CHAPTER 11

Reflecting on your practice and continuing professional development

The role of the teaching assistant has changed dramatically over the last 10 to 15 years. It has been ‘professionalised’ as the number of support staff has risen and there is now a huge range of roles and responsibilities within schools. This chapter will look at the importance of reflecting on your own practice and considering your continuing professional development (CPD) through the appraisal process. It will include looking at how you can keep up to date with career developments, as well as national and local requirements which are regularly updated. This will also put you in a stronger position when applying for different jobs within the sector. It is important to know how to approach looking for new jobs, writing your CV and going to interviews. Finally, you should think about different ways in which you can manage a work/life balance, particularly if you have a family of your own.

Continuing professional development and the appraisal process

Teaching assistants are increasingly part of the whole school staff appraisal process. This means that in the same way that teachers need to review their performance each year and look at targets to work towards, teaching assistants will be asked to meet their line manager to do the same thing. This should not be seen as threatening and is designed to support you in thinking about what you do and how you carry out reflective practice (see Figure 11.1 overleaf).

Figure 11.1 Your reflective practice

Reflective practice is the process of looking at your own professional actions and thinking about ways in which you might set goals in order to change or improve your practice. As part of the appraisal process, it is an opportunity to discuss and evaluate your role and to consider the kinds of changes that could be made. It relates not only to your professional development but also to how you carry out individual activities with pupils and to other aspects of your role. You need to reflect on a regular basis and should have the opportunity to discuss your thoughts and your ideas with your colleagues; in this way you will be able to identify areas of strength as well as exploring those which may need further development. Support staff will often have quite diverse roles in schools and inevitably you will find that you are more confident in some areas than in others; by reflecting on your practice and how you work with your colleagues you will become more effective in your role and gain confidence.

you need to reflect on a regular basis

brilliant example

Tamsin has been working within the same year group (Y1) for several years. She enjoys her work, gets on well with the class teacher and feels quite confident in her work. The school has just introduced performance management for teaching assistants and, as part of this process, she reflects on her knowledge and skills. As a consequence she goes on a training course to update her ICT skills. Although she had not considered this before her appraisal, following the course she is much more confident and is able to use ICT more in her practice with pupils.

When carrying out reflective practice as part of the appraisal process, you should have the opportunity to consider different aspects of your role prior to any meeting with your line manager. You may wish to use the headings in the spider diagram above/opposite in order to help you to gather ideas. In this way you will be more prepared for the meeting and able to put your suggestions forward.

Your professional development

As you are employed as a professional, you should be able to think about your role on a regular basis. This means looking at your own job description and thinking about different areas of development. It might be helpful to consider different ways in which you can extend your knowledge and try new things.

Your role when supporting pupils’ learning

You should take some time to look at different activities which you have carried out with individuals or groups of pupils and evaluate how the sessions went. However experienced you are, you should always consider different ways of approaching teaching and learning activities. It may also be helpful for your line manager or another colleague to observe you working with pupils as part of your appraisal so that they can also help you to evaluate your practice.

brilliant tip

If you are new to your role or have taken on a different year group or subject it may be beneficial to ask teachers for some general feedback about your work with pupils. This may be useful if you do not have appraisal in your school or if this will not take place for some time.

Managing pupil behaviour

This can be one of the more challenging aspects of your work. You will need to work as part of a whole school approach to behaviour management which should set out the kinds of sanctions and strategies you are able to use with pupils. In order to manage behaviour effectively you will need to be firm and consistent with pupils so that they understand boundaries and are aware of the consequences of their actions (for more on behaviour management, see Chapter 4).

Planning, assessment and feedback

You may or may not be involved in the planning process, but it is important that you know what it involves and that you have some opportunity to give feedback to teachers following learning activities. As your role is supporting teaching and learning, your feedback will inform the next cycle of planning. Make sure you know:

  • •the learning objectives for each session;
  • •whether any of the pupils have particular targets to work on;
  • •pupils’ backgrounds and circumstances which may affect their behaviour or learning;
  • •how you will feed back to the teacher (is this written or verbal, at a set time or planned?).

As part of your performance management, reflect on how much you are involved in different aspects of planning, assessment and feedback and whether this could be improved.

Working with colleagues and other adults

Your relationships with your colleagues are important as communication is a key part of your work with pupils. Think about how you relate to others in your school and the support you offer them within various teams you may belong to (year group, subject area, class, key stage). If you support a pupil who has special educational needs, you may also work with teams of professionals who are external to the school, such as educational psychologists or speech therapists. It is also likely that you will work with parents and carers, particularly if you work closely with one pupil. When considering this aspect of your role you should think about the ways in which you can develop your relationships with others so that pupils are supported more effectively.

think about how you relate to others

brilliant dos and don’ts

Do

  • Be honest with yourself and others.
  • Think about all aspects of your work.
  • Include both successes and failures.
  • Ask a colleague for help if you need it.

Don’t

  • Worry about your appraisal – it is meant to help you in your role.
  • Forget that all members of staff, including the headteacher, will go through the same process.
  • Try to develop everything at once – your targets will need to be achievable.

