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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One of the most important benefits of RAISE was its impact on pupils’ personal and social skills.· Examples of effective practice include:· an approach to tackling disadvantage that includes all staff and not just the staff who were directly involved in RAISE-funded work;· procedures to track the progress of all pupils that allow staff to monitor the progress of different groups of pupils, including those who are eligible for free school meals;· constructive work with other services in the area and with the local community;· an increase in the expertise of teaching assistants; and· more attention to developing pupils’ social and emotional skills.· Some schools succeed despite facing challenging circumstances.  These successful schools tend to do well by doing the same kinds of things that all successful schools do.  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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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They also emphasise a quick start on entry to school through early assessment and intervention.· In successful secondary schools, the additional features include a strong emphasis on social inclusion, a focus on meeting the needs of all pupils without compromising high academic standards and a willingness to develop the curriculum to meet needs, especially in key stage 4 where the ambitions of Learning Pathways 14-19 have been embraced.  These schools have a positive view of the value of vocational education and readily work with other schools, further education colleges and work-based learning providers to develop collaborative provision at key stage 4 and in post 16.· Schools alone cannot break the link between poverty and underachievement.  Research stresses the need for integrated and broad-based approaches that involve a number of agencies working together.  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

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      string(5704) "more GCSE gradesA* to C or equivalent is much smallerin England than in Wales.In most schools, the achievementof  pupils involved in specific RAISE(Raising Attainment and IndividualStandards in Education) funded workimproved a great deal.  One of  themost important benefits of  RAISEwas its impact on pupils’ personal andsocial skills.An approach to tacklingdisadvantage that includes all staffand not just the staff  who weredirectly involved in RAISE fundedwork is an example of  good practicewhen trying to close the attainmentgap. As is the implementation ofprocedures to track the progress ofall pupils that allow staff  to monitorthe progress of  different groupsof  pupils, including those who areeligible for free school meals. Othereffective practices include constructivework with other services in the areaand with the local community, anincrease in the expertise of  teachingassistants, and more attention beingpaid to developing pupils’ social andemotional skills.Some schools succeed despitefacing challenging circumstances.Successful schools tend to do wellbecause they have highly effectiveleadership and consistently goodteaching, and place an emphasis onparticular activities or combinationof  activities. For instance, theyattach great importance to extra-Tackling Child Poverty And Disadvantage InSchoolsHow schools in Wales are helping to reduce the attainment gaphttp://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s Reportscurricular and out-of-school-hoursprovision, including cultural andsport enrichment, as well as extraeducational support such as homeworkclubs, at lunch times or after school.They have high expectations ofstandards and behaviour and a zerotolerance of  excuses for poor provisionor underachievement.In addition to these generalfeatures, primary schools that do wellin challenging circumstances also havea vibrant curriculum that includesenrichment activities, a well-structuredand delivered personal and socialeducation programme, and a genuineplace for pupils’ voice that ensures allpupils have a chance to have their sayabout what and how they learn. Theyalso emphasise a quick start on entryto school through early assessmentand intervention.In successful secondary schools,the additional features include astrong emphasis on social inclusion,a focus on meeting the needs of  allpupils without compromising highacademic standards and a willingnessto develop the curriculum to meetneeds, especially in Key Stage 4 wherethe ambitions of  Learning Pathways14-19 have been embraced.  Theseschools have a positive view of  thevalue of  vocational education andreadily work with other schools,further education colleges and work-based learning providers to developcollaborative provision at Key Stage 4and in post 16.However, schools alone cannotbreak the link between poverty andunderachievement. Research stressesthe need for integrated and broad-based approaches that involve anumber of  agencies working together.Community-focused schools cancontribute to this work but there areno agreed and specific criteria forwhat they should do and no specificguidance about how they can help totackle the link between disadvantageand underachievement through jointagency collaboration.The report concludes that schoolsshould maintain a clearer focus ondisadvantaged pupils in all aspectsof  their work and develop a strategythat directly tackles disadvantage.They need to track the performanceof  pupils and intervene accordingly,improve their social and emotionalskills and work more systematicallywith parents to support disadvantagedpupils. Estyn also suggest that schoolsgive a senior leader managerialresponsibility for improving thestandards achieved by disadvantagedlearners.Subscriptions hotline:0121 224 7578Fax orders:0121 224 7598Post:Imaginative Minds, 215 The Green House,Gibb Street, Birmingham, B9 4AACTL02/10Incorporatingcreativity and criticalthinking into yourschoolThe school curriculum ischanging! Learning, Personaland Thinking Skills are akey part of the secondarycurriculum, and cross-curriculum projectbased work is now central to teaching in primaryschools and Key Stage 3. The government wantsthe endowment of creativity and critical skills inpupils to be a core mission of schools. Creative Teaching& Learning magazine under its old name TeachingThinking & Creativity, has been providing this forschools for the past 10 years. Recognised as the mostcutting edge curriculum magazine in the country,it has championed such approaches as Philosophyfor Children, Building Learning Power, IntelligentLearning and Mantle of The Expert. The magazineinvestigates how the curriculum can be remodelledand explores how thinking skills approaches can beembedded within subject and project-based teaching.In every issue it has project resource packs whichshow how project work can be given much moremeaning and pedagogic depth.Creative Teaching & Learning magazine isdedicated to promoting critical and creative thinkingat both primary and secondary level. Packed withpractical information, guidance and jargon freeadvice, it makes education more imaginative andeffective and helps to raise the standards of teachingand learning by developing children’s thinking skills.CreativeTeaching & Learninghttp://www.teachingtimes.comThis month’s ReportsTargeted Mental Health inSchools (TaMHS) is a three-year DCSF programme aimedat supporting the developmentof  innovative models of  mentalhealth support in schools forchildren and young people atrisk of, or experiencing, mentalhealth problems. The aim ofthis research was to explorethe"
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Special Needs

Every Child Update Issue 7 Reports

7 Jun 2010