Higher Level Teaching Assistant Status

HLTA (Higher Level Teaching Assistant) status is awarded by the HLTA National Assessment Partnership (HNAP) to support staff who have been externally assessed against the HLTA Professional Standards and have successfully provided sufficient evidence to meet each standard. Assessments are managed by three Regional Providers (RPAs) on behalf of HNAP: HLTA South, HLTA North and the University of Northampton.

Qualifications needed: Level 2 qualifications in Maths and English or equivalent. If you do not hold the necessary qualifications, access tests are available. Please contact us for details.

Employment status: You must be employed full or part-time in a school or educational setting, working with children or young people between the ages of three and nineteen.

Experience: You must work with individuals and small groups and take whole classes (without a teacher present) and can demonstrate you are able to advance the learning of children or young people in your setting. You must be fully supported by your school when applying for this programme whether you are school or self-funded.

handbook

HLTA Standards

The Preparation for Assessment Handbook is an essential guide to the process and the Annex 8 standards on one sheet

HLTA Preparation & Assessment

To achieve HLTA status there are four stages.

1. Find a course and apply for a place.

Courses are provided locally or online by PoPs (Providers of Preparation). PoPs will ask you to:

ensure you have funding
ensure you have sufficient experience to demonstrate the standards
obtain support and provide verification from your school that you are working at the expected level for this status
provide evidence of level 2 (or equivalent) qualifications in maths/numeracy and English/literacy

2. Prepare for the Assessment by attending an approved course

Different course formats are available – online, face to face or a blended learning approach. All courses should:

introduce you to the assessment requirements and processes, including registration for assessment with HLTA South
help you understand the standards and how to demonstrate them through your practice
provide guidance and support when drafting and presenting task and documentary evidence
prepare you for the assessment

2b. There is also an Assessment Only Route for candidates who have
successfully completed their L5 STA Apprenticeship

3. The assessment.

This takes place online. It is carried out by an experienced HLTA Assessor, allocated to you by HLTA South and involves a series of interviews with you and nominated staff (there is no observation). As part of the assessment process, the assessor will scrutinise the paperwork you have submitted before the interviews.

Following the assessment, the paperwork (tasks, records from interviews) is forwarded to HLTA South with a recommendation from the assessor regarding the outcome; the assessor will not give any indication of their recommendation to you or anyone in school.

All our assessors have excellent experience of working in educational settings and have been trained and quality assured by HLTA South to carry out assessments.

4. Moderation

Moderation of files is carried out every month by HLTA South and the moderators determine the outcome for all files submitted. Results letters and certificates are issued by HLTA South on behalf of HNAP in the weeks following the assessment. Possible outcomes:

Standards Met All standards are judged as met.
Partial Reassessment Occasionally, moderators will ask for a partial re-assessment (PR) of one, two or three standards as the evidence they have is insufficient. This is carried out by a Senior Assessor via a telephone interview. The additional information from the PR is submitted for moderation.
Standards Not Met More than three standards have been judged as not met and the status is not awarded. A Senior Assessor will contact the candidate to discuss any issues and provide advice about the next step.

Am I ready?

A self review of your practice against the standards can give an indication of any areas where you need further development or more opportunities to demonstrate your skills and knowledge. Some PoPs may ask you to complete this when you apply for a preparation course. Often, opportunities to upskill can be carried out in school as part of your everyday practice or through in-school training.

Some PoPs offer additional training days or longer route training options and many will provide bespoke courses for schools/ academies and MATs.

FAQs

Answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions HLTA-FAQs

Fees

The cost of a preparation course is set by the individual PoP.

The assessment fee is set by HNAP and is currently £500 per person.