The Essential Guide for Competent Teaching Assistants

Meeting the National Occupational Standards at Level 2

Anne Watkinson

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2014
• ISBN:
  9781317857532
• Edition: 2
• Topic: Education
• Subtopic: Education General

This indispensable textbook provides the underpinning knowledge to support all teaching assistants working towards Level 2 of the National Occupational Standards.

This new edition is fully revised and extended to incorporate and respond to all new materials required to meet the 2007 standards. Taking into account current initiatives including Workforce Remodelling and the Every Child Matters agenda, the book can be used to support NVQs, or other Teaching Assistant awards at level 2, or can be used simply to supplement good practice.

This accessible companion:

• actively engages the reader in activities, developing reflective practice while giving the theoretical background to school-based work
• gives insight and information about pupils' individual needs
• helps teaching assistants develop curriculum-based skills to enable more effective classroom support
• emphasises that teaching assistants are team members, supporting the school and being supported by the school.

Contributions from specialist advisers ensure that the ideas and techniques are up to date, relevant and the best practice. All phases of education are covered, from the early years to later secondary years, and references are made to sources of further information throughout the book.

The Essential Guide for Competent Teaching Assistants is invaluable in supporting both study and everyday practice. It will also be useful to training providers, teachers and school managers supporting Teaching Assistants in their professional development.

CHAPTER

1

Introduction

The reason for this book

TEACHING ASSISTANTS (TAS) are big news. Over the last ten years, their importance has been recognised and their number increased dramatically. There are very few schools, if any, that do not have them, although schools may call them by different titles and utilise them in different ways. The government has put considerable resources into the recruitment, training and support of systems for professional and career development, including facilitating pathways to teaching for those who wish it. National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Level 2 and Level 3 assistants were introduced in 2001 and a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) status introduced in 2003. The rewriting of the NOS (TDA 2007) has coincided with the embedding into schools of a number of important initiatives, so the time is right for a second edition of the book to support assistants in their work.

The first set of standards seemed complicated and were written as a result of study of the varied role of TAs, consultation with focus groups and advisers. The role has not become easier to define in the intervening years: TAs have undertaken more responsibilities as well as operating effectively at the various defined levels. There are now learning mentors, cover supervisors and senior TAs in addition to the HLTAs. It is still not compulsory for TAs to have any qualifications at all on appointment, but increasingly the TAs themselves as well as school managers are recognising the value of training and celebrating the training with qualification recognition. The place of vocational qualifications as distinct from purely academic ones has also been more widely recognised by school leaders, who were used in the past to dealing with either qualified teachers or ‘non-teachers’. Training, qualifications and career development including pathways for those who wish to become teachers are now well established, recognised as valuable and growing. There are nationally recognised training and qualifications available for all categories of school support staff.

Since the first edition of this book, the literacy and numeracy strategies have gone into secondary schools, and a primary strategy is attempting to give schools greater freedom to define their own curriculum. The very title of the introductory document Excellence and enjoyment (DfES 2003a) indicated the need to release schools from the strait-jacket which the subject strategies had become. The secondary curriculum as a whole has been reviewed and the revised one already published to be in place for September 2008. This emphasis on curriculum content and the accompanying testing regime has narrowed horizons for school teaching staff, but this has not brought about a narrowing for the TAs. The introduction of Workforce Remodelling (DfES 2003b), an attempt to lighten the workload for teachers, has increased the schools’ dependence on assistance, not only from TAs but also from administrative staff. ICT (information and communication technology) has become increasingly dominant in the last few years, not only because of the development of the technology itself, but also because of government funding. Most classrooms now have interactive whiteboards, schools and classrooms are linked with the internet through wireless connections, and all teachers and some TAs have their own laptops. TAs are now expected to be computer literate and often to communicate with other staff and deal with school matters electronically. Policies and procedures are available on an intranet, along with plans and resources.

There has also been a move towards more joined-up thinking between service providers for those dealing with children and young people. Some high-profile child abuse cases, notably that of a little girl, Victoria Climbié, highlighted that lack of communication between Local Authority (LA) departments was a major factor in the failure to support the child. A very important document called Every Child Matters (ECM) (DfES 2004a) outlined the philosophy which was felt desirable. Instead of focusing on the curriculum and its delivery, it focused on the needs and rights of children. Children are defined as those younger than 18 years old. The details of this initiative and its implications for local government, and more particularly for schools and their staff, will permeate this edition. It focuses on the softer outcomes of child care and education rather than hard-edged, testable, target-orientated ones. It underlines the fact that while schools are more than children’s homes and education is more than care, unhappy children cannot learn. Low self-esteem, poverty, ill-health and the like prevent children from reaching their potential. This has now been followed by a ten-year Children’s Plan (DCSF 2007a).

Along with the major ECM initiative have come several smaller ones which all make their impact felt in schools. Short inspections, focused on the school’s own self-evaluation; moves to look at the value a school adds to its pupils’ achievements rather than crude test and examination result lists; providing for children before and after school hours; attempting to assess for and personalise learning rather than stick with the ‘one size fits all’ model have all contributed to a more autonomous climate for school governance. School budgets have been increased in real terms, enabling them to be more adventurous with staffing and resource provision. School buildings have improved, including making provision for TAs in the staffroom. It is rare now to find the teaching and support staff separation that was common ten years ago, although, sadly, it does still exist.

