Subtitles
Associated Teachers TV programme
TAs: Whole School Impact - Primary
0001 10:00:10:11 10:00:12:19
This week's session
is about turn-taking.
0002 10:00:12:19 10:00:16:06
And it's about reading instructions,
working together,
0003 10:00:16:06 10:00:19:10
and making sure it's fair
and you're taking turns.
0004 10:00:19:10 10:00:21:16
(narrator) Rosie Miller
is a learning mentor
0005 10:00:21:16 10:00:24:14
at St Paul's Catholic Primary
on the Paulsgrove estate,
0006 10:00:24:14 10:00:26:16
on the outskirts of Portsmouth.
0007 10:00:26:16 10:00:28:24
With fellow learning mentor,
Jacqui Wallace,
0008 10:00:28:24 10:00:32:11
she's been instrumental in
improving behaviour in the school,
0009 10:00:32:11 10:00:35:12
in part through
social skills classes like this.
0010 10:00:35:12 10:00:40:12
Life isn't fair sometimes, so we
won't be helping you very much.
0011 10:00:40:12 10:00:46:15
We'll be standing back and watching
you take turns, doing things fairly.
0012 10:00:46:15 10:00:50:07
(narrator) Rosie's behaviour
interventions stem from a time
0013 10:00:50:07 10:00:52:19
when the school identified
a number of children
0014 10:00:52:19 10:00:55:09
with severe behavioural problems.
0015 10:00:55:09 10:01:00:18
The behaviours were to do with
swearing, kicking, biting,
0016 10:01:00:18 10:01:04:10
stone-throwing,
rudeness in the classroom,
0017 10:01:04:10 10:01:09:06
children refusing adults when
asked to do something reasonable.
0018 10:01:09:06 10:01:12:00
What we're going to do
is go straight on now.
0019 10:01:12:00 10:01:17:03
We're going to do a piece of drama
about not getting your own way
0020 10:01:17:03 10:01:18:15
and dealing with it.
0021 10:01:20:18 10:01:23:04
(narrator) The school
uses Sleuth software
0022 10:01:23:04 10:01:25:04
to track and analyse behaviour
0023 10:01:25:04 10:01:29:06
and help to identify pupils
who will benefit from intervention.
0024 10:01:29:06 10:01:32:10
So how do we start off?
0025 10:01:32:10 10:01:37:10
She needs to leave the classroom
so she picks someone, and that's me.
0026 10:01:37:10 10:01:40:08
And then Sam has a paddy
and walks out of the room.
0027 10:01:40:08 10:01:44:06
(narrator) Selected children attend
classes one afternoon a week,
0028 10:01:44:06 10:01:47:11
usually for 12 to 16 weeks.
0029 10:01:47:11 10:01:51:01
So, when you're ready, Jess,
your group can begin.
0030 10:01:51:01 10:01:55:09
Today we are going to talk
about friendship.
0031 10:01:55:09 10:01:57:19
Who knows what makes a good friend?
0032 10:01:59:23 10:02:01:23
Well...
0033 10:02:03:24 10:02:07:22
They're just really good friends,
like they listen to you.
0034 10:02:07:22 10:02:10:19
And they just don't really
boss you around.
0035 10:02:10:19 10:02:12:22
Right. Where's Sam just gone?
0036 10:02:12:22 10:02:16:20
He's gone off in a paddy
cos he got picked last.
0037 10:02:16:20 10:02:18:18
And again.
0038 10:02:18:18 10:02:22:12
- Sam, out of paddy place.
- Paddy place.
0039 10:02:22:12 10:02:24:16
No more paddies.
0040 10:02:24:16 10:02:27:18
The aims of the social skills course
is to give them the skills
0041 10:02:27:18 10:02:29:13
to enable them to stay in school,
0042 10:02:29:13 10:02:32:22
to enable them to cope in everyday
life and become decent citizens
0043 10:02:32:22 10:02:36:13
when they leave school
and move on into the community.
0044 10:02:38:16 10:02:40:16
Well done.
0045 10:02:43:09 10:02:46:04
(narrator) Today is the 11th session
with this group.
0046 10:02:46:04 10:02:49:03
Rosie is hoping to see
significant progress.
0047 10:02:49:03 10:02:51:21
Several weeks ago,
we started with your basics -
0048 10:02:51:21 10:02:55:21
turn-taking, sharing, coping
with not getting your own way.
