Learning Support Assistants

My name is Emma Pass, and I’ve been an LSA for nearly two years. I came to education from a corporate background because I was looking for a role that gave back to the community rather than took away from it.

I love working with our young students, and I’m always surprised and inspired when a student overcomes their inhibitions or reaches a target they never imagined achieving. Knowing that you’ve helped them on their journey is an incredible feeling.

My name is Gabriela, and I have been at Activate Learning for almost four years.

I started working at Activate Learning, Reading College in 2021 as a Learning Support Assistant. Before this role, I had never supported college students, but I quickly discovered this was what I was meant to do because I have always been passionate about helping others.

After around a year and a half, I began teaching Access to HE Psychology & Mental Health while continuing to work as an LSA. Teaching was a brief but exciting career path for me and a very valuable experience that I will always cherish.

I then moved into a full-time Study Mentor role, where I continued to thrive. When an opportunity came up for a GLS Team Leader role (Maternity Cover), my team encouraged me to apply. I was very fortunate to be given this opportunity. Afterwards, I continued as part of the GLS Leadership team and have since relocated to Bracknell and Wokingham College, where I currently work.

Throughout my journey, the organisation has supported me by offering excellent development opportunities and providing a wide range of training to help me feel confident and equipped in every role I have undertaken.

There have been numerous CPD opportunities available to me, many of which I have completed and now deliver to my own team to help enrich their knowledge and support them in reaching their full potential.

We support learners from LifeSkills Tier 2 with significant learning difficulties and medical needs through to students studying Level 3 and T Level courses. Every learner is different and unique, and it is incredibly rewarding to be part of their college journey and help them thrive and achieve their goals.

A typical day can vary from quiet and structured to dynamic and fast-paced, depending on the circumstances. As a Team Leader, my role is to ensure everything runs smoothly and that every member of the team feels confident and prepared for the day ahead. Our priority is always to make sure our learners are supported, no matter what.

The most rewarding part of my job is seeing our learners progress and achieve their goals. It is amazing to watch a student arrive at college feeling shy, uncertain, and lacking confidence, and then see them grow into someone more independent, achieve high grades, and in some cases even secure employment — a huge step towards adulthood.

If you are passionate about helping others, enjoy working in an environment where no two days are the same, want to develop your knowledge across many areas, and are flexible and eager to learn, then this is the right role for you. You do not need previous experience — just a willingness to support learners in achieving their goals and dreams.

I genuinely love my job. Supporting learners to reach their full potential is incredibly rewarding, and there’s nothing I’d rather be doing.

No two days are ever the same. While there can be challenges, the positives far outweigh the negatives, especially when you see students grow in confidence and achieve things they never thought possible.

I joined Activate Learning as a Learning Support Assistant and will have been with the organisation for three years in September 2025. I initially supported students across Tier 2, 3, 4 and 5 provision before progressing into my current role as an LSA Mentor in September 2024.

Throughout my time here, Activate Learning has given me opportunities to take part in a wide range of training and CPD sessions, both online and in person. These have helped me develop professionally and personally, while building my confidence and giving me the skills needed to progress into a mentoring role. The training has also helped me better support learners, understand different strategies for managing challenging situations, and stay up to date with best practice around areas such as autism, ADHD and communication support.

As an LSA Mentor, I now help new team members settle into the role, build confidence, and develop the skills they need to support learners effectively. The support from my line manager and wider team has played a huge part in my journey. We work closely together, support one another through challenges, and always aim to bring out the best in each other.

My role is split between classroom support and admin responsibilities. Three days a week, I support learners in lessons including Functional Skills and GCSE Maths and English, working with students across a range of needs and abilities. I also help support high-needs learners during break and lunch times, helping them build confidence, independence and social skills in everyday situations.

The other two days are spent in the office supporting with timetables, updating support plans, maintaining records, and helping ensure everything runs smoothly for both learners and staff.

The most rewarding part of my job is seeing students grow in confidence — not just academically, but personally too. Watching a learner who may have struggled with confidence or communication begin to make friends, engage in lessons, or independently hold conversations is an amazing feeling. Supporting students to overcome challenges, understand their work, and realise their potential is what makes the role so worthwhile.

Working as an LSA at Activate Learning can open many doors. It’s not a dead-end role — there are genuine opportunities to upskill, progress into teaching, and continue developing your career with support every step of the way.

The team I work with is fantastic. Everyone brings something unique, and we support one another every day to create the best possible experience for our learners.

Activate Learning has played a big role in my life since studying at City of Oxford College as a student in Performing Arts, I have learnt a lot on my journey to where I am today. Through growing as a student at City of Oxford College from 2012-2015 I knew that this was a place I wanted to come back to. To give back and support students who needed guidance and encouragement to succeed. 

After time away from Oxford studying at university and doing odd jobs here and there, I had the opportunity to come back and work for Activate Learning at Oxford as a Learning Support Assistant in April 2021. This taught me a number of skills, such as resilience, teamwork, patience, professionalism as well as the Activate Way. 

Supporting students with a wide variety of barriers to learning helped me develop my understanding and knowledge of how to support students whether that was working in our LifeSkills department or to work with students with additional support needs cross college. More importantly, the role of Learning Support Assistant gave me the opportunity to help people not only students but staff as well, which gave me the opportunity to take on my current role of LSA Team Leader. 

The opportunities to develop at Activate Learning as a Learning Support Assistant are endless. The opportunity to support students with barriers to learning will help you develop and make you a core part of our Group Learning Support team.

The feeling of knowing you’ve helped someone else to achieve a goal or to help them with a life skill is an indescribable joy. 

I know I wouldn’t be who I am today without being a Learning Support Assistant. 

I initially started as a learner at Reading College on a Health & Social Care programme and completed some work experience within the LLDD department at Reading. After a positive work experience placement I decided to take up the offer of remaining at the College the following year and became a full time Learning Support Assistant.

During my 4 years in this role I had a varied timetable and worked with learners with a range of learning needs and medical conditions. I supported learners within our LLDD department to access and engage within the classroom environment, as well as overseeing their medical and personal care needs during recreational time whilst always aiming to promote independence. I then went on to become a Senior Learning Support Assistant which involved timetabling and ensuring learners support needs were met. I worked with a team of seniors to manage and support the Learning support team providing training and day to day guidance.

During this time I completed a Level 3 Award in Education and training as well as various train the trainer courses in order for me to support and train the Learning Support team. In 2022 I moved across to Bracknell college and became the Group Learning Support Team Leader leading on our support offer across all faculties.