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Teaching assistants are a quiet army of knowledge and expertise. Much of their hard work is invisible to onlookers and their job descriptions rarely cover the vast array of tasks they must complete in a day.
But the professional development paths often aren’t as obvious as they are for teachers.
“Teaching assistants have increasing levels of responsibility but their CPD options aren’t always immediately apparent,” says Gemma Corby, special educational needs coordinator at Hobart High School in Norfolk.
“If a teaching assistant wants to develop professionally, they will need to be proactive in their approach.”
So, what can teaching assistants do to seek out professional development?
1. Find your specialism
Corby advises teaching assistants to speak up when they find an area they would like to specialise in.
“We have different teaching assistants for different specialisms, and we have developed a culture where my teaching assistants know they can approach me and express an interest in a particular area, and I will arrange the relevant training for them,” Corby explains.
“We have teaching assistants who are specialised things like in speech and language, Sound Discovery phonics, and in building blocks of communication using Lego. This means we end up with a really great broad range of skills.”
2. Branch out
Schools catering for students with physical needs (such as sight impairment or hearing impairment) will provide training for the staff who will be in contact with that student. For teaching assistants keen to expand their professional knowledge, this can be a great opportunity to learn something new.
If the training isn’t immediately relevant, that isn’t a reason to turn down the opportunity. You may find it proves useful if you later change roles or apply for a teaching assistant role in a different school.
3. Look for whole-school opportunities
Leading a whole school-activity may not be part of your remit as a teaching assistant, but if you offer to run one, it can provide the opportunity to work with a variety of staff.
Leading assemblies and taking charge of projects will also change the way students perceive teaching assistants; when one leads a high-profile project, it raises the profile of all. Fallout 4 brush gun.
'I organised a Roald Dahl day and led whole-school assemblies in the lead up to the event,' explains Vikki Pickering, a teaching assistant at St Paul’s Church of England Primary School in Gloucester. Falkor flirt serial killer.
'Even though it was a lot of work, I really enjoyed organising such a large event and I know I have a great experience to talk about the next time I go for a new job.'
4. Explore exam access
Exam access arrangements for children with additional needs are an important part of a school’s special educational needs and disability setup, and getting trained to assess which dispensations students are allowed will make you an asset to any school.
“I’ve arranged for teaching assistants to have the exam dispensation training. It’s a really interesting area for my TAs to be involved in and their training also helps them in their role in the classroom,” Corby says.
5. Step up
A typical career trajectory for a teaching assistant would be to higher level teaching assistant or into teaching.
Coming from a teaching assistant background is the perfect stepping stone for a career leading the classroom and your experience will be highly valued if you choose to take this route.
Gemma Corby is special educational needs coordinator at Hobart High School, Norfolk, and she tweets from @SENDGems. You can read all her articles on her Tes author page
For TAs looking to make the step up into teaching, Tes Institute’s Straight to Teaching course allows you to become a qualified teacher while remaining in your school.
Teaching assistants play a vital role in classrooms up and down the country. The position is a rewarding and flexible one, but also a fantastic way to gain classroom experience before going into teacher training.
TAs will largely find themselves either working with the whole class, working with small groups or working with individual pupils, however the most common set up is that the TA works with small groups of children.
Related
- More information for teaching assistants
Teaching assistant contracts
TA employment conditions are either set by the local authority or by the school in accordance with LA guidance and there are a variety of types of contract used:
- Permanent all year
- Temporary all year
- Permanent term time
- Temporary term time
- Casual
According to Unison research, amongst local authorities the vast majority of TAs are on term-time or casual contracts. However, there is a considerable variety in the types of contracts used, with individual schools often employing TAs on at least two different kinds of contract. Casual contracts are most likely to apply to TAs taken on to work with a specific child.
Teaching assistant pay
Teaching assistants are usually paid on the support staff pay scale that begins at £17,364. The full payscale is available here.
Working out what TAs actually get paid can be complicated though as variations in hours and term-time working usually mean that actual pay is less than what a full-time, full-year worker gets on the relevant scale point. According to Unison, the average annual salary for a TA is £12,081.
Term-time working can mean TAs are paid on the basis of a 38- or 39-hour working year plus four or five weeks' holiday. However, there are plenty of variations on this and a term time year can mean anything from 43 to 49.5 weeks, including paid leave.
Holiday allowances for teaching assistants
Teacher Assistant Pros And Cons
If you’re on a permanent full-time contract then you’ll get school holidays as paid leave. However, most TAs are on term-time-only contracts, which means you don’t get paid for school holidays but should get four or five weeks holiday a year. Annual leave entitlement can sometimes go up according to your years of service.
Sick pay and pensions
Teaching Assistants should be eligible to join the local authority sick pay and pension scheme.
Union membership for teaching assistants
It’s not compulsory for teaching assistants to join a union but it is advisable. You can join one of the local government unions – Unison, GMB or Unite. You can also join the teaching union National Education Union as a support staff member.
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For more advice from other TAs on which union to join read this conversation on the Tes teaching assistant forum.
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