SEN Teaching Assistant ATS CV Template: Ready to Use

One column, four sections in this order: header (name, "SEN Teaching Assistant", phone, location, DBS status), work experience, qualifications and training, key skills. Add an availability line if you're open to working across multiple year groups or a term-time-only contract, since school HR needs this upfront.

For every role, the first line should answer three questions: which school or setting, what support type, what need. Example: "1:1 Teaching Assistant — [School name] (Year 7 pupil, autism, EHCP 15 hours/week)". Following bullets should cover concrete duties and any contribution to reviews, with specifics wherever honest ones exist.

The classic SEN TA CV mistake is staying in the emotional register ("caring", "patient", "kind") with no proof. Convert each quality into practice: patience becomes "supported a pupil through sensory breaks per their individual plan, reducing classroom incidents"; adaptability becomes "reformulated instructions using visual supports for a pupil with dyspraxia".

Mention your involvement in the wider process consistently: EHCP annual reviews, liaison with the SENCO, coordination with external professionals (speech and language therapist, occupational therapist, educational psychologist) where it applies. These are the markers a SENCO actively looks for beyond day-to-day classroom support.

SEN TA roles don't always require a specific qualification: many schools hire on relevant experience plus a Level 2/3 Teaching Assistant qualification gained on the job. Surface every transferable experience: playworker or youth work roles involving children with additional needs, a personal caregiving background, or volunteer work in a school or SEN setting.

Add the fast, low-cost signals that reassure immediately: an enhanced DBS check started or on the Update Service, and any free online training completed (autism awareness, safeguarding). These show genuine investment before being paid to.

1:1 dedicated support wants evidence of building a stable, trusted relationship with one pupil and deep familiarity with their EHCP. Small-group or SEN base support wants organisational skill across several different needs at once. Whole-class inclusion support wants evidence of working alongside the class teacher without singling out pupils, and adapting materials for the whole class's range of needs.

Mirror the advert's exact vocabulary. If it says "autism spectrum disorder" or "SEMH needs", your CV should contain that phrase, not just "additional needs". This is the basic rule of ATS matching, and it applies equally to a SENCO comparing several CVs quickly.

First: vagueness about the need type and support model: "experience with children with additional needs" says nothing a SENCO can act on. Second: claiming duties outside your training, such as therapeutic intervention reserved for a qualified specialist, which signals a risk schools are cautious about. Third: leaving out DBS status when the role clearly requires it: it's often the very first administrative filter.

Keep the layout ATS-safe: one column, standard font, no tables or graphics. School HR systems and multi-academy trust portals run parsing software, and whatever it can't read, no human will ever see.