jobfacts

Educational support assistants

SOC 2020 6113

Educational support assistants work with teachers to provide one-to-one support for children with particular learning needs.

Also calledCommunication support workerCSWSign language support workerSupport workerSupport assistantSpecial needs assistantand 49 more titles
Typical full-time pay£21,4002025 Provisional
People in the job327,000across the UK
Demand for workersElevated
New adverts a month6,100↓ 11%on last year · 24th of 412

Pay

ONS · ASHE 2025

Half of full-time educational support assistants earn between £18,500 and £25,500 a year.

What full-time educational support assistants earn, 2025
£21,400 typical£16,400lowest 10%£18,50025%£26,600top 20%n/ptop 10%
Middle half (£18,500–£25,500)n/p: top 10% not published by ONS
Show as table
Lowest 10% earn less than£16,400
Lowest 20% earn less than£17,900
25%£18,500
Median£21,400
75%£25,500
Top 20% earn more than£26,600
Top 10% earn more thanNot published
Typical pay by regionUK median £21,400
London£24,600
Wales!£23,700
North West£22,900
West Midlands£21,300
Yorkshire and The Humber!£21,100
South East£20,400
East Midlands!£20,000
East of England!£19,300
South West!£18,300
North EastNot published by ONS–
ScotlandNot published by ONS–
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
UK median, £21,400
London£24,600
Wales£23,700 (small sample)
North West£22,900
West Midlands£21,300
Yorkshire and The Humber£21,100 (small sample)
South East£20,400
East Midlands£20,000 (small sample)
East of England£19,300 (small sample)
South West£18,300 (small sample)
North EastNot published by ONS
ScotlandNot published by ONS
Typical pay over 3 years
  • 2023 £19,300
  • 2024 £20,700
  • 2025 Provisional£21,400
↑ 11% since 2023Provisional figures are revised when ONS publishes the next year’s survey.

Jobs and demand

ONS · Textkernel adverts · DfE

About 6,100 jobs for educational support assistants are advertised each month. The Department for Education rates demand for workers as elevated.

New job adverts a month, Jan 2017 to Aug 2026
New advertsMonth not published by ONS (4 in all)
Show as table
Aug 20264,866
Jul 20265,717
Jun 2026Not published
May 20265,994
Apr 20265,315
Mar 2026Not published
Feb 20265,567
Jan 20267,376
Dec 20253,378
Nov 20257,090
Oct 20256,960
Sept 20258,336
Aug 20255,511
Jul 2025Not published
Jun 2025Not published
May 20257,339
Apr 20255,849
Mar 20256,973
Feb 20256,538
Jan 20258,018
Dec 20245,397
Nov 20247,080
Oct 20247,343
Sept 20248,372
Aug 20245,326
Jul 20247,328
Jun 20247,597
May 20246,926
Apr 20246,865
Mar 20246,639
Feb 20246,539
Jan 20248,056
Dec 20236,038
Nov 20237,356
Oct 20236,566
Sept 20237,241
Aug 20235,599
Jul 20236,432
Jun 20237,961
May 20236,638
Apr 20235,636
Mar 20237,709
Feb 20237,552
Jan 20239,067
Dec 20226,920
Nov 20229,193
Oct 20228,984
Sept 20229,151
Aug 20226,234
Jul 20227,891
Jun 20228,029
May 20227,377
Apr 20225,959
Mar 20228,099
Feb 20228,599
Jan 20228,281
Dec 20216,731
Nov 20218,311
Oct 20218,430
Sept 20217,943
Aug 20214,773
Jul 20217,103
Jun 20216,937
May 20216,552
Apr 20215,212
Mar 20216,324
Feb 20213,872
Jan 20214,610
Dec 20205,037
Nov 20205,930
Oct 20206,102
Sept 20206,158
Aug 20203,990
Jul 20205,334
Jun 20204,893
May 20204,217
Apr 20204,169
Mar 20206,332
Feb 20206,027
Jan 20206,538
Dec 20195,173
Nov 20196,436
Oct 20197,045
Sept 20196,670
Aug 20195,376
Jul 20198,223
Jun 20198,308
May 20196,735
Apr 20193,346
Mar 20194,237
Feb 20193,924
Jan 20194,292
Dec 20183,261
Nov 20184,711
Oct 20184,654
Sept 20184,661
Aug 20183,468
Jul 20184,735
Jun 20184,850
May 20183,664
Apr 20183,323
Mar 20183,969
Feb 20183,633
Jan 20184,837
Dec 20172,807
Nov 20174,239
Oct 20173,820
Sept 20174,153
Aug 20172,452
Jul 20173,228
Jun 20174,077
May 20173,017
Apr 20172,388
Mar 20173,426
Feb 20172,953
Jan 20173,556
Is there a shortage of educational support assistants?
Elevated

The Department for Education rates demand as not high, elevated or critical, using five indicators. This is its 2025 assessment.

  • Visas grantedAbove usual
  • Online job advertsAbove usual
  • Wage growthAbove usual
  • Pay against similar jobsUsual
  • Hours workedAbove usual
Note: uncertainty in change in hourly wage.
Vacancies hard to fill because of skills
20%against 27% for all jobs
DfE Employer Skills Survey 2024.
Where the most jobs are advertisedadverts a quarter
London3,269
Birmingham241
Leeds233
Manchester225
Bristol, City of222
Liverpool196
Mid Sussex187
Reigate and Banstead183
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole170
Bradford165
London is published as one area. Averages leave out quarters ONS withheld.
Where educational support assistants are most concentratedShare of local job adverts, compared with the UK.

