Learning environment and partnerships Special educational needs and/or disabilities Training toolkit Working with teaching assistants Session 16
Learning environment and partnerships
Special educational needs and/or disabilitiesTraining toolkit
Working with teaching assistants
Session 16
Session 16Working with teaching assistants Learning environment and partnerships
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Learning outcomes
You will:− understand the key features of working with teaching
assistants and other adults in lessons− be aware of research evidence about the impact of
additional support− understand the importance of promoting students’
independence− understand the range of roles teaching assistants
can take− be aware of the issues around managing teaching
assistants
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Learning outcome
You will understand the key features of working effectively with teaching assistants in lessons
Activity 1
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Ground rules
Be clear about:− permission for students leaving the room− marking work− role in behaviour management − use of rewards and sanctions − role during whole-class teaching− keeping records about students’ learning− role if the supported student is absent
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Learning outcome
You will be familiar with research evidence on the impact of support from teaching assistants
Activity 2
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Teaching assistants’ support
can be ineffectiveUnless deployed effectively, a teaching assistant:− can have limited impact on students’ attainment − may focus more on students completing work than
on their learning− can increase students’ dependence− can reduce peer contact
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Effective support from teaching assistants
Teaching assistants’ support can be very effective when:− prescribed intervention programmes are delivered by
trained teaching assistants − the teacher retains responsibility for students’ learning− the teacher works closely with the teaching assistant
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Learning outcome
You will consider ways of deploying teaching assistants to promote students’ independence
Activity 3
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Reducing dependence
− Differentiate the learning objectives, if appropriate− Brief the teaching assistant on what students are to
learn, as well as the task they have to complete− Modify/adjust aspects of the lesson to promote
independence rather than using support from the teaching assistant
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Reducing dependence (continued…)
− Find opportunities for students to work with different teaching assistants
− Ask the teaching assistant to model a task, answer students’ questions, then move away to allow them to work independently
− Model ways of encouraging students to be more independent
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Learning outcome
You will develop your skills in working in partnership with teaching assistants to promote students’ learning
Activity 4
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Learning outcomes
You will:− know the range of roles that teaching assistants can
take in lessons and throughout the school− be able to draw on this knowledge when planning
your teaching
Activity 5
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Learning outcomes
You will be:− familiar with waves of intervention for students who
need additional support− aware of some of the intervention programmes you
may encounter
Activity 6
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Range of support roles
Teaching assistants’ roles working with students with SEN and/or disabilities may include:− support in lessons− support with mobility, specialist programmes,
independence skills and equipment− delivering structured and time-limited ‘intervention’
programmes for students who need to catch up− delivering intervention programmes to help students
progress faster
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‘Waves’ of interventionWaves of intervention model
Wave 3Additional highly
personalised interventions
Wave 2Additional interventions to
enable students to work at age-related expectations or above
Wave 1Inclusive quality first teaching for all
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‘Waves’ model – behaviour
Additional highly
personalised interventions
Small-group intervention for children
who need additional help in developing
skills and their familiesQuality first teaching of social,
emotional and behavioural skills to all children; effective whole-school or setting policies and frameworks for
promoting emotional health and well-being
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Effective interventions
− Not used as a substitute for quality first teaching (wave 1)
− Targeted at the right students through careful assessment and monitoring of progress
− Delivered by trained teaching assistants, who receive ongoing support
− Time-limited with clear entry and exit criteria
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Effective interventions (continued…)
− Evaluated for impact− Involve regular discussion between the teacher and
teaching assistant − Monitored by the teacher − Linked, wherever possible, to the work of the rest of
the class
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Learning outcome
You will know how to manage the work of
teaching assistants
Activity 7
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Key management issues
− What is the best use of the teacher’s and the teaching assistant’s time?
− What role should each take?− How and when will we plan together?− How and when will I monitor the teaching
assistant’s work?− How and when will we review our work?
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Key management issues (continued…)
− How will we evaluate the impact of the support?− Who will communicate with parents/carers?− What professional development or support might the
teaching assistant need?
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Learning outcomes
You will:− reflect on the key learning points from the session− identify key points of action for yourself
Activity 8
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Key learning points
− Make sure the teaching assistant promotes students’ independence
− Plan and review together − Agree roles, responsibilities and boundaries − Implement the ‘waves of intervention’ model