Education Support Resources

Don’t have time to read this whole article but still want to know about teacher aide courses in SA? Here are 6 fast facts that you need to know:

1. Ensure that you enrol in a teacher aide course in SA that teaches foundational and research-based strategies such as explicit instruction and simultaneous prompting.
2. Online learning should be accompanied by live webinars, pre-recorded videos, free short courses, interactive e-learning modules, e-books, and plenty of support when you need it.
3. To find work in South Australia, you will need to first complete a nationally recognised teacher aide course such as the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support.
4. The CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support is mainly for students who are learning English and high school students. Most adult learners go straight into the Teacher Aide Combo or Cert IV.
5. Enrol in a course that uses an integrated structure as this will mean finishing your course much sooner (months in fact). ITAC offer the only integrated teacher aide course in Australia.

Online learning should be accompanied by live webinars, pre-recorded videos, free short courses, interactive e-learning modules, e-books, and plenty of support when you need it.

CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support and the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support

All of ITAC's courses are planned to take 600 hours. Students with experience with children or other industries can expect to move through the course must faster.

Our experience is that most students do not struggle with the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support or the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support. I need to stress the word 'most' - regardless of how easy or difficult the course may be, there will always be some students who will struggle for various reasons. Where students do struggle is with keeping a high level of motivation, dedication and commitment.

You can read examples from our teacher aide course on our sample resources page here. As you can see, most of our courses are practical and very relevant to working in a school as an SSO or teacher aide. You will find that the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support is rather basic in many respects – it covers all the simple yet effective strategies that you need to know in order to work in a mainstream classroom.

The CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support specialises in special needs on the other hand. While not difficult, this course is more advanced than the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support and gives you a higher level of employability.

Generally, all of our teacher aide courses are scheduled to take approximately 6 months to complete although this is a broad average. Some students will complete it in half that time while others will take twice as long. It ultimately depends on a range of factors such as how much you have studied in the past, your experience with children and how much time each week you are able to devote to your studies.

To use an analogy - how long does it take to bake a cake? Some people take half an hour and others will take several hours. Note that those with experience with children tend to move through the course quite fast especially if they have studied before.

Note that those with experience with children tend to move through the course quite fast especially if they have studied before.

ITAC is the only provider in Australia delivering teacher aide courses such as the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support based on national and international research - in fact, our students learn the same strategies that teachers learn at university.

In fact, you will learn many of the same strategies that teachers learn at university.

Want to know what the academic research says about teacher aides? Then read our literature review here.

You may have noticed that we like to use the term ‘research-based’ and ‘best practice’ to describe our courses. But what exactly does that mean? In simple terms, when we develop our courses, our experts comb through the research from Australia and around the world to find what works. We look at what teachers are taught in universities, the skills that governments want their teachers to have and what the research says about teacher aides and their effectiveness. Here are just two examples of where some of our course content comes from:

• Australian professional standards for teaching,
• High impact teaching strategies for Victorian teachers

Practically speaking, this means that we base our teacher aide courses around a whole heap of best practice strategies, skills and techniques that are used by high performing teachers, teacher aides, schools, and governments around the world, including Australia. In fact, you will learn many of the same strategies that teachers learn at university. Depending on which teacher aide course you enrol in, the following strategies are likely to be part of your course:

• Traditional, tried, and tested strategies such as scaffolding, modelling, rapport building, and goal setting.
• More modern approaches such as cooperative learning and metacognition.
• Advanced and lesser known strategies such as Cognitive Load theory, serial-position effects, the self-fulfilling prophecy, the Zone of Proximal Development and flipped learning.
• Literacy strategies such as phonics, active reading, pre and post reading tasks, graphic organisers, using cues and prediction, spelling and grammar supports, modelling, guided and shared learning and critical literacies, to name a few.
• More generic skills that all high performing teachers and teacher aides use such as motivational skills, questioning skills, feedback skills, reflective practice, and games.
• Generic learning skills and life-long strategies such as study skills, transferrable skills, metacognitive skills, coping skills, mental scripting, and others.
• Physical and hands-on skills’ development strategies such as deliberate practice, over-learning, spaced learning, and massed practice.
• Strategies to support students with special needs such as assistive technology, intervention and targeting approaches, remedial instruction, social stories, teaching aids and props, and differentiated instruction.
• A range of student-centred strategies such as self-directed learning, pair and group work, debating, discussions and role plays.
• A range of teacher-centred strategies such as team teaching, explicit instruction, and the principles of scaffolding.
• Strategies and approaches to support the operational needs of the classroom such as methods for planning learning sequences, behaviour systems and using data for continual improvement.

