Terrific teaching assistants: Working one-to-one

Abstract

The role of the one-to-one teaching assistant (TA) can be incredibly rewarding – the difference you can make to an individual pupil is incredible. However, despite all the positive elements, the role also entails certain difficulties. In the first instance, positive relationships will form the main basis of the quality of your support. Primarily a strong relationship with the pupil will set you in good stead to help them to reach their potential. By getting to know their personal interests you will be able to inspire them during the most challenging times. You will be able to use what you know about them to motivate them to have a go at tasks that might push them outside of their comfort zone, and develop their confidence. It is difficult to strike the balance between providing too little and too much support. The key, really, is to form a strong working relationship with the class teacher to ensure that you are involved in the planning or, as a minimum, that the planning is shared with you, with a focus on the amount of support you should provide. The best quality one-to-one TA gives individual support to the pupil before moving on to support other members of the class. This helps the child with special educational needs (SEN) to develop greater independence and has a positive influence on the way the rest of the class view the child. Quality differentiation is essential when working with a pupil with SEN. Researching information about the particular need will enable you not only to increase your knowledge about the pupil you work with, but also allow you to find out about some strategies and resources that have worked for others. This is where a great relationship with the class teacher will really help you to discuss strategies openly before you try them, and evaluate them together afterwards. There is often no right or wrong answer and the ethos of being in it together and working as a team will be of the most benefit to the pupil in the long-term. When observing in schools, I have frequently seen TAs spending a vast, and often unnecessary, amount of time with the pupils they are employed to support, often thinking that the more they remain glued to the pupil, the better they are doing their job and giving the school value for money. In reality this may not be the case, they could be preventing the pupil from developing personal independence and forging friendships. A key issue when supporting pupils is ensuring that we allow opportunities for collaboration. It is good practice to move away from the individual pupil every now and again during lessons to allow natural friendships to form and group discussion to take place. With an adult sitting right next to them, children will behave very differently and this can actually impair natural inclusion occurring. You may be amazed at what a pupil can achieve by themselves, once they are no longer completely reliant on you. A discussion with the class teacher before a lesson can help you decide together how much support to actually provide, creating a balance between the objectives for learning, achievement and social inclusion. PTU Top tips