0049 10:02:55:21 10:02:59:09
And what we do is we cover that
within the first six to eight weeks,
0050 10:02:59:09 10:03:01:10
but then we revisit it later on,
0051 10:03:01:10 10:03:04:12
cos we need to know that
they're able to do these skills.
0052 10:03:04:12 10:03:07:07
- Can I do some stirring?
- Three stirs each.
0053 10:03:08:23 10:03:11:13
(Rosie) If I give you
an example of the group
0054 10:03:11:13 10:03:14:23
when we first took them out
on week one, two or three,
0055 10:03:14:23 10:03:17:13
in the first three weeks,
we had children crying
0056 10:03:17:13 10:03:21:01
cos they can't get their own way,
storming out of the room,
0057 10:03:21:01 10:03:24:04
running around the school,
where we had to track them down.
0058 10:03:24:04 10:03:28:09
It's just, "I don't want to do that,
I want my own way."
0059 10:03:28:09 10:03:30:24
You know, we have to deal with that.
0060 10:03:30:24 10:03:32:20
Sam, you can go first.
0061 10:03:32:20 10:03:35:09
Harrison, he hasn't done much.
0062 10:03:35:09 10:03:38:13
(Rosie) With social skills,
I planned that from the beginning
0063 10:03:38:13 10:03:40:11
and I've been given total freedom.
0064 10:03:40:11 10:03:44:21
I show our special needs coordinator
the planning, and she will OK it.
0065 10:03:44:21 10:03:49:21
I'm given the freedom to do
basically whatever we need to do.
0066 10:03:51:01 10:03:53:17
(Fran) I think the role
of headship has changed.
0067 10:03:53:17 10:03:58:15
And where heads very much
wanted to keep their finger
0068 10:03:58:15 10:04:01:01
on everything
that was happening in school,
0069 10:04:01:01 10:04:05:17
the job has grown to the point
where you can't actually do that.
0070 10:04:05:17 10:04:09:21
So it's a question of looking
for other talent amongst staff,
0071 10:04:09:21 10:04:12:15
and asking if there are other people
0072 10:04:12:15 10:04:16:15
who could take over
very specific roles.
0073 10:04:16:15 10:04:20:11
And in that respect
Rosie has come to the fore.
0074 10:04:20:11 10:04:26:15
So, first of all, if you want to say
about what you've learnt today.
0075 10:04:26:15 10:04:30:08
I've learnt a big thing today
about sharing.
0076 10:04:30:08 10:04:34:13
We all discussed it, our group...
We've been cooking flapjacks.
0077 10:04:34:13 10:04:38:14
We all discussed it instead of
going, "I want to do that first."
0078 10:04:38:14 10:04:43:17
Good boy. Taking turns. That's what
it's about. Being fair to everybody.
0079 10:04:43:17 10:04:45:17
Mrs Wallace has got the stickers.
0080 10:04:45:17 10:04:48:03
You decide who you want
to compliment on what,
0081 10:04:48:03 10:04:51:05
what you think they need
a sticker for and why.
0082 10:04:51:05 10:04:53:12
And you give it out.
0083 10:04:53:12 10:04:57:02
I'm going to give one to Greg
cos he hasn't had a strop today
0084 10:04:57:02 10:04:59:24
for not doing what he wanted to do.
0085 10:04:59:24 10:05:04:17
He didn't go in a strop and he
didn't mind what he wanted to do.
0086 10:05:04:17 10:05:06:22
(narrator) The efficacy
of the classes
0087 10:05:06:22 10:05:09:22
is borne out by
the behaviour analysis software,
0088 10:05:09:22 10:05:13:03
which tracks pupils who have
completed the intervention.
0089 10:05:13:03 10:05:18:10
How did it feel having a positive
remark and getting a sticker?
0090 10:05:18:10 10:05:20:24
I felt like
they were my best friends.
0091 10:05:20:24 10:05:22:02
That's lovely.
0092 10:05:22:02 10:05:26:24
What we have found is that a lot of
our children who had most difficulty
0093 10:05:26:24 10:05:31:12
began to take a much, much lower
profile in terms of what went on,
0094 10:05:31:12 10:05:35:14
both in the classroom,
but mostly out on the playground.
0095 10:05:35:14 10:05:40:01
So we could identify quite quickly
that it was having an effect.