Nowhere else will you study these and many other best practice skills, strategies, and techniques. Our students and graduates are the best in the business when it comes to supporting children's learning, development, and behaviour. This results in more stable employment, higher job satisfaction, confidence, and better student learning outcomes.

Our teacher aide courses, whether the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support or the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support, will teach you the same techniques and strategies taught to the world’s most effective educators. No two courses are the same – enrol with the professionals and your career won’t regret completing a best practice, research-based teacher aide course with ITAC.

We've written an article to help you select the best training provider which you can access here for free. In summary, here are some of the most important tips:

1. Try not to use the course price as your only guide for selecting a provider. A cheap course may not give you the skills needed to gain employment and usually they take longer to complete meaning lost time in the workforce. Cheaper courses may have ongoing fees such as unit by unit fees.
2. We recommend enrolling in the Teacher Aide Combo or the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support so you have the best chance in the job market. The CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support is really only for high school students; most ITAC students start at the Cert IV level.
3. Enrol with a provider that runs classes – even if you don’t attend them. Why? Many online-only providers have a bad reputation with schools and it takes a certain level of expertise to successfully run face-to-face classes.
4. Stay away from any provider who does not develop their own learning materials and any provider who teaches a range of courses e.g. business courses. Like any professional service - you want to hire specialists.
5. If you choose to enrol in a Teacher Aide Combo, ensure that it is a true 'combo'. By this we mean a program that mashes all units from both the Cert III and IV together (not just having you do all Cert III units, then all Cert IV units - this is not a true combo structure).
6. Choose a course that is developed with an integrated structure in order to save considerable time.

A cheap course may not give you the skills needed to gain employment and usually they take longer to complete meaning lost time in the workforce.

Which teacher aide course should I enrol in? What is the difference between the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support and the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support? These are the common questions that we get every day. To make life easier for you, the table below outlines the key differences so you can make your mind up about which course or program is best for you.

CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support vs CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support

The main difference between the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support and the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support is that the latter is slightly more advanced and concentrates on developing your skills to work with students with complex needs. This includes students with special needs, disabilities, disorders and comorbidities. A focus of the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support is learning to effectively support students with disabilities and disorders such as autism.

Don’t forget the Teacher Aide Combo which we have not included in the table above. The Teacher Aide Combo is simply a combination of the two nationally recognised teacher aide courses. It is a popular program due to its cost effectiveness, time saving and the additional certificate which gives you a leg up in the job market. To learn more about the Teacher Aide Combo, we recommend reading about this program on our main course page here.

You can learn more about a specific teacher aide course by following any of the links below:

• CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support

• CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support

• Teacher Aide Combo

In addition, to learn even more about our best practice, research-based teacher aide courses, we recommend reading one or more of our detailed articles below. Written and published by our expert trainers, these articles are the most detailed of its type in Australia and are absolutely free:

You will need to complete a nationally recognised qualification (preferably with ITAC of course!) such as the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support or the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support. You will also need to obtain the necessary clearances to work with children as well as prepare a professional resume.

Finally, let local schools know that you are looking to work whether that is full-time, casual, or part-time. To maximise your chances of finding employment, we recommend contacting as many schools as you can. This means 10-20 schools for most people, depending on your area. With hundreds of schools in South Australia, and dozens of SSOs in most schools, there are plenty of opportunities out there.

The less willing you are to apply for work at certain schools or to particular types of schools (such as high schools or special schools), the less of a chance you will have of finding work. Be flexible and open to new challenges; you may be surprised by how much you enjoy working in some of these schools if you give them a chance.

If you have completed the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support, you are more than qualified to work in high school or special education centres/schools.

High schools and especially senior colleges can also be an option that is often overlooked or dismissed. If you have completed the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support, you are more than qualified to work in high school or special education centres/schools. Bear in mind that in high schools you are not required to be the English or maths expert – that's the teacher's responsibility.

At any rate, you will almost certainly be working with special need’s students (such as autism, behavioural and learning disorders), and hence the academic level is often similar to primary school. Your job is to provide differentiated instruction (making adjustments to activities so the student can participate in the program – something you will learn in ITAC’s teacher aide courses).

