Can teaching assistants support social inclusion?

Teachers, leaders and politicians alike have long questioned the usefulness of teaching assistants in the classroom. Here Dr Helen Saddler questions the way TAs are currently deployed and offers an interesting perspective on where their value lies.

Difficulties in identifying good practice approaches to the deployment of teaching assistants (TAs) are nothing new. Ever since the Sutton Trust and Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) reports first surfaced between 2008 and 2012^1,2, the value and place of TAs in our schools has been continually questioned. The assertion that many TAs are having a neutral and, in some cases, a negative influence on pupil attainment is significant cause for concern. Clearly, the government is unsure of their stance on TAs, choosing not to publish the long awaited new TA standards and instead leaving it to the unions to take the plunge.³

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      string(3774) "organisational skills.3. Support given to the pupils to help them follow teachers’ instruction and carry out tasks independently.4. Contribution to increasing the students’ focus concentration and achievement.Appendix 6http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s Practice File5. Contribution to social inclusion and behaviour management. Comment on the adult/ pupils interaction.6. Any other notes.Strategies used:Direction Explanation DiscussionDemonstration Evaluation ModellingExploration Questioning InvestigationReflection ScaffoldingSignatures: (Dates)Teaching Assistant:Observer:http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s Practice FilePlanning with your Support StaffPlease complete this prior to the start of the lesson and email, hand a copy to the supporting member of staff at the start of the lesson. You can expect a commentback at the end of the lesson.Teaching Assistant name:Date:Lesson/Subject/ Class1. What is the objective for this lesson?2. Which pupils would you like supported?P          SEN3. How would you like the LSA to differentiate or support?Appendix 7http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s Practice File4. How will progress be measured?By the end of the lesson, these pupils should be able to show/ demonstrate/ complete…?5. For the LSA: Complete and share with teacher at the end of the lesson:What were the barriers/ difficulties/ behaviours that impacted a pupils achievement of the lesson objective?Signatures: (Dates)Teaching Assistant:http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s Practice FileHow do departments use the TAsStatement: In Place Partlyin placeTo bedevelopedTeachers and teaching assistants plan lessons together or share lessons plans, and have a clear understanding of theircomplementary roles.Teaching assistant deployment is aimed at increasing pupils’ inclusion in a group and whole class learning activities.The focus of the teaching assistant support is to develop and build confidence.Support is selected for particular times and purposes that are linked to pupils’ outcomes.Support is delivered by trained adults who understand the pupils’ individual needs and the curriculum being taught.Lessons are designed to ensure teachers and teaching assistants regularly work with small groups.Teaching assistants are aware of the class rules and agreed behaviour management strategies.Teaching assistants contribute towards assessment for learning of particular individuals and groups though pupilobservation and feed back to the teacher.Individual support is discreet to avoid pupils feeling overwhelmed, embarrassed or becoming dependant.Support for additional pupils is additionally aimed at developing inclusion in the social aspect of school.The interventions taking place outside the classroom equip pupils with skills needed in subject classrooms.Teaching assistants support pupils’ personal care and medical needs with sensitivity and discretion.Teaching assistants are contactable for advice outside the 25 hour teaching periods.Teaching assistants are deployed effectively within the classroom and are not asked to take out single pupils on thebasis of behaviour or ability.Teachers know who is supporting a particular lesson/ pupil and include the deployment of TAs in their planning.Appendix 8http://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s Practice FileWhat are the barriers to the Teacher / TApartnership?What are the opportunities for the Teacher / TA partnership?http://www.teachingtimes.com"
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Practice File: The SENCo/TA partnership

14 Mar 2013

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Special Needs

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16 Apr 2018

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Leadership

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7 May 2010

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It also comments on the performance of disadvantaged learners and identifies examples of effective practice as well as suggesting actions for improving the performance of disadvantaged pupils.Main Findings:· There is a strong statistical link between poverty and low educational attainment.  In general, pupils from poorer families are still far more likely to attain at lower levels than other pupils.· At all key stages in Wales, pupils who are entitled to free school meals perform significantly less well than those not eligible for free school meals against a range of performance indicators.  The gap in performance is larger in secondary schools than in primary schools.· In English, mathematics and science at key stage 2, the gap between the performance of free-school-meals pupils and non-free-school-meals pupils only reduced by a small amount in 2008 in Wales, whereas in England the gap has closed steadily over the period from 2006 to 2008.  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For instance, they:· attach great importance to extra-curricular and out-of-school-hours provision, including cultural and sport enrichment, as well as extra educational support such as homework clubs, at lunch times or after school;· have high expectations of standards and behaviour and a zero tolerance of excuses for poor provision or underachievement;· work closely with parents and the wider community to reinforce expectations; and· give substantial attention to developing pupils’ social and emotional skills, and improving their confidence and self-esteem.· In addition, primary schools that do well in challenging circumstances also have a vibrant curriculum that includes enrichment activities, a well-structured and delivered personal and social education programme, and a genuine place for pupils’ voice that ensures all pupils have a chance to have their say about what and how they learn.  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Community-focused schools can contribute to this work but there are no agreed and specific criteria for what community-focused schools should do and no specific guidance about how community-focused schools can help to tackle the link between disadvantage and underachievement through joint agency collaboration.   ActionRecommendationsSchools should:· Maintain a clearer focus on disadvantaged pupils in all aspects of their work and develop a strategy that directly tackles disadvantage;· Track the performance of disadvantaged pupils and intervene accordingly;· Improve pupils’ social and emotional skills;· Work more systematically with parents to support disadvantaged pupils; and· Give a senior leader managerial responsibility for improving the standards achieved by disadvantaged learners.NotesAuthorRaspal Chima, Imaginative MindsDate CreatedJanuary 2010Enquiries to:raspal.chima@yahoo.co.uk (Authoring Unit)Month /"
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Leadership

Tackling Child Poverty And Disadvantage In Schools

21 Jan 2010