0096 10:05:40:01 10:05:44:24
I'm picking Miss Miller
for being so helpful today.
0097 10:05:44:24 10:05:47:03
(narrator) Learning mentors
in Portsmouth
0098 10:05:47:03 10:05:49:24
have been introduced
to Rosie's and Jacqui's ideas.
0099 10:05:49:24 10:05:55:04
And at St Paul's class teachers
have been able to focus on teaching.
0100 10:05:55:04 10:05:58:03
The difference that I see
for the rest of the class,
0101 10:05:58:03 10:06:01:13
when these children participate
in the social groups,
0102 10:06:01:13 10:06:05:07
is that they're a lot...
the whole class is a lot more calm.
0103 10:06:05:07 10:06:08:22
And I have all my attention
on everybody then.
0104 10:06:08:22 10:06:11:06
Not just focused on one child.
0105 10:06:11:06 10:06:14:24
(narrator) Rosie works with Jacqui
and the special needs coordinator
0106 10:06:14:24 10:06:17:12
in running Parent Power courses.
0107 10:06:17:12 10:06:21:23
They boost parenting skills and
complement work done with pupils.
0108 10:06:21:23 10:06:27:03
Last time we felt
that we needed to target
0109 10:06:27:03 10:06:30:09
the parents
of the key stage 1 children.
0110 10:06:30:09 10:06:32:16
And the ideal opportunity to do that
0111 10:06:32:16 10:06:36:23
will be when we have the new parents
in the middle of June
0112 10:06:36:23 10:06:40:12
when they come in and the children
do the taster mornings in reception.
0113 10:06:40:12 10:06:43:05
(narrator) There will always
be new pupils and parents
0114 10:06:43:05 10:06:46:06
who'll benefit from Rosie's skills
and commitment.
0115 10:06:46:06 10:06:50:15
But for Fran Chapman the difference
Rosie has made is apparent.
0116 10:06:50:15 10:06:54:17
Looking back
over the last few years,
0117 10:06:54:17 10:06:57:21
we can see that the school
has moved tremendously.
0118 10:06:57:21 10:07:02:18
And the whole atmosphere
in school has become very calm.
0119 10:07:03:05 10:07:08:02
Rosie is an exceptional person,
but she is a hard taskmaster.
0120 10:07:08:02 10:07:10:20
They know that they
have to meet her standards
0121 10:07:10:20 10:07:12:22
and her standards are high.
0122 10:07:12:22 10:07:15:22
And that brings out
the best in them.
0123 10:07:17:09 10:07:20:16
We've got all these speech marks,
people talking to each other.
0124 10:07:20:16 10:07:23:06
And then we've got some
special punctuation here.
0125 10:07:23:06 10:07:26:18
I think it's because they want you
to pause, he's thinking.
0126 10:07:26:18 10:07:30:19
So they've got to debate and decide.
OK, let's see what they do.
0127 10:07:30:19 10:07:34:10
(narrator) 200 miles away at Bracken
LanePrimary School, Retford,
0128 10:07:34:10 10:07:37:19
senior teaching assistant Helen
Skelton is making the difference
0129 10:07:37:19 10:07:41:09
to children's education through
the Better Reading Partnership.
0130 10:07:41:09 10:07:43:20
"Rescue centre."
That was a really hard word.
0131 10:07:43:20 10:07:45:20
Well done for reading that.
0132 10:07:45:20 10:07:48:19
It doesn't sound like it's going
to be a 'c' at the front.
0133 10:07:48:19 10:07:51:12
What does it sound like
it should be?
0134 10:07:51:12 10:07:52:08
'S'.
0135 10:07:52:08 10:07:56:20
It does sound like 's' at the
beginning, doesn't it? Good boy.
0136 10:07:56:20 10:07:59:16
(narrator) It's a ten-week programme
to develop literacy,
0137 10:07:59:16 10:08:04:22
in which adult reading partners
work one-to-one with children.
0138 10:08:04:22 10:08:07:14
Right, let's break it down again.
0139 10:08:07:14 10:08:10:12
- What's that word?
- "Started."
0140 10:08:10:12 10:08:13:18
- That's well done.
- "Barking questions."
0141 10:08:13:18 10:08:20:02
"What breed are you?
What var... variety of dog?"
0142 10:08:20:02 10:08:24:18
The Better Reading Partnership fell
into my lap at a staff meeting,
0143 10:08:24:18 10:08:27:18
as sometimes these things do.
