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Professional development plan

Introduction

In this section of the course you will watch a video that presents a discussion between one of the course authors, a careers advisor and a Higher Level Teaching Assistant. Discussions will cover the motivations, aspirations and experiences of the Higher Level Teaching Assistant, Katie Harrison. Katie has experience of working in primary level education.

After watching the video you will be provided with a summary of the course and given an opportunity to reflect on your own experiences and aspirations. The activities in this section have been designed to help you to do this, allowing you to create a personal development plan (PDP).

1 Panel discussion

Activity 1

Timing: Allow about 15 minutes

Watch and listen to the group’s discussion with Katie Harrison about her motivations, aspirations and experiences as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant.

Download this video clip.Video player: nnco_ta_1_s5_panel_discussion.mp4

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Transcript

Interview with Katie Harrison

Speakers:

Katie Harrison (Teaching Assistant)

Eddie Tunnah (Career and Employability Manager)

Isobel Shelton (Course Author)

Isobel:

Katie, can you tell us why you became a teaching assistant?

Katie:

I became a teaching assistant because I always knew that I wanted to work in schools. I did work experience in a school when I was in secondary school and it just seemed the right fit. And then I realised that a teaching assistant was probably the best job for me. I did think about teaching but then I got a job as a teaching assistant and I really enjoyed it, but I did – I then progressed on to becoming a higher level teaching assistant which does involve sometimes taking whole classes – so that’s quite nice. So you do get the extra responsibility sometimes but without necessarily all the pressure that comes with teaching.

Isobel:

Oh yes, that’s interesting!

Eddie:

Katie, can you say a bit more about how long you had been in the role before you went for the higher level role teaching assistant positon, and what did you have to do to make that happen?

Katie:

I was in the teaching assistant role for about two years and then I decided that yep I’d give it a go. So it took me about six months and I had to – there are two preparation days where you are classroom-based, learning more about the role and what you need to do. And then it’s activity-based coursework, so within school I would work with whole classes and groups, and set my own activities and then obviously write up how that went and how I could improve. And then it involved somebody coming in to assess through interviews. They interviewed me, they interviewed colleagues that I work with, so that was quite nice because then there wasn’t the pressure of observations.

Eddie:

Thank you.

Isobel:

Katie what sort of school do you work in?

Katie:

I work in a primary school, which is two form entry on the whole and then we have a couple of years where there’s only one class but they are quite large classes. It’s just about five minutes from a town centre, so we have quite a different mix of children that attend the school.

Isobel:

And can you describe to me a typical day in the life of a teaching assistant?

Katie:

Well yes. I arrive at school for about 8.45. That’s when I start, just before the children come in, so that I can help with any set up that needs doing. During my morning I will spend in the classroom with groups, so in literacy and in maths working with different ability groups to help them move on with their learning. And then I have intervention groups during assembly time, which are usually writing-based groups. And then in the afternoons, my afternoons do vary slightly depending on the day. I work 1-to-1 with a girl who has special needs and I do do group work as well within that, so yeah it just sort of depends on the day!

Isobel:

Which do you prefer – the group work or the 1-to-1?

Katie:

I quite like the group work I think. Sometimes it’s nicer when you’ve got a group because the children can bounce ideas off each other and give each other support. Sometimes 1-to-1 is a little bit harder if maybe they’re not understanding because there is nobody else around to give them that bit of extra support.

Isobel:

You can build up a relationship with a child though on 1-to-1?

Katie:

Yes you can, yeah.

Eddie:

And with the 1-to-1 work, would you see that child every day of the week or would it be, say, for a couple of afternoons a week?

Katie:

It used to be that I saw her every day of the week. Now it’s currently three days of a week, just because we are trying to – we’re working on independence so we are starting to pull some of the support a little bit but I am always around so that if I need to I can jump in.

Eddie:

Thank you.

Eddie:

Katie, which parts of the job do you most enjoy?

Katie:

I’d say it’s watching the children learn and improve and knowing that I’ve played maybe a small part in that. There are a lot of people involved but yes that is really nice to see.

Eddie:

Can you give any particular example of – I don’t know – something that you’ve done that’s been really fulfilling?

Katie:

Yes. I work in lots of different areas of literacy and numeracy but in literacy I spent some time with a boy who was struggling with his phonics, which obviously meant that his reading wasn’t improving very much. And so I spent five minutes a day with him just going, repeatedly going over the sounds of the phase that he was in, which helped him because it was little and often and meant that he remembered it. And so then his reading did improve, which was really rewarding to see.

Isobel:

That sounds rewarding but it also sounds quite challenging. Do you have any other challenges in the role?

