Secondary TAs: Planning Work
0001 10:00:25:12 10:00:27:24
I'm here till half four,
five o'clock
0002 10:00:27:24 10:00:33:07
because I like to get my records in
order while it's fresh in my mind.
0003 10:00:33:07 10:00:37:04
I find if I leave it a day or two,
I'm then struggling.
0004 10:00:43:21 10:00:48:02
The planning for the lessons we have
to do is working with the teacher,
0005 10:00:48:02 10:00:50:12
either to have a conversation
before the lesson
0006 10:00:50:12 10:00:53:02
or we get a yellow sheet
with the description on
0007 10:00:53:02 10:00:56:05
of what the lesson will be about,
who we'll be working with
0008 10:00:56:05 10:01:00:00
and what the teachers think
might be difficult for that student.
0009 10:01:04:12 10:01:07:17
If you've got a child
that needs graphs doing
0010 10:01:07:17 10:01:11:02
or special tables preparing,
0011 10:01:11:02 10:01:14:16
then you can prepare those before
you actually go into the lesson.
0012 10:01:14:16 10:01:19:05
That makes the lesson easier
for them. They don't get behind.
0013 10:01:20:08 10:01:24:10
(man) So, how do teaching assistants
organise their support for pupils
0014 10:01:24:10 10:01:28:10
across the whole curriculum
in a school like Earls High?
0015 10:01:28:10 10:01:30:22
It's all about planning.
0016 10:01:30:22 10:01:34:02
I feel it's very important
that the teaching assistant
0017 10:01:34:02 10:01:39:06
is fully aware of what
the lesson content is going to be
0018 10:01:39:06 10:01:42:13
and exactly what their role
is going to be in that lesson.
0019 10:01:45:00 10:01:50:12
On the first day back in September,
all staff receive the timetable
0020 10:01:50:12 10:01:55:02
of support they're going to be
getting for the next academic year,
0021 10:01:55:02 10:01:57:10
and it's stated
which teaching assistants
0022 10:01:57:10 10:01:59:08
are going to be in their lessons.
0023 10:01:59:08 10:02:03:10
We also give some quite detailed
information at that point
0024 10:02:03:10 10:02:05:08
on what the role of the teacher is
0025 10:02:05:08 10:02:07:17
in supporting
the teaching assistant.
0026 10:02:11:03 10:02:14:03
(John) I'm normally in
for eight o'clock in the morning.
0027 10:02:14:03 10:02:17:17
You have to check pigeonholes
for information from teachers
0028 10:02:17:17 10:02:21:11
and I like to spend some time
just by myself,
0029 10:02:21:11 10:02:24:06
familiarising myself
with what we'll be doing,
0030 10:02:24:06 10:02:27:03
making sure I've got all
the resources that I need.
0031 10:02:27:03 10:02:30:12
There's a lot of information on
there, but I like to read through it
0032 10:02:30:12 10:02:35:12
and then make notes of my own
so that I can remember it as well.
0033 10:02:35:12 10:02:37:16
You're working with pupils
whose minds
0034 10:02:37:16 10:02:39:12
are a lot more agile than mine now,
0035 10:02:39:12 10:02:43:13
so it's important for me
that I've got my finger on the pulse
0036 10:02:43:13 10:02:46:00
and I know what's happening.
So, we do planning.
0037 10:02:46:00 10:02:50:16
I may do it after school
or at night at home.
0038 10:02:50:16 10:02:55:18
My other half is a teacher, so we
both sit there boring each other.
0039 10:02:55:18 10:02:59:21
No, we both sit there
doing planning together quite often.
0040 10:02:59:21 10:03:02:12
How many did I say
you were going to try and do?
0041 10:03:02:12 10:03:05:11
- (child) Five.
- Five or more. That's right. OK.
0042 10:03:05:11 10:03:09:01
(Cat) When we come in in the morning
we have a set plan of lessons
0043 10:03:09:01 10:03:10:23
and set students.
0044 10:03:10:23 10:03:13:10
So, we go into each lesson and help,
0045 10:03:13:10 10:03:17:04
and then if there's work
that needs to be done in other ways,
0046 10:03:17:04 10:03:20:05
we'll take up break times
or lunch times or after school
0047 10:03:20:05 10:03:24:04
to get that student in or a group
of students in and work through it.
