonne Blakemore, Deputy Head at the Wednesbury-based school, commented: “The impact the apprentices have had on our school have been huge and nearly all are still with us now as permanent members of staff, supporting pupils to excel in their education.

“I would encourage other schools to think very seriously about offering apprenticeships. I think they will be surprised at how much not only the apprentice, but also the organisation as a whole benefits.”

“We have formed an excellent relationship with Walsall College that has gone from strength to strength. They have a number of support systems in place to ensure apprentices and schools get the most out of the contract and always keep us up to date with new initiatives and funding.”

In addition to funding available to schools taking on apprentices aged 16-18, the introduction of the new 19 plus advanced learning loans from this August means more adults will be able to take out a loan enabling them to upskill or change career and enter the rewarding education sector.

At fifty, a career change wasn’t on the cards for commercial banking officer, Paula Thorp, but when redundancy loomed, she saw it as an opportunity that she couldn’t ignore. She retrained for a new career as a teaching assistant, which is a world away from her former role in banking, but one she finds both life-changing and rewarding.

Paula said: “I was on the PTA at my son’s primary school and was aware that they needed support in listening to children read, so I volunteered my time and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. After speaking to the headmistress, she enrolled me on to a course at Walsall College so I could gain the qualifications I needed to turn my volunteer role in to a permanent job.

“Going back into education and retraining was a bit daunting at first as it had been a long time since I was at school. But all the hard work paid off when I successfully completed the course and received the student of the year award.”

The college is also working closely with City and Guilds to develop the qualifications and ensure they meet the needs of schools and their pupils, as well as to introduce higher education qualifications, equivalent to degree level courses.