Recruitment from abroad. 36 sponsored work visas were granted for this job from July 2025 to June 2026, most to people from Germany, Brazil, Israel, ranking it 157th of 313. Home Office

Who does it

ONS · Annual Population Survey · April 2025 to March 2026
Age of educational support assistants
14%!
19%
20%
25%
20%
2.1%!
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
16–2414% (small sample)
25–3419%
35–4420%
45–5425%
55–6420%
65+2.1% (small sample)
Highest qualification
Degree or equivalent35%
Higher education below degree12%
A levels or equivalent28%
GCSEs or equivalent17%
Other qualifications4.1%
No qualifications!1.4%
!Small sample: treat with caution
Show as table
Degree or equivalent35%
Higher education below degree12%
A levels or equivalent28%
GCSEs or equivalent17%
Other qualifications4.1%
No qualifications1.4% (small sample)

Main employers: primary education (57%), general secondary education (22%), educational support activities (4%), other education nec (2.1%).

How to get in

Hold a degree
35%
as their highest qualification
Apprenticeships
None
none leads directly into this work

Routes in

You can get into this job through:

University

You can study for a British Sign Language and deaf studies degree at university though this is not essential to work as a communication support worker.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English
  • 2 to 3 A levels, or equivalent, for a degree

College

Employers will expect you to have a minimum of a level 3 sign language qualification, which can be done at college. Courses include:

  • Level 3 Award In Signing and Receiving Skills in British Sign Language
  • Level 3 Certificate in British Sign Language
  • Level 3 Certificate in Working Effectively with Deafblind Manual

You'll normally need to complete a level 2 sign language course to move on to level 3.

You can do further qualifications at higher levels once you start work.

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

Other ways in

Work your way up

You may be able to find a job as an assistant communication support worker and complete a qualification while working.

Volunteering

Volunteering with children and young people, who are deaf or have hearing loss issues, is a good way to get experience and may be helpful when you apply for jobs.

Other routes

You can do sign language training with Signature, leading to a Level 3 Certificate in Professional Communication Support.

What you’ll need

  • pass enhanced background checks

Registration and professional bodies

Career tips

Some jobs are term-time only and a working week can vary from a few hours up to full time. Advertised pay rates are often listed as full-time equivalent (FTE). Actual pay will depend on the number of hours worked.

Further information

You can get more advice about careers in British Sign Language from Signature.

Routes in are from the National Careers Service job profile for communication support worker. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

The work

ONS · ESCO · O*NET

Typical tasks

  • supports schoolwork under teacher’s supervision
  • helps child understand instruction through a variety of means and encourages self-confidence and independence
  • identifies signs of distress and offers reassurance
  • implements care programmes, as appropriate
  • helps and encourages child to communicate
  • attends to child’s physical needs
  • provides feedback to teachers and completes and maintains records

Skills

  • assess the development of youth
  • assist students in their learning
  • assist students with equipment
  • encourage students to acknowledge their achievements
  • give constructive feedback
  • guarantee students' safety
  • manage children's problems
  • observe student's progress
  • perform playground surveillance
  • provide lesson materials
  • provide teacher support
  • support children's wellbeing
  • support the positiveness of youths
  • escort students on a field trip

Knowledge

  • learning difficulties
  • curriculum objectives
  • workplace sanitation
  • common children's diseases
  • first aid
  • teamwork principles
  • children's physical development
  • kindergarten school procedures

Suits people who like

  • Helping and caring for people
  • Organising and following procedures

Outlook

DfE · Skills Imperative 2035
Broader groupThese projections are for caring personal service occupations, a group of 16 jobs that includes educational support assistants.
Change in jobs, 2020 to 2035↑ 20%about 466,000 more jobs
Workers needed by 20351.9 millionincluding people replacing those who retire or leave

Sources

Pay
ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
People in the job, who does it
ONS, Annual Population Survey, April 2025 to March 2026
Job adverts
ONS, online job adverts (Textkernel), to Aug 2026
Demand, skill shortages
Department for Education and Skills England, Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey
Outlook
The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE
Routes in
National Careers Service job profiles
Apprenticeships, qualifications
Skills England occupational maps
Skills, interests
ESCO classification of the European Commission; O*NET data, U.S. Department of Labor (CC BY 4.0, modified)
Visas
Home Office, immigration system statistics

Figures as of 10 October 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Occupations in demand and the Employer Skills Survey: Department for Education and Skills England. Immigration system statistics: Home Office. Contains public sector information from the National Careers Service licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

© Skills England 2025. This information is licensed under the Open Government Licence https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Source: The Skills Imperative 2035 (2024), NFER/Nuffield/DfE/IER/CE.

This service uses the ESCO classification of the European Commission.

This service includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. This service has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. CC BY 4.0 licence.

jobfacts is independent. It is not part of, affiliated with or endorsed by the Office for National Statistics, the Department for Education, Skills England, the National Careers Service, the Home Office, the European Commission or the U.S. Department of Labor.