0144 10:08:27:18 10:08:31:01
It was in the "any other business"
section and our head said:
0145 10:08:31:01 10:08:33:24
"Is anybody interested in this?"
Going on the training
0146 10:08:33:24 10:08:36:02
and seeing what it was all about.
0147 10:08:36:02 10:08:40:13
And everybody, as you do, averted
their eyes and looked at the floor
0148 10:08:40:13 10:08:44:03
and suddenly their shoes
were very interesting. (laughs)
0149 10:08:44:03 10:08:48:06
And I sort of said,
"I'll do it. I'll go."
0150 10:08:48:06 10:08:51:14
(narrator) Helen is conscious that
her willingness to do new things
0151 10:08:51:14 10:08:54:03
has been complemented
by supportive management.
0152 10:08:54:03 10:08:57:10
I think any school worth its salt
0153 10:08:57:10 10:09:00:11
would look at the people
within that team
0154 10:09:00:11 10:09:03:24
and value them for what they are
and give people opportunities.
0155 10:09:03:24 10:09:08:12
And it's also about being proactive
about TAs in their role,
0156 10:09:08:12 10:09:11:15
taking on things
if they're offered something
0157 10:09:11:15 10:09:14:08
and having the confidence
in themselves to do that.
0158 10:09:14:08 10:09:18:12
I think historically the potential
of TAs has been overlooked.
0159 10:09:18:12 10:09:23:11
I think very much their role
has changed over time.
0160 10:09:23:11 10:09:28:00
And they've now gone from the old
image of a classroom assistant
0161 10:09:28:00 10:09:31:08
who would mix the paint
and tidy things away...
0162 10:09:31:08 10:09:33:22
Leaders now
and leadership teams in schools
0163 10:09:33:22 10:09:38:05
are now looking at characteristics
of the staff and identifying
0164 10:09:38:05 10:09:42:07
who has the talents and enabling
those talents to be nurtured.
0165 10:09:42:07 10:09:46:00
So how do you think
it's gone this time?
0166 10:09:46:00 10:09:49:24
How have we found it?
0167 10:09:49:24 10:09:53:14
I think it's been fine. I think
we could do with some new books.
0168 10:09:53:14 10:09:56:01
(narrator) Helen still works
with pupils,
0169 10:09:56:01 10:09:59:19
but her primary role has always been
coordinating the reading scheme.
0170 10:09:59:19 10:10:03:10
This includes regular meetings
with existing reading partners
0171 10:10:03:10 10:10:07:23
and being persuasive when it comes
to recruiting and training new ones.
0172 10:10:07:23 10:10:13:05
The culture in our school has had
volunteering embedded in it.
0173 10:10:13:05 10:10:16:09
I think basically I've come along
and capitalised on that.
0174 10:10:16:09 10:10:19:07
I feel like people run in
the opposite direction sometimes
0175 10:10:19:07 10:10:21:11
on the playground when they see me.
0176 10:10:21:11 10:10:25:13
"Oh, there's that woman again.
What does she want?"
0177 10:10:25:13 10:10:29:10
"Well, there's a new course come
through. How do you fancy this?"
0178 10:10:29:10 10:10:31:23
"Do you feel this one
might be beneficial to you?"
0179 10:10:31:23 10:10:35:09
You also couch it in terms where it
is... you're choosing the people
0180 10:10:35:09 10:10:38:23
that you know are going to, they're
ready to do it for themselves.
0181 10:10:38:23 10:10:42:00
(narrator) Jennie Heath has been
a reading partner for six years
0182 10:10:42:00 10:10:44:10
and she's seen
how Helen makes things happen.
0183 10:10:44:10 10:10:46:14
She's like
a dog with a bone, really.
0184 10:10:46:14 10:10:50:03
It has been her baby, Better Reading
Partnership. She ran with it
0185 10:10:50:03 10:10:52:15
and she has made it a success
in school.
0186 10:10:52:15 10:10:55:13
She has recruited people -
cos people don't have time -
0187 10:10:55:13 10:11:00:00
but she has managed to have quite
a little army of mums who come in.
0188 10:11:00:00 10:11:01:13
And they all enjoy it.
0189 10:11:01:13 10:11:04:01
They have made a huge,
huge, huge difference.
0190 10:11:04:01 10:11:06:22
I'm really pleased.
