A free training course for people who want to start a career as a teaching assistant is launching at Southdene Community Centre in Kirkby, Merseyside, on Friday 6 February 2026. The programme is designed to help local residents find work in schools even if they have no previous classroom experience.
Sessions will take place every Friday from 9:30 am to 2:30 pm to match school-hours and help parents looking to return to work. The course is being run by Knowsley Family and Community Education (FACE) in partnership with Southdene Community Association. Classes will run weekly but organisers say the programme will pause for Knowsley half-term in the week beginning 16 February 2026 (16–20 February).
The initiative is aligned with the Knowsley Education Strategy 2023–2026, which seeks to develop a self-sustaining local workforce and remove barriers into education and employment. Local schools have advertised teaching-assistant vacancies; for example, Knowsley Lane Primary School has a Teaching Assistant Level 2 (One to One SEND Support) vacancy listed on the government job site.
The training is fully funded for eligible residents of the Liverpool City Region via the Liverpool City Region Adult Education Budget (AEB); eligibility criteria apply. The course covers basics of classroom support, child development and safeguarding. Anyone interested in signing up can visit Southdene Community Centre on Broad Lane, contact the centre directly, or reach out via the ‘Southdene Commo’ Facebook page.
About this article: This story was put together with the help of AI tools and checked by a real person on our team. We're a small crew trying to cover as much of the UK as we can on a limited budget. We're getting better every day - but we're not perfect yet. If something looks off, let us know. You're part of the process.
