“Who are you here to support?”
It’s a question I dread. As a higher level teaching assistant, I work with some of our school’s most vulnerable pupils and such questions can mark them out as “different” as soon as I enter the classroom.
I originally planned to have career in teaching, but I soon realised the benefits of working as a teaching assistant (TA). Granted, the pay leaves a lot to be desired, but we are privileged to be able to develop close, supportive relationships with the pupils who need it most. We improve self-esteem and confidence, as well as progress. But I worry that we are at risk of developing an over-reliance from a group of pupils for whom independence is already an issue.
After 15 years in this job, I have worked with a lot of teachers. The approaches to classroom support are varied; many integrate me into their lessons, but others rely on me to police their classes or, worse, ignore me completely.
One thing is always the same – kids with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND) are always my responsibility. And they know it. As soon as the teacher finishes talking, I hear a chorus of “Miss! Miss! Miss!”, with hands raised before any thought process has taken place. I always encourage a “try it yourself first” attitude, but this is often met with the blank expression of a child who has learned that someone will eventually do it for them.
TAs are often directed towards the weakest or most vulnerable students and expected to keep them focused and engaged. In some circumstances, we will work with one student for the entire lesson. This might reduce pressure on the teacher, but the resulting attachment to the TA does nothing to develop the students’ academic or social skills. All too often, TAs can fall into the trap of becoming surrogate friends for vulnerable young people, who then become ostracised from their peers as a result.
Classroom pressures only exacerbate the issue, as the need to complete tasks weighs on everyone. For some students with special educational needs, their learning difficulties and reduced processing skills can make finishing a task almost impossible. This leads to a demoralising situation where they are either left behind or never fully understand anything because they are always playing catch-up. In order to alleviate this problem, TAs may start prompting too much in order to get the job done, rather than encouraging independent learning and true understanding.
Accidental segregation
Even in students’ free time, we still can’t seem to get it right. Provisions, such as break and lunch clubs, are frequently provided for those who find social interaction difficult, or are at risk of being bullied. Sadly, this can go against the core principles of inclusive education and segregate those with SEND from other students.
We should be developing resilience, confidence and friendship skills to prepare students for the real world beyond school. However, we can end up reinforcing the idea that these students cannot cope and need to be protected from the perceived dangers of life.
Dependency can be even more of a problem when working with students with physical disabilities. Many buildings in mainstream schools are still not really accessible, which can leave students completely reliant on a member of staff to assist in simply negotiating the school environment.
The lack of automatic doors, for example, causes dependence on others for the basic task of moving from class to class. In the hustle and bustle of a school day, it’s easy for this support to be extended to a range of activities, such as getting out equipment, which the student may be more than capable of achieving on their own.
I am usually wary of changes within the education system, but I have welcomed the updated SEND Code of Practice as it finally addresses these issues. The focus on quality-first teaching should ensure that all students receive the same level of education from trained teachers, leaving support staff to reinforce learning, rather than deliver it.
However, for this to really happen, there needs to be a change in attitude. Teachers have become used to attaching TAs to pupils as a solution to differentiation, pupils have developed a reliance on this close support, and TAs have become comfortable over-supporting students.
Instead of being glued to students who have a learning need, TAs must be employed more effectively to deliver targeted interventions based on progress and attainment. Support staff have to be valued as skilled professionals with specific specialisms, instead of babysitters.
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Comments (89)
This discussion is now closed for comments but you can still sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion next timeComments (89)
This discussion is now closed for comments but you can still sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion next timethis is a good article and there had not been enough discussion of this. If i relate this to autism and mental health, there is a conflict. Often children with autism do not have specific academic learning difficulties. In fact many have a strong memory, perhaps the most useful skill for passing exams. But they may find it difficult to understand what to do in the classroom if the environment is noisy or chaotic, if the instructions are not clear, or require a level of interpretation or "common sense" that they might not have.
For example, being put into a group and told to discuss something: that could be an impossible task for even the brightest Aspergers child.
Children with autism need to learn how to cope in the world, and school can be a great place to learn that, IF the environment is right. If it's not right, it can backfire, the child can become anxious and develop mental health problems. There's a balance to be struck: helping the child to become independent, not helping them to become dependent. It's a difficult thing to judge and it's not surprising that we get it wrong more than we get it right. But I have seen severely autistic children learn to recognise and manage their condition, and it's amazing what they can do. Read Daniel Tammet "Born on a Blue Day".
Your approach should have changed about 3 years ago when the Code of Practice was under review. Now you should be policing the majority and keeping them on task as they can often learn more independently. Now it is the class teacher that should be working more closely with the SEND pupils. Not surprising, with the lack of meaningful CPD for established class teachers and TAs, that this message has not got through. I'm only aware of it as it was my research focus whilst getting my degree and QTS
I'd like to see how that would work in the last class I took.
A profoundly deaf student, he had a specialist TA (the only TA I had that year) and I don't know BSL.
Many TAs are aware of how we should work but we HAVE to work under the direction of the class teacher. That has never been an issue until recently but, I am working with a teacher who is new to the school who had directed that I must ONLY work with students on the SEND register.
Having queried this with her, and listing best practice, I was told I was only an TA and should not undermine her. Having then spoken to the SENCO, I was told to do what I can to do my job well but to folow the instruction. The teacher's wishes come before the student's needs and before the code of practice.
30 Year 10 pupils of mixed ability. Seven with moderate learning difficulties, including Dyspraxia, dyslexia, discalculia, Behavioural Issues and one pupil with 'Oppositional Disorder'. Three pupils of set 1 standard, 9 of set 2 standard, 5 of set 3 standard and the remainder of set 4 standard.
One LSA assigned 1:1 with Asperger's Syndrome and that's your lot, cock.
Differentiate that.