Katie:

Yes it can be challenging, I find. I think a lot of people would probably say that behaviour can be sometimes the most challenging, and particularly low level disruption in the class, so talking while they are on the carpet, or fidgeting – things like that. But we have a behaviour policy that we follow and it does work quite well actually within class.

It involves a traffic light system – so they start every day on amber and then they can move up so they can go up to green and then on a really good day they can go up to gold. But then, with the reverse, we do have a red zone as well, so that if a child is being difficult they will get a warning. If it carries on, they will move into the red zone. If it still carries on, then either the class teacher will deal with it or, should she not be in the room, they will go to another member of staff for a time out but they can – once they’ve had that and they come back in – they can earn their way back up so it doesn’t mean just because they’re in red in the morning that they will be there at the end of the day. They can work their way back out.

Isobel:

That sounds really positive.

Katie:

It is.

Isobel:

Incentivising.

Katie:

It is. And then if, on the rare occasion that we do have a child that starts in negative – finishes in red at the end of the day – they start again in amber the next day so it’s a new day, new start.

Isobel:

A new start – that’s good.

Eddie:

Katie, how has your job changed over time?

Katie:

I would say it has changed quite a lot. The role itself has changed because I find that because the workload on teachers has got bigger it filters down to the teaching assistants as well, particularly in terms of things like paperwork. Also there’s been the challenges of the curriculum changing, and when they did change it, then obviously the levels they used to use nationally disappeared and schools and clusters have had to find their own way I suppose to how they are going to assess, and it’s been a challenge to learn the new system and how to adapt it to the children that we work with.

Isobel:

You helped with the preparation of the module and I was just wondering whether there were any aspects of the module, or the four sections that you’ve been involved with, that you find might be of particular interest to teaching assistants?

Katie:

Yes, I think there are two that automatically spring to mind. The first would be the behaviour management module. As I say, that can be a challenge and there are lots of useful things within that module and also the special needs module because there are so many different aspects – the special needs and the different types of special needs that are out there – that actually it’s quite nice to have a little bit of an idea of what, you know, you might come across in school.

Isobel:

And you told me earlier that you work with children that have come up from the Reception class and they are making quite a big transition to come into Primary. Do you think teaching assistants have a role to play in helping with that transition?

Katie:

Yes I think so because it’s quite a hard jump actually for them because how Reception works and how Nursery will have worked before that is a lot different to Year 1 because obviously Year 1 is far more structured. So, I think, particularly at the beginning of the year, I spent a lot of time helping the children settle into the new routines and working with them so they didn’t feel very overwhelmed to start with.

Isobel:

A key stage in their development isn’t it?

Katie:

Yes.

Isobel:

OK thank you.

Isobel:

What development opportunities are there available to teaching assistants? Or, in your own experience, what development opportunities have you been offered – either by the school or anyone else?

Katie:

Well within school we have inset days, which generally involve both teachers and teaching assistants. They tend to be quite specific – so anything regarding updates to policies or new schemes of work that they’ve got in to improve writing or reading, so that we’re all on the same page.

We have also had TA-specific training on phonics and maths interventions, different ways of trying to help the children learn and things like that, which work really well because it tends to be the teaching assistants that actually do the smaller groups.

Then outside of school I’m with the Union and they offer quite a lot of CPD to all their members so there’s kind of – it’s kind of a broad range. There’s things like behaviour management, we’ve done workshops on mental health and mindfulness, which you can do. They do run courses that you can attend and they also run online courses. So that’s very useful, as obviously you can’t always get to the courses. And they have a specific support staff conference as well now, within which they will run lots of opportunities for you to network with other support staff.

Isobel:

Sounds great.

Eddie:

And, Katie, what specific skills do you think you’ve developed in the role of Higher Level Teaching Assistant?

Katie:

I think there’s quite a few. I think obviously you need good listening skills – patience. Patience is a big one sometimes, particularly with the younger ones.

Eddie:

I can imagine.

Katie:

And I think kind of nurturing skills. Again you find that quite a lot with the younger ones because I think school can be quite a daunting place when you are 4 or 5, and even some of the older ones, and it’s just being aware of their needs and helping them the best way that you can.

Eddie:

This module has encouraged readers to be reflective practitioners – in other words to think much more deeply about their own role. Can you tell us a bit about how this works in your school because I know that you have experience of being a reflective practitioner?

