These statements are in units of one or more elements that describe competence at activity or task level. They cover key activities undertaken by the jobholder in various circumstances.
The standards cover most roles in schools, such as teaching assistants or cleaners, and can be used to support a variety of training and development activities. The uses of the standards are described in the guidance to the career development framework.
The NOS have been developed for use in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales to ensure the qualifications based on them can be transferred across the United Kingdom. They are developed and maintained by sector skills councils (SSC) and sector bodies (SB).
The TDA is the sector body for the school workforce in England and we have worked with partners in other UK countries to develop NOS for staff who support teaching and learning in schools. Other SSCs or SBs are responsible for developing standards for roles that are not exclusive to schools, such as administrative staff; the TDA works with these organisations to ensure the needs of schools are taken into account.
The Sector Skills Development Agency website identifies the SSCs and SBs and their responsibilities; the UK NOS directory includes all NOS and can be searched by keyword.
The TDA led the development of the NOS for supporting teaching and learning in schools, which updated and expanded the standards for teaching/classroom assistants. The NOS also underpin national vocational qualifications (NVQs) and inform the development of other qualifications.
We also develop and reviews the professional standards for higher level teaching assistants (HLTAs).
The support work in schools qualifications include units from a wide range of NOS to allow those working in multiple roles or whose current responsibilities do not allow them evidence the full NVQ to tailor their qualification to their circumstances.