It is not necessary for a beginning TA starting out in their career to understand all these initiatives but you do need to recognise that government initiatives and change are facts of life. The more you listen to the talk around you and become part of the school culture, the more easily you will be able to participate and contribute. You will be able to support children and adults in your school better if you understand the context of their actions. While working at Level 2 is largely going to be a practical job, the more you understand why you are asked to do something, the better you will do it. One of the most marked characteristics of TAs is their job satisfaction. Apart from the hours fitting in with family life, it is why most TAs are prepared to accept a lower salary. ‘They love the job.’ Understanding the purpose of your tasks will enable you to do them more satisfactorily, effectively and enjoyably, to support the teachers and the school better.

Who the book is for

The book is intended for those of you who have recently started in the job, or who are working as volunteers and are keen to understand more about the role. The NOS Level 2 define what a competent TA, ‘whose responsibilities are limited in scope,’ should be able to do (LGNTO 2001:) Level 2: 2. If you read all of this book, do many of the activities, and enrol for a Level 2 course at a local study centre, you will be in a good position to get a Level 2 award, showing your competence to be a good TA. This award would prove to any prospective employer that you know what you are doing, know what the job entails (whether you are working in the primary or secondary sector, or in a middle school system), whether you are to support a named pupil or carry out a specific curriculum programme. It is likely that you will need some specific and specialist training in your school, particularly for many of the optional standards, in addition to reading this book and attending a course if the pupils you work with have particular needs. It is important for TAs in any school to understand the characteristics of the development of average children, to recognise that pedagogic expertise applies in all sectors and that curriculum entitlement is for all children, whatever schools they attend. Also, undertaking a study in the generalist areas of school work will stand you in good stead should your job change, or if when working in a special school you want to enter mainstream schools. Whether you stay in your current school or change, you should still know the basic principles which underpin the general ways in which education and schools work. The new standards recognise that there are specialisms within mainstream school, such as SEN, curriculum areas, different phases or settings, or mentoring or roles and for these specialisms you will need specialist expertise to support you.

Only you can learn about your job. Knowledge and understanding cannot be fed to you without you digesting it, taking it in and using it. You must take personal responsibility for your continuing professional development. You may want to show off your acquisition by undertaking assignments for others to read or even enter them into some kind of awards system, but fundamentally, all adults are still learners, and responsible for their own learning and progress. If you have not studied since leaving school, you may need to consider your own study skills to help you adjust, but dipping into some of the ideas in this book will help you on your way.

How this book can be used

This book can be read and acted on in the sequence in which it is written, which may take some time if you stop and reflect on ideas, or carry out some of the activities, but even then it is not intended to be a course on its own. You cannot take a vocational course successfully without actually working at the job: that is what they are designed for. Many of the specialist optional standards are very practical and will involve hands-on training from an expert or professional in the area in order to complete the standard. This book can only be a taster for those standards. You should also make sure that someone in the school is aware that you want to better yourself, increase your knowledge and understanding of the way in which you can support teaching and learning. Sharing with others your ideas and thoughts on the content is also important. If you wish to undertake work towards awards then seek out a local provider, preferably with the guidance and possibly even with the financial support of your school, and register for an accredited award. This book can then be your back-up text. If you undertake an award you will find that you do not have to cover all the content of this book to gain the award but you may find that the parts you are not covering for the award are still relevant to the job you are doing.

The real intention of the book is that it can be a foundation reference book. Use the index to find what you need, read that bit, do any associated activities and make any notes for your own future reference. Discuss the reading with others in the school or on your course and remember anything you feel is important to use in your daily work. Not everything you will want to know will be found in this book – few books can ever provide such reference. The new standards cover a wide area to provide for the possible range of activity of today’s TAs. There will be a few references to other specialist texts, some of which should either be in your school resource collection or one of the teachers may have it at home or it is downloadable from the net. Your best option is to seek out the member of staff responsible for the area in which you are particularly interested, talk with them, share ideas and ask their advice and help with resources and further reading.

The book is not written to follow the standards, but as a textbook to support working in schools. This is deliberate. While there are references to working in the early years, including with babies from birth to 3, the main context of the book will be that of compulsory schooling age, that is from 5 to 16 years old. The standards are called Supporting Teaching and Learning in Schools (STL). The intention is that reading this will give you a grounding in the way good schools work to support teaching and learning in an holistic way. If you are working in an early years’ setting the principles of good practice still apply – you are working with other people’s children. The hope is that you will understand the general principles of teaching and learning and of school organisation from this book rather than have a step by step guide to completing a particular unit for your award. Thus the book should be of wider and longer use than just supporting the NOS.

Chapter 2 starts from yourself, gives you ideas on ways in which you can help yourself to learn and undertake professional and personal development and some practical ways to proceed. Reading Chapter 2 should help you set yourself in the context of your job and your school, and begin a way of recording your thoughts and information. Then progress to the chapter or section that you feel most relates to your needs. Remember, you do not work in isolation. It is essential that all that you do in school fits in with the way things are done in that school, and that you play your part as a member of staff, whether or not you are paid to work in the school. It may feel sometimes that teachers come to school to shut themselves away from their colleagues in a c...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgements
• Photographs
• Figures
• Tables
• Abbreviations
• 1: Introduction
• 2: Starting with yourself
• 3: Working with others – the importance of relationships
• 4: The school structures, systems and procedures that you need to know and understand
• 5: Development and learning
• 6: Care and support of pupils
• 7: Providing for similarities and differences of pupils
• 8: Supporting the teacher and teaching
• 9: Supporting the curriculum
• 10: Supporting English and mathematics
• 11: Supporting ICT and practical subjects including play
• 12: Looking forwards
• References
• Index