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Supporting children's development
Supporting children's development

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3.3 Being an advocate

The ‘top tips’ given in the feedback to the previous activity show how important it is for children to have a voice and be as independent as possible. However, some children with SEND need support. A teaching assistant can offer this support by acting as an advocate for the child.

What is advocacy?

Advocacy is a process of supporting and enabling people to:

  • express their views
  • access information and services
  • find out about options and make decisions
  • secure their rights.

As a teaching assistant you may act as an advocate for a child by representing the child’s interest and speaking out on their behalf. This can be at the level of letting the class teacher know how a child is feeling about a particular teaching strategy if the child is not able to tell the teacher themselves: ‘Elisha is finding it difficult to… / is unhappy about…’

With the greater focus on children’s rights, children can be encouraged to self-advocate and speak up for themselves and state their own needs.