Katie:

Yes it’s always quite useful to reflect on what you’re doing within, particularly, groups if you’ve got long running intervention groups for a few weeks, to reflect on how that’s going and whether or not changes need to be made. And also we do have observations. In my case, usually our deputy does that and she will observe us either within the class or with a group of children. And then obviously it’s useful because then we get feedback from her, and within that she will ask us what did we think went well with what we were doing, and also are there areas we could improve next time, which is really useful to think about because I don’t think people do that all the time, so it is really useful to do that. And then we will get set targets so that we know what we’re aiming towards to improve our practice.

Isobel:

OK thank you.

Eddie:

And Katie how do you see your career developing in the future?

Katie:

I think I would quite like to get more involved with the special needs side of being a teaching assistant because obviously I’ve mentioned there’s such a wide variety of different special needs and so it would be, I think, useful to sort of learn more in depth really about some of the issues that these children face and how we can help them within the school, particularly within mainstream school. I think that would be quite an interesting road to take.

Eddie:

What sort of things, activities? What do you think you would need to do to make that happen?

Katie:

I think hopefully attending some training courses. I know there are some out there. And also I’ve started working more closely with our SENCo so that I can get ideas from her and she’s been very useful at passing information on from courses she’s attended about different areas that I haven’t come across, so yes it’s been really useful.

Eddie:

That’s great, and good luck with that Katie and thank you very much for talking to us today. It’s been really interesting.

Isobel:

Yes thank you very much Katie and thank you for all your contributions to the module.

Katie:

Thank you.

End transcript

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2 Course summary

This course was designed to be an exploration of some broad areas of interest for those who are currently working with children or would like to work with them. The course does not qualify you as a teaching assistant: there are no nationally specified requirements for becoming a teaching assistant – each local authority or school outlines their specific requirements (TES, 2015). However, the badge(s) (and statement of participation) will be useful for your CV and as a basis for discussion at an interview.

Developing and managing relationships

Section 1 used case studies to look at the development of relationships from early years to secondary school and how teaching assistants can play an important role in managing these relationships, especially when children make the transition from one setting to another. You were introduced to some well-known theorists on attachment, such as John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, before learning about Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky, whose ideas are still important in child development. These are not the only theorists who have contributed to child development theory, but they provide a useful starting point. In this section, you also looked at how important it is to develop relationships with parents and having ‘parents as partners’.

Encouraging reading

In Section 2 you looked at reading, literacy, how children learn to read, and how reading can be developed at different stages of education. You were introduced to some key concepts, such as the ‘reading gap’ and the ‘gender gap’. The ‘reading gap’ is about inequalities in attainment in reading, and the ‘gender gap’ raises questions about why some boys are more reluctant readers and progress more slowly than some girls. You may recall the case study of how one teacher, Miss Fuller, tried to encourage reading through a film club, and by asking the children to write book reviews for their peers.

Behavioural management

Section 3 focused on behaviour management, especially how to manage classroom behaviour in a positive way. The emphasis of this section was on the involvement of children in promoting good behaviour and on rewards rather than sanctions. You considered the work of Rudolph Dreikurs on the ‘goals of misbehaviour’ and alternative ways to deal with a challenging situation. You looked at the use of reward charts as an example of behaviourism and some of the criticism of this method of behaviour control.

Special needs

Section 4 was about supporting children with special educational needs and disability (SEND). This section examined some of the terminology used for describing a child’s disability or condition. It looked at the government’s SEND report and what is meant by inclusive practice. You were given an opportunity to reflect on the extent to which your own practice is inclusive.

Learning outcomes

The overall learning outcomes for Supporting children’s development underpinned these four sections. We hope that you:

have gained an insight into the varying perspectives of children from early years through to secondary school
are able to reflect on personal experience and practice, identify strengths and weaknesses, and apply this to your practice issues
understand how some theories attempt to explain children’s development
are reflecting on the value of the work of teaching assistants, the support skills involved, and thinking about your future role.

3 The importance of reflection

You may have noted that two of the learning outcomes refer to ‘reflection’. To make the most of your studies, you need to reflect on your learning and plan your development to achieve your career, personal or study goals.

Referring back to the video clip, you saw how Katie has reflected on her role as a teaching assistant in a primary school in the Midlands. She was able to identify the rewards and challenges of the job and has clearly spent some time thinking about her career development. Katie wants to work with children with special educational needs and disabilities, so Section 4 of the course was of particular interest, but she also referred to other aspects of the course that are relevant to her practice.

Katie found the section, ‘Encouraging reading’, of interest, as she is familiar with teaching by phonics in her primary school. In the video, there was also some discussion about the importance of transition as children move from one school to another, and how teaching assistants can play a key role in making this easier for some children. Katie has worked with Year 1 pupils who have just made the transition from reception, a significant vertical transition in their education journey.