0048 10:03:24:04 10:03:29:18
If I explain that it's one metre
divided by the time,
0049 10:03:29:18 10:03:32:24
and then we get the speed
in metres per second. OK?
0050 10:03:32:24 10:03:37:03
The planning for the lessons we have
to do is working with the teacher,
0051 10:03:37:03 10:03:40:01
either to have a conversation
before the lesson
0052 10:03:40:01 10:03:42:12
or we get a yellow sheet
with the description on
0053 10:03:42:12 10:03:45:18
of what the lesson will be about,
who we'll be working with
0054 10:03:45:18 10:03:48:24
and what the teachers think
might be difficult for that student.
0055 10:03:50:13 10:03:53:19
(man) The teaching assistants'
planning folder is their bible.
0056 10:03:53:19 10:03:58:03
It's for pupil records and,
of course, those yellow sheets.
0057 10:03:58:03 10:04:01:05
(Cat) I've had support from
the other teaching assistants,
0058 10:04:01:05 10:04:04:00
especially when I first
came into the job.
0059 10:04:04:00 10:04:08:12
Because of how our folders
have to be set out,
0060 10:04:08:12 10:04:11:00
you will get one or two of them
sitting down with you
0061 10:04:11:00 10:04:14:05
and explaining everything
you have to do in the job,
0062 10:04:14:05 10:04:16:03
then taking you to the photocopier
0063 10:04:16:03 10:04:18:17
and helping you get
all your folder together,
0064 10:04:18:17 10:04:21:16
and of course bringing you
tea and biscuits as well
0065 10:04:21:16 10:04:24:00
just to make you feel welcome.
0066 10:04:24:00 10:04:27:08
(Ros) If you listen to the
discussion in the staff room,
0067 10:04:27:08 10:04:30:15
they're all deciding how they can
best support each other
0068 10:04:30:15 10:04:33:02
and support the students.
0069 10:04:33:02 10:04:38:01
Often, teaching assistants are here
at eight o'clock in the morning.
0070 10:04:38:01 10:04:43:12
Some of them don't leave until half
four, five o'clock, sometimes later.
0071 10:04:43:12 10:04:47:11
(Cat) Sometimes at dinner times
you have some photocopying to do
0072 10:04:47:11 10:04:49:15
if the student needs
the work enlarged,
0073 10:04:49:15 10:04:53:03
so you'd get that done so you're
prepared for every lesson
0074 10:04:53:03 10:04:55:08
that you go into.
0075 10:04:56:08 10:05:00:01
The curriculum is quite difficult
to get your head round,
0076 10:05:00:01 10:05:03:18
to understand, when you're
constantly in and out of lessons.
0077 10:05:03:18 10:05:05:24
Did you get some pictures
of wildlife?
0078 10:05:05:24 10:05:08:15
No. I ain't got pictures,
0079 10:05:08:15 10:05:11:07
- but I've got...
- You've got your flip chart.
0080 10:05:11:07 10:05:13:16
(Cat) I think it helps
with me being young,
0081 10:05:13:16 10:05:16:19
because it's only a few years,
it's not been that many years
0082 10:05:16:19 10:05:19:09
since I've been out of school
and out of education,
0083 10:05:19:09 10:05:24:04
so it's quite easy to be swapped
from one thing to the other.
0084 10:05:24:04 10:05:28:12
Working with years 8s and year 9s,
it's still at quite a basic level.
0085 10:05:35:18 10:05:39:15
(Chris) I think at the moment I'm
lucky that the teachers I work with
0086 10:05:39:15 10:05:42:12
are appreciative of why I'm in there
0087 10:05:42:12 10:05:45:10
because of the pupils that I'm with.
0088 10:05:45:10 10:05:48:23
So, were there any tables at all
that really couldn't get started?
0089 10:05:48:23 10:05:51:22
They were good. They seemed
to know what they were doing.
0090 10:05:51:22 10:05:55:06
The problem was when we came to
the representation of the football.
