Complete iCan Qualifications Limited End-Point Assessment Learning Support specification revision resources. Tailored syllabus coverage with topic breakdowns, quizzes, and practice questions.
Specification Topics
- iCQ Level 5 End-Point Assessment for Specialist Teaching Assistant - Core Content
- Assist advice and guidance clients to decide on a course of action
- Reflecting on practice and continuous professional development
- Understanding On Line Safety
- Develop interactions with advice and guidance clients
- Advocate on behalf of advice and guidance clients
- Integrate Careers Education Guidance _CEG_ within the curriculum
- Liaise with other services
- Manage personal case load
- Negotiate on behalf of advice and guidance clients
- Negotiate and maintain service agreements
- Operate within networks
- Prepare clients through advice and guidance for the implementation of a course of action
- Promote Careers Education Guidance _CEG_
- Prepare and set up mediation
- Provide and maintain information materials for use in the service
- Review own contribution to the service
- Prepare to represent advice and guidance clients in formal proceedings
- Support clients to make use of the advice and guidance service
- Understand the importance of legislation and procedures
- Present cases for advice and guidance clients in formal proceedings
- Understanding Prevent Duty
- Assist clients through advice and guidance to review their achievement of a course of action
- Production of supplier quotes for recommended solutions and strategies
- Provide support for other practitioners
- Stage and manage the mediation process
- Undertake research for the service and its clients
- Understanding Safeguarding
- Produce electronic reports
- Design information materials for use in the service
- Planning for a disability needs assessment
- Enable advice and guidance clients to access referral opportunities
- Conducting a disability needs assessment
- Establish communication with clients for advice and guidance
- Evaluate and develop own contribution to the service
- Facilitate learning in groups
- Identify and promote the contribution of Careers Education Guidance _CEG_ within the organisation
- Interact with clients using a range of media
Top Exam Board Tips
- Structure your portfolio evidence around the EPA assessment plan criteria, ensuring each piece directly demonstrates competence against the relevant standard.
- In professional discussion, use the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) technique to structure responses, clearly articulating your specific contribution and impact.
- Maintain a reflective journal throughout your practice to capture real-time examples of decision-making, challenges, and learning, which can be drawn upon during the assessment.
- Practice articulating your role in multi-agency working, highlighting how you communicate and coordinate to achieve holistic outcomes for the pupil.
- When compiling your portfolio, include anonymised case notes that explicitly reference how you checked the client's understanding at each stage to confirm they were making autonomous decisions.
- Use reflective accounts to demonstrate your awareness of potential power imbalances and the strategies you employed to neutralise them, such as active listening and paraphrasing.
- In observed assessments, verbalise your thought process when helping a client prioritise, e.g., 'I'm going to summarise what we've discussed so you can decide which next step feels most comfortable for you.'
- Anchor your reflection in a clear model and cycle through its stages systematically to show depth.
- For each CPD entry, explicitly state the benefit to the individuals you support, not just personal gain.
- Maintain a contemporaneous reflective journal to capture authentic insights and avoid retrospective bias.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Superficial or generic descriptions of practice without linking actions to specific pupil needs or underlying theory.
- Over-reliance on anecdotal evidence rather than robust, measurable data when evaluating the effectiveness of support strategies.
- Failing to reference key legislation and guidance explicitly, leading to insufficient justification for chosen approaches.
- Confusing the role of a Specialist Teaching Assistant with that of a teacher, particularly in planning and assessment responsibilities.
- Imposing the adviser's own solutions or biases rather than eliciting the client's preferences, thereby undermining client autonomy.
- Neglecting to document or clarify the boundaries of the advisory relationship, which can lead to dependency or misunderstandings about the support on offer.
- Rushing the decision-making process by moving from clarification directly to a course of action without a structured review of all viable options.
- Providing descriptive accounts of events rather than analytical reflection on practice.
Key Terminology & Definitions
- Core knowledge
- Practical application
- Be able to assist clients to clarify their requirements, Be able to negotiate boundaries with clients, Be able to assist clients to review and prioritise their decisions, Be able to assist clients select a course of action, Understand the importance of autonomy for the client
- Reflective practice models
- Self-assessment and awareness
- CPD planning and recording
- Ethical and inclusive practice
- Professional standards integration
- Impact on client outcomes
- 1. Understand the risks associated with inappropriate or illegal online activity2. Understand how to minimise online risks3. Understand signs and behavioural changes that could cause concern
- Be able to enable clients to explore their issues, Be able to sustain interactions with clients, Be able to bring interactions to a close
- Client-centred advocacy planning
- Stakeholder analysis and negotiation
- Ethical practice in representation
- Presentation and communication skills