Activity 2

Timing: Allow about 30 minutes

Imagine that you are Katie and you are being asked about your role as a teaching assistant. You don’t have to be working as a teaching assistant – you may have experience of working with children in other ways, perhaps as a parent or a grandparent. Reflect on the different aspects of your role. If you have studied only some sections of the course, you should be able to use this information to reflect on these questions.

Do you play a part in developing and managing relationships?
Do you work closely with individual children and do any of them have special educational needs?
How do you encourage reading and literacy in your setting?
What aspects of the course have been useful for your own practice?
What aspects of your practice have not been addressed by this course?

Make a few notes in response to these questions and summarise what you remember from the sections you have read. Use your notes to try to identify areas of your practice or experience that you would like to develop further.

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4 Identifying skills

Katie has identified the fact that she enjoys her role as a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) and has no desire to become a teacher. The skills required to be a teaching assistant are complementary to, but different from, those of a teacher and she has a good relationship with the teachers in her school.

Activity 3

Timing: Allow about 30 minutes

When you attend interviews you will be expected to provide evidence of your skills so it’s a good strategy to think about these beforehand.

Specific skills

The following skills and qualities have been identified as required for working as a primary teaching assistant, but most are applicable in other types of work with children and young people:
nurturing skills;
listening skills;
ability to work under pressure;
ability to work independently, and as a member of a team;
understanding and awareness of children’s needs;
willingness to learn;
adaptability;
patience and sense of fairness.
Try to identify one or two of these skills from your current role. This could be as a teaching assistant, employed in a school or it could be a more informal role, as a volunteer or within the family. Reflect on which of these are important in your work and think about how you would provide evidence of them if asked about them at an interview.
Try to avoid taking your employability skills for granted, e.g. by saying ‘well, I just do it’. In order to be successful in job applications and interviews it is vital that you are able to recognise the skills that you possess and can describe them effectively.

(The Open University, 2016, adapted from Childhood and youth studies qualification website)

Comment

You tend to take for granted the skills you have. You use these transferrable skills on a daily basis without necessarily being aware of them.

Katie has more opportunity to work one-to-one with individual pupils than the teacher. She plans to develop her skills in working with children with special educational needs and has taken action to start training in this field. Katie regularly reflects on her role and reviews her training needs.

You do not have to be in employment to start thinking about the skills you have already developed in relationships with children at different stages of their development. You may find that you have developed some of the transferable skills listed in Activity 3 and that these will stand you in good stead if you decide to work with children.

We hope you found this opportunity to reflect on your learning and practice a useful one and that you will build this into your practice as an ongoing process of recording and review.

5 Personal development plan

In the final activity, you will look at opportunities for taking your career further. In undertaking the reflective activities in this section, you made a start towards developing your own personal development plan (PDP). PDP promotes the idea that learning and development are lifelong activities and is a structured approach to building reflection into your practice and career planning.

Activity 4

Timing: Allow about 30 minutes

Watch this video clip, What’s it all about?, which outlines the five stages that make up an effective personal development plan:

Identify
Plan
Action
Record
Review.

Now that you know what we mean by a personal development plan, use the five stages to draw up your own PDP. A good starting point would be to use the reflection from Activities 2 and 3 as a basis for thinking about future planning and action.

Comment

You may have already thought about your own learning and career development, but drawing up a personal development plan gives structure to this process and provides something to refer back to and build on over time.

Summary

We hope that you decide to take your learning further and have found this taster course of interest. We also hope that it has given you some awareness of different aspects of the teaching assistant role and has encouraged you to find out more.

The final section, Taking my learning further, will point you in the direction of further study opportunities.

References

TES (2015) How to Become A Teaching Assistant, 18 August [online]. Available at https://www.tes.com/ article.aspx?storyCode=6167026 (accessed 12 January 2016).

The Open University (2016) ‘Employability skills’, Childhood and Youth Studies Qualifications [online]. Available at http://learn4.open.ac.uk/ mod/ oucontent/ view.php?id=6439 (accessed 1 February 2016).

Acknowledgements

This free course was written by Isobel Shelton and Sue McKeogh (staff tutors at The Open University). Contributions were made by Katie Harrison (teacher and member of the ATL Union).

Except for third party materials and otherwise stated (see terms and conditions), this content is made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 Licence.

The material acknowledged below is Proprietary and used under licence (not subject to Creative Commons Licence). Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this free course:

Every effort has been made to contact copyright owners. If any have been inadvertently overlooked, the publishers will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

Videos

Activity 1

Activity 4

Professional development plan