Conclusion

One of the central aims of this free course, The world of the primary school, has been for you to reflect on your own experience of primary education and relate this to the wider context of learning and teaching in the primary years today. You have looked in particular at the roles, responsibilities and experiences of a range of staff at a particular primary school in England, and you have reflected on these in relation to your own ideas about primary education.

The nature of the workforce in primary schools in the UK has evolved since the final decades of the twentieth century, and so have the roles of support staff. In many countries, the workforce in primary schools is dominated by women, and there are good reasons why parents, in particular mothers, are attracted to working in support roles in schools. These support staff make a significant contribution to primary schools, and they bring valuable experience from their lives and previous work. Interestingly, too, the overlap between the roles of teachers and support staff has increased over time, and the distinctive contribution that support staff make in their own right has become more defined.

This course is an adapted extract from the Open University course E103 Learning and teaching in the primary years [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] .