Two vocational level 3 training programmes offer valuable continuing professional development opportunities for parent support advisers (PSAs) and others in similar roles.
Support work in schools (parent support)
The TDA has allocated funding through the School Support Staff Qualifications and Development Grant (2009/10) to enable local authorities to purchase accredited training for PSAs working in schools.
For more information, please contact your PSA regional champion.
The aims of the support work in schools (parent support) qualification are to ensure that PSAs
- understand the common core of skills and knowledge for the children’s workforce and can apply these to their role
- are aware of the ethos and policies of the school in which they work, and
- can access a choice of optional units that cover key aspects of their role.
The qualification forms part of the wider framework of support work in schools (SWiS) qualifications and is made up of two strands:
- a certificate, covering the basic skills and knowledge needed to provide effective support for parents, and
- a diploma which is broader in scope and includes optional units in subjects such as improving attendance and meeting parents’ needs.
