New SEND Qualification launching for Teaching Assistants

AIM Qualifications and Assessment Group is proud to announce the launch of a new, fully funded qualification designed to support adults stepping into or progressing within teaching assistant (TA) roles, specifically those working with children and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).

Launching this September, the Level 3 Technical Occupational Entry for Teaching Assistants focusing on Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (Diploma) offers a practical, non-apprenticeship route into education careers, equipping learners with the skills and confidence to make a real difference in SEND environments.

Learners with SEND make up almost one in five (17%) of the FE student population (The Education & Training Foundation). It’s no wonder therefore, that professionals who are new to the sector, or already working in education, are on the lookout for specialist training that provides them with the essential knowledge and skills to be able to work with this group of young people.

Natspec (the membership body for specialist colleges) and the Association of Colleges identified that having sufficient staff with the appropriate expertise to meet the broad range of needs of young people with SEND, including those with the most complex needs, as a priority in their 2024 manifesto: Characteristics of a high-functioning FE system for young people with SEND.

About the qualification

Designed in collaboration with employers and education providers, this diploma delivers comprehensive training that is:

• Designed for adults stepping into or moving up in TA roles

• Goes deeper into SEND than the TA apprenticeship standard

• Covers all the important stuff: child development, SEND theory, practical strategies, and much more

• A great career-booster for professionals in schools, colleges and independent training providers.

“I’ve witnessed firsthand the impact of effective support for learners with SEND”, says Kim Underhill, AIM’s Head of Qualifications and Assessment Development. “It is good to be in a world that is now starting to look at how diversity can benefit the workplace and to see some organisations actively recruiting neurodiverse individuals. It is important to ensure that there is sufficient support for learners across all levels to be able to reach their academic potential”.

For schools, colleges, and training providers seeking skilled support staff with real-world readiness, this qualification delivers what the sector is asking for, practical, employer-informed training with a clear focus on impact.

AIM are taking expressions of interest from education providers (schools, colleges, training providers) and LA’s responsible for SEND provision in their area, for delivery of this sought-after qualification from September 2025.