Teacher aides and School Services Officers (SSOs) in South Australia can expect to earn upward of $32 per hour by our estimations. The exact pay depends on your position which is often determined by whether you have completed a course such as the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support.

A teacher aide working in a special needs classroom/school or with a student with special needs is normally paid a higher rate per hour/day. On the other hand, if you are working in a mainstream classroom such in Year 1 or 2, you will be paid at a slightly lower rate by comparison. At this level, teacher aides in South Australia earn around the $25-28 mark per hour (compared to $31-34 for those working with students with disabilities and disorders).

Special needs teacher aides in South Australia earn more because work with special needs is often:

• slightly more challenging
• incorporates additional responsibilities
• requires the Cert IV as a minimum
• requires regular ongoing training.

You may have noticed some websites indicate that teacher aides are paid an average rate lower than $30. The calculation used is based on the middle point between the lowest paid teacher aide and the highest paid i.e. the pay scale. It is not an 'average' but a mid-point and is incorrect because most SSOs are sit towards the top of the scale because they work with students with additional needs like autism and ADHD.

In fact, there are over 700 schools in South Australia.

We would say yes because there are hundreds of school in South Australia and most employ 10-20 teacher aides or more. This is the case in regional, rural and metro schools – all across South Australia and not just Adelaide. In fact, there are over 700 schools in South Australia. Based on these numbers alone, and given that most teacher aides are part-time, finding a teacher aide job in a South Australian school is more than possible.

Completing a best practice teacher aide course such as the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support or the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support boosts your chances of gaining a position many times over.

Where do our teacher aides find work in South Australia? There are a number of different possibilities including the categories and examples of each below.

• Pre-schools (kindy) for children 3-5 years old. For example, you could work in one of these schools:
  • Willows Children's Centre
  • Seaview Downs Kindergarten
  • Jamestown Community Children's Centre
• Primary schools: Reception to Year 6. For example, you could work in one of these schools:
  • Elliston Area School
  • Gawler Primary School
  • Penong Primary School
• High schools from Year 7-12. For example, you could work in one of these schools:
  • Burra Community School
  • Birdwood High School
  • Minlaton District School
• Special schools or Special Education Centres for students with disabilities such as senior secondary special classes, special classes with a focus on ASD, inclusive preschool programs or a learning intervention class such as this one at Victor Harbor High School.

To find schools in your local area you can search the government’s online search application by clicking here. The Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA) and the government’s new recruitment site may also be useful.

For obvious reasons, we can't guarantee that all ITAC graduates will find a position, but we think there are plenty of opportunities out there for those with the right personality, work ethic and qualifications. You will need a nationally recognised qualification from a reputable provider, clearances (which your provider will assist with) and of course a love for working with children and people - this is after all a 'people' business.

To improve your chances of finding a teacher aide job in South Australia, we recommend the following:

• Do not limit your opportunities by ignoring high schools – they are not as intimidating as many believe.
• Consider special schools and centres – they repeatedly tell us that they need staff but are overlooked by many.
• Remember that initially you are looking for experience so don't be fussy about where you work – apply everywhere within a 40-minute drive.
• Be willing to travel early in your career even if just temporarily – a short 30-minute drive to work is nothing compared to the commute of many.
• If you know anyone in the industry – get the word out that you are looking for work – it only takes one job!
• Regardless of what everyone else wears – always dress professionally. Also be early and don't rush out the door the second the bell rings. A related side note: turn your mobile phone off and keep it off while at work – always.
• Remember this is your profession now – behave as such (no gossiping, arrive with 20 minutes to spare not 2 minutes before the bell, dress appropriately, be prepared, and offer to do some extra work from home to help the teacher).

If you live in a regional or rural area, it may be a little more difficult to find immediate work due to the limited number of schools, positions and students who need SSO support. In these cases, it's even more important to network, ask around, do some voluntary work etc.

Finding work in high schools can be easier because a lot of teacher aides simply do not consider want to work there. While high schools often have a bad reputation and teenagers seem scary to many people, the actual working conditions in a high school might surprise you. Many of our students that have given high schools a try have come back and said that they loved working there.

SSO is the term used in SA. Pictured: ITAC student completes her placement for the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support. Congratulations!

