How to become an effective SEND supply teaching assistant

Posted on: Mon 3rd Nov 2025

Working as a Special needs T.A can be difficult and takes practice and time to become established in this role. Quite often, SEND teaching assistants are asked to support children with very complex presentations, and are thrown into a role with limited knowledge of the child’s needs or their history. This can make it very challenging to start on the right foot and can often feel like quite an isolating experience, especially if you are in a one-to-one role.

At Five Education, we understand and appreciate the challenges of being a SEND teaching assistant, especially when you are at the beginning of your journey. Throughout this month’s blog, I want to provide staff with ideas and suggestions that may support your practice, as well as guidance on how best to support your well-being and mental health.

Practical skills that help to become an established SEND T.A:

It takes time and practice to become a skilled SEND Teaching assistant, but there are specific strategies that are effective in supporting SEND children from the get-go. We need to be patient and kind to ourselves, remembering that it’s a learning process. There will be ups and downs, and mistakes will happen. The advice I have laid out is drawn from my own personal experience in this line of work and will help you establish your practice and become more confident.

Don’t try to learn everything at once: If you are new to working with SEND children, don’t rush into becoming an expert straight away. Take your time and start slowly by first focusing solely on one SEND area at a time. E.g- If you know you’re going to be supporting children with SEMH, only focus your research on this to begin with.
Try to build a good relationship with the child’s parents: You may be doing a one-to-one role and working with a child you don’t know a whole lot about. You could be in a busy classroom, and the Teacher may be overstretched and can only offer you limited support. If this is the case, try to gradually build a friendly rapport with the child’s parents. Get chatting to them on pickup and ask for techniques and strategies that they use at home with their child to support your practice.
Establish a warm relationship with the child: When you first begin working with children, it’s a good idea to take moments throughout the day where you observe the child, to gain a deeper understanding of their interests, emotional triggers and how they communicate. Moments of observation will help contribute to maintaining a better connection with the child. Other things to think about are being predictable, using a calm tone of voice, and going at the child’s pace, not your own.
Familiarise yourself with safeguarding: It’s always a good idea to be aware of up-to-date safeguarding procedures, but especially if you’re supporting vulnerable children. Read the school’s safeguarding policy and familiarise yourself with this. Make sure you always report any concerns you may have to the safeguarding lead, no matter how small they are.
Communication is key: Try to become Intune with the child’s communication, whether it’s verbal or non-verbal. Use clear language with the child and be genuine with how you model emotional regulation. Think about your tone of voice, your body language and the pace you use. Remember that children use behaviour as a form of communication for unmet needs, so support a child in regulation and help them develop their own regulation strategies.
Make the most of free resources: It’s important to deepen your understanding of SEND with continuous professional development and training. There are many free online resources and several websites that often host free CPD training based around SEND topics. I have listed some of them below:

Support your emotional well-being

Working within SEND education can take its toll on your mental health and emotional well-being. It’s important to take care of yourself and practice self-care, especially if you are working with traumatised children. Secondary Trauma- often known as ‘Secondary traumatic stress’ is the psychological and emotional impact that can come from spending time with a person who has been traumatised. This can happen without you knowing, as you become unknowingly affected by witnessing, hearing about or supporting someone who has been traumatised.

Why does this happen?

Secondary Trauma can affect anyone in close and regular contact with traumatised children. This includes: Therapists, social workers, or anyone in educational settings. Secondary trauma can occur if someone genuinely provides empathy for the affected child. Because you have shown a deep level of empathy and connection, it can affect your nervous system to respond as if you were personally exposed to the Trauma. Obvious signs are feeling down, having difficulty sleeping, having intrusive thoughts, and constantly worrying about the child you’re supporting.

What can we do to help ourselves?

Self-care techniques- If you’ve had a draining day/week, practice mindfulness, meditation, swimming, yoga, or spending time in nature.
Debriefing with other members of staff in similar roles- Share your experiences with other members of staff in similar roles and find support in each other.
Access free therapeutic and support services: Many online platforms offer free reading material and services to support emotional well-being:
Set boundaries for yourself- If you’ve reached your emotional capacity, ask to swap with another member of staff briefly, so you can reset and clear your mind.
Try to maintain a work-life separation- After your working day, it’s now your time to switch off. You can now focus on your own well-being, and not anyone else’s.
Finally, remember to stay realistic with the amount of care you give- You cannot change what’s happened to the individual you’re supporting. Only focus on what you can control in the present day.

Support for Educators and Caregivers

We understand that supporting children with SEND has its challenges and can, at times, take a toll on your well-being. If you are struggling in a particular placement and need some support and advice, we are always here to help you. Please reach out to Karla Tondel at Five Education and arrange weekly check-ins for advice, support, and guidance to help you with your work and provide you with a safe space to talk.

Please call 07978983657 or email karla@fiveeducation.co.uk to schedule a chat. If you're looking for a role in September supporting children with SEND, you can take a look at our website or jobs page. We will support you every step of the way during your time with Five Education.