​As the summer holiday approaches and schools close their doors for a well-earned break, many teaching assistants will be looking for work opportunities to make extra cash throughout the holiday period.

Fortunately, there are a range of roles you could undertake which will not only give you cash but a wealth of experience you can use to progress in your career as an educator.

This blog aims to guide you and present to you the various summer job opportunities available to teaching assistants.

1.       Summer Camp Assistants

Summer camps are supervised programmes for children that take place during school holidays. They generally involve sports, arts and creative activities. They are always looking for Summer Camp Assistants.

Your role will involve:

-          Delivering multi-activity sessions

-          Safeguarding and ensuring the health and safety of the children

-          Being responsible for numerous children and effectively delivering activities

-          Opening and closing the camp venue, ensuring equipment is prepared before the start of the day and packed up by the end

-          Oversee the running of the camp and lead activities

These are the main responsibilities you will have working in a summer camp. This will of course change depending on whether you are a camp assistant or are leading the camp. Camps have similar hours to schools, with most taking place between 8:30am and 4:30pm, 5 days a week.

Summer camps are great for Teaching Assistants as your skills in the classroom are transferrable and you do not need any extra qualifications to work in them. They can also be very fun, not only for the children but for those managing and running the activities.

You can browse a range of vacancies online by searching ‘Summer Camp roles’ on Google. From there, you can either apply for these roles through places like Indeed, or apply directly through camp websites.

2.       Babysitter / Childminder

With many families planning holidays for the summer, the demand for babysitters increases. As a Teaching Assistant, you can leverage your experience of working with children to offer your services and provide a safe environment for children whilst the parents are on holiday.

Don’t know how to get started? There are numerous agencies who can offer you childminding opportunities, whether you are looking for something temporary or longer term. Often times agencies are the best way to find this sort of work as they are trusted and go through the proper vetting to ensure peace of mind to parents leaving their children in the hands of people they do not know.

A quick Google Search of ‘Childminding Agencies’ or ‘Babysitter Jobs’ is a great start and will give you an idea of everything you need to know, including the going rate as well as the requirements.

3.       Youth Worker

I’d imagine that as a Teaching Assistant you are passionate about improving the life of young people. If that sounds right, then a youth worker role may be for you. There are many positions available, particularly throughout the summer period and school holidays.

The role often involves helping children by talking to them, giving them places to go or things to do. If you consider yourself either sporty, artistic or creative, then this sort of role may be perfect for you!

Youth workers often work similar hours to Summer Camp Assistants, but there are options to work extended periods in some clubs. Your main responsibilities will involve:

-          Delivering fun, interactive activities and working with young people individually and in groups

-          Nurturing the development of children, physically, socially and emotionally

-          Assisting with the general welfare of the pupils

-          Creating an environment where children feel safe and happy, encouraging them to take part in the activities

As you will be looking at summertime roles, searching for ‘Holiday Club Youth Worker’ roles online will give you the more relevant roles.

4.       Nursery Assistant

Although schools are closed for the summer holidays, most nurseries remain open as normal. This means that nursery assistant roles can be a great option for Teaching Assistants during the holiday period.

As a Teaching Assistant, your experience will be highly relevant for the role of a Nursery Assistant. Your responsibilities will be similar, as you’ll need to build good relationships with the pupils, support the teacher, prepare the classroom before and pack up at the end of the day, and supporting the children.

Work hours are in most cases identical to what you would do at a school, working between 8:30am and 4pm, with pay being similar too.

There are a few ways of applying for Nursery Assistant roles in your local area. Firstly, compiling a list of nurseries near you and either visiting their website to browse vacancies, or contacting them directly via phone or email to see if they have any vacancies.

Nurseries also use job boards such as Indeed to post their vacancies, so make sure you take a look at those too in order to not miss out on suitable jobs.

5.       Tutoring

Tutoring is great for someone who is looking for work not only during school holidays but also on evenings and weekends if you have the time and need the extra money.

You would providing academic support in either small groups or on a 1-to-1 basis. As a tutor, you will review the classroom curriculum and assist your student with homework, projects and help prepare them for tests.

Ultimately, your role consists of helping the student gain a better understanding of what they learn in the classroom and track their progress and development, whilst keeping parents in the loop.

Be sure to mention that you are a teaching assistant and not a teacher to avoid any misunderstandings.

There are private tutoring websites where you can find all the necessary information as well as requirements for becoming a tutor. These are most likely your best option as the websites have built a reputation for being reliable and trustworthy places for finding tutors.

As you can see, there are several options when looking for school holiday roles you can undertake which have similar responsibilities to that of your role as a Teaching Assistant. Some of these jobs can also be done on evenings and weekends, if you have the time. They are great ways of gaining even more experience which will allow you to progress in your career as an educator.

Looking for work in a school? We are currently hiring for September! Give us a call on 0203 771 1138 to register with us or browse our vacancies to apply for a role.