Yes - School Services Officers and teacher aides are one and the same. School services officer or SSO is the term used for teacher aides in South Australia. Each state and territory in Australia uses a different term for their teacher aides, even though 'teacher aide' is by far the most common term used by the general public and researchers.

Teacher aide is by far the most common term, is in no way meant to be offensive, and is a broad-based term referring to anyone who supports teachers and students in a school (excluding people who work in other areas such as administration). There are lots of different types of School Services Officers such as those who work in:

• special needs
• mainstream
• literacy or remedial programs
• accelerated or advanced programs
• behavioural programs or
• Indigenous programs.

Above: Study a teacher aide course from SA and learn a range of best practice skills, strategies and techniques such as those pictured: play-based learning, games and quizzes, transferrable skills, teaching space, peer tutoring, think-alouds, teaching props, pair and group work, problem based learning and many others. Only with ITAC, the experts in teacher aide training in Australia, will you learn these and many other research-based, best practice skills. You can learn more about our teacher aide courses here:

• CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support

• CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support

• Teacher Aide Combo

Above: A high quality teacher aide course will help you to develop your pedagogical skills and knowledge. What does this mean? It means our students learn how to support learning using research-based, best practice methods. Which strategies do you think the teacher aide in the image above is implementing? Scaffolding, modelling, explicit instruction, learning styles, differentiation, worked examples, rapport building, questioning techniques? Probably all of these!

Above: Teacher aides in Australia can take on many roles including higher level responsibilities if they have well-developed pedagogical skills. How do you learn pedagogical skills? Study a best practice, research-based teacher aide course such as the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support with the pre-eminent provider of teacher aide training in Australia. Our students learn a large number of effective strategies such as think-alouds, coping strategies, formative and summative assessment, prediction and using cues, repeated reading, intervention strategies, remedial programs, micro-learning and many others.

Above: After completing your teacher aide course in South Australia, you may find work in a range of schools including primary schools, high schools, senior colleges, or special education centres. Pictured above, you can see a teacher aide supporting primary school students with their learning. She is implementing a range of best practice teaching and learning strategies such as scaffolding, modelling, questioning and feedback techniques. Enrol in the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support or the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support with ITAC and this could soon be you.

Above: Another happy graduate of ITAC’s best practice CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support. The picture above was taken in the classroom where she undertook her work placement. In the final assessment for her research-based teacher aide course, this student demonstrated a range of best practice strategies and techniques that helped children in the class to develop their reading and writing skills.

This included active reading, writing to learn, critical literacies, multi-modal strategies, consolidation, post reading activities, re-reading, visualisation, and re-telling. While this may sound difficult now, completing a high-quality teacher aide course with ITAC will ensure that you too can master these skills and become an irreplaceable member of your school community.

Above: After demonstrating best practice teaching and learning strategies, this student graduated from her CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support. Many of our graduates end up working in the school where they complete their 100-hour work placement. Our students in South Australia find work much easier and sooner because they have studied best practice teaching strategies, behaviour management techniques, and logistical skills.

Above: Nothing is more satisfying than working hard and achieving your goals! Another ITAC student completes her placement for the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support in a primary school. In this picture you can see work samples completed by children during the placement. You too could be part of this exciting and rewarding industry, helping to teach the next generation of leaders in South Australia – enrol with the leading provider of teacher aide training in SA – ITAC.

Above: Teacher aides work in many and varied roles depending on the needs of the school and their students. An ITAC student pictured here, shows us the reading corner where she posts and records the day’s literacy activities such as reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary activities. From there, she helps students to develop their literacy skills throughout the day. This happens by employing industry best practice teaching and learning strategies from ITAC’s research-based teacher aide courses.

Think you can do what you have seen above? Interesting in becoming a teacher aide in South Australia? Learn more about your preferred teacher aide course in SA by clicking on any of the links below:

• CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support

• CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support

• Teacher Aide Combo

If you are enrolling or considering enrolling in an SSO or teacher aide course in SA such as the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support or the more advanced CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support, you have 2 options.

The first option is to enrol with a well know reputable provider such as ITAC. This is best for students who are looking for supported online or distance learning in SA. Our courses are suitable for adult learners who have busy lives and cannot afford to be in class on a regular basis.