They've done very, very well.
0191 10:11:06:22 10:11:09:24
When I did the teacher assessment,
I'm concerned about her,
0192 10:11:09:24 10:11:14:04
because she hasn't made
the progress that I was expecting.
0193 10:11:14:04 10:11:17:12
(narrator) Helen works with class
teachers to identify which pupils
0194 10:11:17:12 10:11:19:20
would benefit most from the scheme.
0195 10:11:19:20 10:11:24:06
Year 2 teacher Lizzy Moore is keen
to select children from her class,
0196 10:11:24:06 10:11:28:14
having witnessed powerful effects
on previous groups.
0197 10:11:28:14 10:11:32:03
(Lizzy) This has had a huge impact
on the children in my class.
0198 10:11:32:03 10:11:35:00
The children that I chose
tended to lack confidence.
0199 10:11:35:00 10:11:37:14
and they were the children
just bubbling under.
0200 10:11:37:14 10:11:40:21
They hadn't got the strategies
to be fully independent readers.
0201 10:11:40:21 10:11:44:10
And now those children are able
to go and choose their own books
0202 10:11:44:10 10:11:48:04
and they can read them
independently, they're enthusiastic,
0203 10:11:48:04 10:11:50:14
and their levels have just gone up.
0204 10:11:51:10 10:11:56:10
This morning, we've got some
other successes to celebrate.
0205 10:11:56:10 10:11:59:07
And it's not celebrating writing,
0206 10:11:59:07 10:12:02:17
it's celebrating reading,
isn't it, Mrs Skelton?
0207 10:12:02:17 10:12:07:00
Mrs Skelton, if you'd like
to tell us who we're celebrating.
0208 10:12:07:00 10:12:10:09
Thank you, Mrs Ratcliffe. These
children were specially chosen,
0209 10:12:10:09 10:12:14:11
not because they couldn't read,
but because they could read
0210 10:12:14:11 10:12:17:16
and we wanted to make them
really fantastic readers.
0211 10:12:17:16 10:12:20:20
They were good readers before,
now they're fantastic readers.
0212 10:12:20:20 10:12:23:00
(narrator) Helen has been
careful to ensure
0213 10:12:23:00 10:12:26:18
that the reading scheme is viewed as
something for pupils to aspire to,
0214 10:12:26:18 10:12:28:14
not as a chore.
0215 10:12:28:14 10:12:31:04
Completion of the course
is deliberately rewarded
0216 10:12:31:04 10:12:33:03
with certificates, book tokens,
0217 10:12:33:03 10:12:36:09
and a very public acknowledgment
in assembly.
0218 10:12:36:09 10:12:39:20
The results of her hard work
are easily quantified.
0219 10:12:39:20 10:12:43:21
(Amanda) In the previous
year 6 cohort of children
0220 10:12:43:21 10:12:46:09
who took part in
the Better Reading Partnership -
0221 10:12:46:09 10:12:48:15
six children were taking part -
0222 10:12:48:15 10:12:52:11
and of those children one child
managed to achieve a level five,
0223 10:12:52:11 10:12:54:10
which was a staggering achievement,
0224 10:12:54:10 10:12:59:00
way above what you'd expect
a child at year 6 to achieve.
0225 10:12:59:00 10:13:03:12
Three of the children achieved
a level four, which was astounding,
0226 10:13:03:12 10:13:05:20
and two of the children
got a level three,
0227 10:13:05:20 10:13:09:11
which was beyond what we'd
actually anticipated for them.
0228 10:13:09:11 10:13:13:23
(narrator) Everyone at the school
acknowledges this is a team effort.
0229 10:13:13:23 10:13:17:04
But by common consent
Helen is the driving force
0230 10:13:17:04 10:13:19:19
who not only launched it,
but ensures it continues
0231 10:13:19:19 10:13:21:20
to make a difference at the school.
0232 10:13:21:20 10:13:24:18
To make a project like
the Better Reading Partnership work,
0233 10:13:24:18 10:13:28:10
you need to have the right person,
and for us Helen is that person.
0234 10:13:28:10 10:13:31:14
So it really is
down to her personality
0235 10:13:31:14 10:13:35:12
and her ability to coordinate
that it's been such a success.
0236 10:13:43:07 10:13:45:07
Visiontext Subtitles:
Simon Campbell
0237 10:13:45:07 10:13:47:07