0091 10:05:55:06 10:05:58:20
(teacher) The ideas that get planned
for the lessons are often shared.
0092 10:05:58:20 10:06:00:20
We discuss them
and if Chris has an idea
0093 10:06:00:20 10:06:04:23
as to how we can achieve success
with a student she's working with,
0094 10:06:04:23 10:06:07:13
then obviously that's
a massive bonus to me
0095 10:06:07:13 10:06:09:19
to have her working alongside there.
0096 10:06:09:19 10:06:14:06
If we give them sugar paper and get
them to jot down their ideas,
0097 10:06:14:06 10:06:17:20
and if you can work with those
three tables, I'll do the other two.
0098 10:06:17:20 10:06:20:15
(Anne) In terms of planning,
either I write things down
0099 10:06:20:15 10:06:23:23
on the yellow sheet that you
might have seen Chris clutching
0100 10:06:23:23 10:06:28:07
or we talk things through
and the planning emerges
0101 10:06:28:07 10:06:30:13
through that discussion.
0102 10:06:30:13 10:06:33:24
If you've got a child
that needs graphs doing
0103 10:06:33:24 10:06:37:04
or special tables preparing
0104 10:06:37:04 10:06:40:18
then you can prepare those before
you actually go into the lesson.
0105 10:06:40:18 10:06:43:22
That makes the lesson easier
for them. They don't get behind.
0106 10:06:43:22 10:06:46:08
What is a stereotype?
0107 10:06:46:08 10:06:48:20
Aaron, go on.
0108 10:06:48:20 10:06:51:03
What we think people are.
0109 10:06:51:03 10:06:54:18
What else can we say
about a stereotype?
0110 10:06:54:18 10:06:57:10
- Everyone can be the same.
- That everyone's the same.
0111 10:06:57:10 10:06:59:13
They're lumped together
into one group.
0112 10:06:59:13 10:07:04:08
Chris and I are quite lucky in that
some of our lessons run into breaks
0113 10:07:04:08 10:07:07:18
and the two of us are quite happy
to chat as things are packing away.
0114 10:07:07:18 10:07:11:24
When the pressure is on
midway through a term,
0115 10:07:11:24 10:07:14:15
that tends to be
when we catch up most.
0116 10:07:14:15 10:07:18:04
Put it in a different way.
She plays football. She's very...
0117 10:07:18:04 10:07:20:06
- Sporty.
- OK.
0118 10:07:21:22 10:07:25:22
Shortish staff meeting. We've got
two main items on the agenda.
0119 10:07:25:22 10:07:28:19
(Chris) We go to all the staff
meetings after school,
0120 10:07:28:19 10:07:31:12
every briefing on a Tuesday morning.
0121 10:07:31:12 10:07:34:04
Anything that's going on
we're notified about.
0122 10:07:34:04 10:07:38:12
It's in our pigeonholes. We know
what's going on in the school
0123 10:07:38:12 10:07:40:11
just the same
as the normal staff.
0124 10:07:40:11 10:07:43:23
There's not a little clique for this
and a little clique for that.
0125 10:07:43:23 10:07:46:08
I do genuinely believe
0126 10:07:46:08 10:07:50:09
that we know more collectively
than we do individually.
0127 10:07:50:09 10:07:55:03
(Cat) Even as a teaching assistant
we have to attend staff meetings
0128 10:07:55:03 10:07:57:12
so you can get together
with all your teachers.
0129 10:07:57:12 10:07:59:24
It's really good,
because you're given
0130 10:07:59:24 10:08:03:10
the same amount of respect
as a teacher,
0131 10:08:03:10 10:08:06:02
which you need when you're
working in the classroom.
0132 10:08:06:02 10:08:08:21
The real grounding
for school improvement
0133 10:08:08:21 10:08:11:21
is the conversations
that happen between professionals.
0134 10:08:11:21 10:08:15:07
I think that's where
we learn the most.
0135 10:08:18:04 10:08:20:13
(Ros) I actually teach
a year 8 class,
0136 10:08:20:13 10:08:24:19
so I have a teaching assistant
supporting me in the classroom.
