Male SNA?

First off drop the male bit from your question, a degree in early childhood education would be a good start, not saying you would not get a job with a level 5 but you would be very lucly.

I work in education sector, not one SNA has a childcare degree. They all have SNA qualifications and plenty of experience.

The male part is extremely relevant when choosing a change of profession which involves children. It may not be palatable but male discrimination is an unfortunate fact, you've probably never been at the receiving end?

How are the online courses rated?

Chevron training, the open College etc

Go for its if it's what the OP really wants to do, education is never wasted.

Interviews are well able to spot someone looking for a handy number so make sure that is not your motivation for the job.

I was addressing the fact that perceiving themselves as a male anything can make the person present themselves as awkward or uncomfortable in an interview, it stems from a belief that the job is mainly female and that they might look suspect for applying for the job. I heard someone talk about a 'male' nurse the other day as if it was unusual for a man to be a nurse these things seem to be very deep-rooted in people.

In other words, go for the job and stop thinking of the job as male or female.

There's lots of different types of SNA roles. Working with a child in a mainstream school is probably going to be a bit different from working with children in a special school or a unit for children with disabilities. The child in the mainstream school is likely to have less profound disabilities, so there will be more matters of personal care, communication and support. The child in the special school or unit is likely to have more profound disabilities, and possibly more physically challenging behaviour.

To a certain extent, you will be in control of which direction you go, in terms of what posts you choose to apply for.