Teaching Assistants Policy Statement
It is the aim of the school that all adults with responsibility for caring for children are as informed as possible. This includes Teaching Assistants.
Teaching Assistants are appointed by the Governors and deployed by the management of the school – usually the Headteacher. All appointments other than those tied to specific children for a special need are offered as temporary 1-year posts. All alterations in hours and job descriptions are negotiated with the staff concerned and suitable notice given.
Hours allocated to Teaching Assistants are usually for work specifically within a particular class, but they may be deployed elsewhere in school should the need arise.
Occasionally a specific child may have additional hours allocated to them and these hours will be written into a Teaching Assistants contract.
The Headteacher will distribute the hours available to each class as appropriate to their needs.
Once the number of hours is allocated to the individual classes and Teaching Assistants, the teachers and Teaching Assistants may agree specific times. Once a timetable is agreed for an individual Teaching Assistant, a copy should be given to the Headteacher and another kept in the TA’s file.
The TA will have work set by the class teachers and should leave enough time to become familiar with the task before starting work with the children. It is important that everyone is clear about the objectives of the lesson at the outset, so that progress towards the objectives can be assessed at the end of the lesson.
A teacher may require the TA to work alongside them in the classroom, with a specified group of children, or with one or two specific children, or in a quiet area outside the room. The TA needs to be aware of how long to take for the lesson and when to return to the classroom if appropriate.
Class teachers will have detailed lesson plans available in the classroom. It is desirable that the teacher and TA have a reliable system of written assessment as a record of individual achievements in each lesson and a time when verbal feedback can be discussed.
Luddendenfoot has a clear Behaviour Policy and a system for dealing with problems. A copy of the policy is in the TA’s file.
It is important that all TA’s are aware of this policy and how it is interpreted within individual classrooms. They need to be familiar with individual teacher’s strategies towards behaviour management. This includes the TA knowing the limits of tolerance the teacher will apply to individual children.
Children should treat all adults with the same level of respect and politeness. If a child is working with a TA and is misbehaving they should be warned, if the behaviour persists they should be returned to the class teacher and the reason given.
A member of the Senior Management Team will meet with the TAs for appraisal, on an annual basis; discussing current issues; any problems; training needs as well as hearing suggestions for improvements to the provision given to the children.
All policies are kept in the classroom and the office and TAs are encouraged to familiarize themselves with those that affect their working environment e.g. Health and Safety.
The staff room also has timetables and playground duties.
Each TA is given a file to keep their timetable, record sheets and this policy statement in. In addition any information or policies that a TA finds useful may be stored in the file. Likewise help sheets and notes will be given to TA