0137 10:08:24:19 10:08:27:10
They'll have to bring
everything together there
0138 10:08:27:10 10:08:30:02
and argue their point of view
in the role-play.
0139 10:08:30:02 10:08:34:02
I do have first-hand experience,
and it helps to remind me sometimes
0140 10:08:34:02 10:08:38:10
how difficult it is to make sure
that you've met with the assistant,
0141 10:08:38:10 10:08:40:08
that they've had
the planning sheet
0142 10:08:40:08 10:08:44:05
and they're fully conversant with
what's going on in my lesson.
0143 10:08:44:05 10:08:46:23
Consider the three reasons
why Henry VIII
0144 10:08:46:23 10:08:49:20
decided to dissolve the monasteries.
0145 10:08:49:20 10:08:54:06
Which reason do you think
was the most important?
0146 10:08:54:06 10:08:57:20
Now, there's not necessarily
a right or wrong answer.
0147 10:08:57:20 10:08:59:23
OK? Two minutes in your group.
0148 10:08:59:23 10:09:02:01
Didn't he like the Pope
being the head?
0149 10:09:02:01 10:09:04:24
He wanted them to obey him
instead of the Pope.
0150 10:09:04:24 10:09:08:01
He wanted control, didn't he?
He wanted control.
0151 10:09:08:01 10:09:12:02
The teachers will give us
a lesson outline
0152 10:09:12:02 10:09:16:07
which will tell us basically
what they're going to be covering,
0153 10:09:16:07 10:09:18:20
so we're not going
into the lessons cold.
0154 10:09:18:20 10:09:23:08
And then if there are any resources
that we need,
0155 10:09:23:08 10:09:28:02
that we feel we need to compile,
then we'll compile the resources.
0156 10:09:28:02 10:09:31:14
OK? See what you can do.
Really impressed.
0157 10:09:31:14 10:09:33:23
If you've got 30 students
in a class,
0158 10:09:33:23 10:09:36:21
it's quite difficult to assess
0159 10:09:36:21 10:09:40:24
how each student is performing,
0160 10:09:40:24 10:09:45:11
whereas the teaching assistant can
provide valuable evidence there
0161 10:09:45:11 10:09:48:19
of how they've coped
with a particular task.
0162 10:09:48:19 10:09:52:18
You are going to have to
think on your feet. OK?
0163 10:09:54:01 10:09:56:22
Welcome to everybody
to our learning-support meeting.
0164 10:09:56:22 10:09:58:24
Any apologies?
0165 10:09:58:24 10:10:03:17
The teaching assistants and myself
meet every Wednesday after school
0166 10:10:03:17 10:10:05:15
to plan for the following week.
0167 10:10:05:15 10:10:07:24
The performance management
is well under way.
0168 10:10:07:24 10:10:10:15
I think I've only got a couple
of people now to see
0169 10:10:10:15 10:10:12:13
from the teaching assistants.
0170 10:10:12:13 10:10:17:02
It's an opportunity for me to give
out any information about courses
0171 10:10:17:02 10:10:19:22
or individual students,
0172 10:10:19:22 10:10:22:17
meeting with parents,
0173 10:10:22:17 10:10:25:19
the external agency meetings
that are likely to take place
0174 10:10:25:19 10:10:29:15
over the next week
that they need to be informed of.
0175 10:10:29:15 10:10:33:21
It's also an opportunity
for them to discuss with me
0176 10:10:33:21 10:10:35:23
any concerns they may have,
0177 10:10:35:23 10:10:38:16
and it's just a general
debrief session, really.
0178 10:10:38:16 10:10:42:03
There's three different aspects
of Asperger's children.
0179 10:10:42:03 10:10:44:18
Social communication
they have difficulty with,
0180 10:10:44:18 10:10:48:02
social interaction
and social imagination.
0181 10:10:48:02 10:10:52:16
And there's a whole range
of examples in here.
0182 10:10:52:16 10:10:54:19
Things like "crying your eyes out" -
0183 10:10:54:19 10:10:57:05
that would really freak
some of the kids out.
0184 10:10:57:05 10:11:00:19
They would think their eyes were
gonna come out if they were crying.