If, however, you are a younger student such as in Year 11 or 12, you might also consider enrolling in the local TAFE. The TAFE system is geared towards supporting students who are younger such as by having classes that run 3-5 days per week for up to a year or longer. This is why we say that ITAC and TAFE don't compete per se, but complement each other by each serving a different type of student.

Ensure you are aware of additional costs such as textbooks, work placement fees, unit by unit fees, and most importantly your time - cheaper courses tend to take twice as long to complete meaning you miss out on being in the workforce earning money - thousands of dollars in lost earnings.

It is important to also note that you should not always enrol with a provider that offers the cheapest course fee. Consider the overall cost to complete course. Ask about ongoing costs such as resource and services fees - these are commonly found in cheaper courses. Ensure you are aware of additional costs such as textbooks, work placement fees, unit by unit fees, and most importantly your time - cheaper courses tend to take twice as long to complete meaning you miss out on being in the workforce earning money - thousands of dollars in lost earnings.

Ensure that the following services are available at the very least:

• The provider visits you in the workplace during your placement – an essential service that helps you to perfect your professional practice and is expected by schools.
• You can contact the trainer by phone - some providers only offer email support or their reply time is poor.
• Live and regular webinars are available for online students as well as videos and pre-recorded lectures made by their trainers.
• The provider teaches both the CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support and the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support as this indicates a level of expertise.
• The provider offers a true 'combo' meaning all units from both courses are mashed together, and not simply taught unit by unit which means a huge amount of repetition.

If for instance, a trainer does not visit you in the workplace while you complete your placement, you will miss out on important advice that will help you grow and develop as an SSO or teacher aide. In fact, your work placement may be the last opportunity that you ever get for a professional to observe you closely and to provide feedback on how to improve. This service is essential to your professional development and career - the better you can get, the easier you will find work.

This article has been developed for those who are considering a career as a teacher aide in South Australia (what is commonly known as an SSOs or School Support/Services Officers).

As the go-to provider for teacher aide courses such as the CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support, we get asked these questions every day – now we happily provide this information to the world so you can make the best decision about the right course, provider and mode for you. Here is what we learnt in this article about teacher aide courses in South Australia:

• To become an SSO or teacher aide in SA you will need to complete at least one teacher aide course (nationally recognised).
• We recommend the Teacher Aide Combo first and foremost. For not much more time or cost than a single qualification, you could have two certificates on your resume while boosting your skills and confidence.
• The CHC40221 Certificate IV in School Based Education Support focuses on work with students with additional needs. This means students with disabilities, disorders and difficulties. It also includes remedial and intervention literacy and numeracy programs.
• The CHC30221 Certificate III in School Based Education Support is the introductory teacher aide course that touches on additional needs as well as all of the fundamental teaching and learning strategies that schools expect you to know.
• Your teacher aide course will teach you research-based, best practice skills and strategies. Ensure your provider teaches a long list of skills such as modelling, scaffolding, active reading, learning styles, graphic organisers, and explicit instruction to name a few – learning these are critical to your career and your students’ success.
• High schools are a viable possibility that is often overlooked by many. However, high schools have many more employment opportunities and fewer people want to work there.
• When choosing a teacher aide course in SA, look for one who visits you in the workplace as this is an essential service that improves your professional practice. If enrolling in a combo, ensure it is a true 'combo' and not unit-by-unit.
• Also look for a provider who offers support services such as webinars and phone support as and when you need it so there are no delays – delays mean it takes longer to finish you course and this can result in lost earnings and opportunities.
• Enrol with a provider who offers a holistic or integrated program. This means that all units are mashed together and studied in topics or modules (and not unit-by-unit). It means you will not finish any unit until all assessments are complete but it removes a huge amount of duplication. This saves about 70% of time compared to a unit by unit course. ITAC is the only provider offering a holistic or integrated teacher aide course in Australia.
• School Services Officer or SSO is the official term used in South Australia particularly for teacher aides who work with students with special needs.
• Teacher aides can expect to earn $31 per hour on average in SA which is about $1000 per week noting that teacher aides usually only work 32 hours per week.
• After you have completed a teacher aide course and learnt industry best practice skills and knowledge, we recommend putting your name down for relief at 10-20 schools in your area – cast a wide net.
• ITAC specialise in teaching adult learners who need flexibility and structured, supported programs delivered in an adult-friendly environment.

Enrol with a provider who offers a holistic or integrated program. This means that all units are mashed together and studied in topics or modules (and not unit-by-unit).