0185 10:11:00:19 10:11:03:23
It's quite a close-knit group.
Any time you've got a problem,
0186 10:11:03:23 10:11:06:20
there will be one or two people
you can go straight to
0187 10:11:06:20 10:11:09:08
and say,
"Can you help me with this?"
0188 10:11:09:08 10:11:12:02
Because I only recently
started the job,
0189 10:11:12:02 10:11:14:19
it's nice because I feel like
0190 10:11:14:19 10:11:17:19
I can rely on some people
who've been here for years.
0191 10:11:17:19 10:11:21:03
Make sure that worksheets
aren't cluttered.
0192 10:11:21:03 10:11:25:04
It's very difficult to keep in with
everybody all the time and catch up,
0193 10:11:25:04 10:11:29:14
so what we tend to do is we have
a little staff room where we go,
0194 10:11:29:14 10:11:31:21
chat to people there,
and I find that what I do
0195 10:11:31:21 10:11:35:05
is if there's anyone in
the breakfast club when I come in
0196 10:11:35:05 10:11:41:07
I just pop my head round and say,
"You all right? Is everything OK?"
0197 10:11:41:07 10:11:44:07
(John) Some teachers make a point
of coming and talking to me,
0198 10:11:44:07 10:11:47:09
even if they've given me a sheet
to say what we'd be doing.
0199 10:11:47:09 10:11:52:06
"This what we're covering and this
is the way that I'm gonna do it."
0200 10:11:52:06 10:11:55:18
I find it very helpful
to chat to the teachers.
0201 10:11:55:18 10:11:58:03
I make a point of doing that
if there's something
0202 10:11:58:03 10:12:03:02
that I've not covered before
and that I'm not certain about.
0203 10:12:06:14 10:12:11:24
One interesting issue when you've
got extra people in the classrooms
0204 10:12:11:24 10:12:16:08
is you get much more information
coming back from the students
0205 10:12:16:08 10:12:19:06
about their views
of teaching and learning,
0206 10:12:19:06 10:12:21:14
and you're able
to bring that information
0207 10:12:21:14 10:12:23:19
back into the cycle
of school improvement.
0208 10:12:27:17 10:12:29:17
I'm here till half four,
five o'clock
0209 10:12:29:17 10:12:35:06
because I like to get my records in
order while it's fresh in my mind.
0210 10:12:35:06 10:12:39:07
I find if I leave it a day or two,
I'm then struggling to remember.
0211 10:12:39:07 10:12:42:23
I make notes during the lessons,
but then I find that I'm struggling
0212 10:12:42:23 10:12:45:17
to think what I meant
by the note that I made.
0213 10:12:45:17 10:12:48:22
I like to sit at the end of the day,
make notes that need to be made,
0214 10:12:48:22 10:12:51:07
get the records up to date,
0215 10:12:51:07 10:12:55:00
and make sure, really, I've got
everything clear from that day.
0216 10:12:55:00 10:12:57:12
And any resources
that I need as well,
0217 10:12:57:12 10:12:59:19
if I've got to create resources,
0218 10:12:59:19 10:13:03:06
just to get on the computer
and create them.
0219 10:13:05:17 10:13:08:09
If you get a problem,
there's usually somebody
0220 10:13:08:09 10:13:11:07
that's done it, been there,
knows what to do next
0221 10:13:11:07 10:13:14:16
and somebody can put you in the
right direction to find that person.
0222 10:13:17:09 10:13:20:13
(Ros) I think it is
a very tough job.
0223 10:13:22:02 10:13:25:16
They have to have
very specific skills
0224 10:13:25:16 10:13:29:02
and one of those is
that they need to be flexible,
0225 10:13:29:02 10:13:35:01
because they just don't know what
situations they're going to face.
0226 10:13:36:12 10:13:38:16
With the whole inclusion agenda,
0227 10:13:38:16 10:13:43:02
the role of learning support is
going to increase within schools.
0228 10:13:43:02 10:13:47:15
The number of teaching assistants
will steadily increase.
0229 10:13:47:15 10:13:52:20
Visiontext Subtitles: Margaret Burke