Following this preparation, you will set a date for your initial appraisal meeting with your line manager or the member of staff who is responsible for teaching assistants in the school. This may, for example, be the deputy head or the SENCO if you are an individual support assistant. The structure of the meeting will depend on your own school’s approach but it is likely that you will consider your job description in the light of what you do on a day-to-day basis and think about whether it is still a reflection of your role. You may then talk through your classroom observation if you have had one, and think about any issues which have come up as a result of this. Finally, you might discuss the aspects of your job which give you the most and least satisfaction and think about any additional training which you would find helpful following your reflection on your role. You will then think about three or four targets to work on over the next 12 months. These targets should partly comprise of any training which you will be doing anyway, such as attending a safeguarding course as part of the school staff, or completing your certificate in supporting teaching and learning.

brilliant tip

Make sure your targets are SMART:

  • •Specific: Ensure your target says exactly what is required.
  • •Measurable: Make sure you can measure whether the target has been achieved.
  • •Achievable: The target should not be inaccessible or too difficult.
  • •Realistic: Ensure you have access to the training or resources that may be required.
  • •Time-bound: There should be a limit to the time you have available to achieve your target. This is because otherwise you may continually put it off to another date!

The main points of your conversation will then be documented by your line manager and then the targets recorded in a format such as the one below.

Professional Review Meeting

Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Line manager. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Areas discussed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Review of last year’s targets (if applicable):

New targets for professional development:

1

2

3

To be reviewed on:

Signed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (TA)

Signed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Line manager)

Keeping up to date with career developments

You will usually be able to keep up with the kinds of courses and development opportunities which are available to support staff through your school. You may find that the school invites people from different outside agencies to speak to or train staff and these may be optional or obligatory for support staff. Your line manager or supervisor should be able to give you advice and information about training and help you to decide on the best courses or meetings to attend. Additionally, your SENCO may be able to give you details of any courses to support your work with pupils who have special educational needs. If you have any difficulty finding help, your local education authority will publish details of courses well in advance and these should be available through your local teacher development centre. You should also keep up to date through reading educational publications or websites such as the TES, or those specifically for teaching assistants such as Learning Support magazine.

brilliant case study

Jackie is working as an individual support assistant for a blind pupil in a secondary school. She has been there for two years and, although she is very experienced and well trained for her work with the pupil, she does not have any qualifications. She has been investigating some of her options – she would like to be better qualified as there is a possibility that her pupil may be moving schools. However, she does not have much contact with her line manager as she is not full time, and there are no points of contact during the week.

  • •What should Jackie do first?
  • •Is there anything else she could do if the school could not support her request?

Over the past few years there have been many developments in the qualifications and courses available for support staff, through NVQs, DCSF induction training, HLTA, foundation degrees and Support Work in Schools (SWIS). At the time of writing, the qualifications are being reviewed and award, certificate and diplomas being developed in supporting teaching and learning. There is also some confusion about different levels and whether there should be a pay scale for support staff as pay and conditions vary between local authorities.

The training and development agency website (www.tda.gov.uk) gives guidance and recommendations for most support staff qualifications and what the different levels mean nationally, as currently different local authorities may give assistants different job titles to reflect their level of experience or expertise. For example, in some LAs, support staff with little or no experience or who mainly deal with photocopying, displays and so on may be called classroom assistants, whereas those who are more involved with supporting teaching and learning are teaching assistants. This is not, however, a national requirement.

It is important when looking at qualifications to have good advice and to choose the right one for you because many of them are work based and so will give a good indication of the level at which you are working. If you can, ask others about courses that they have been on so that you can find out which most appeal or may be useful to you. Courses may be full or part time and, depending on your hours at school, you may have to speak to your headteacher for time out in order to study. Alternatively, some centres offer evening courses so that you can attend outside school hours.

ask others about courses that they have been on

brilliant tip

Always keep a record of all courses you attend and qualifications gained. They will be a good record of your professional development and will be useful for you to have at hand if you need to update your CV or attend an interview.

Making a job application

Whatever your role, it is likely that at some stage you will need to think about changing your job. It can be fairly daunting to do this, particularly if you have been in the same school for some time. In many cases, teaching assistants have started their careers by volunteering in their own child’s school and gradually building up their role and experience and may feel disloyal or lack confidence in looking elsewhere. However, you may have more experience than you think and if you have been on additional training or have developed areas of speciality, you may find that it is appealing to consider working in another school or even changing key stages.

you may have more experience than you think

Before you even apply to a different school, find out as much about it as you can and visit it if possible. You should make sure that you check the advertisement or person specification to ensure that you have the required experience or qualifications if necessary. It is likely that you will need to give the names of references – one of these should always be your current headteacher so you will need to check with them first.

brilliant tip

Having an up-to-date CV which you revise every year or so can be a useful additional document to have to hand if needed when considering a new role.

Writing a CV or filling in an application form?

When making an application, you will find that some advertisements will ask you to fill in a form, whereas others may ask you to send your CV with a covering letter. You will need to make sure that you do this carefully, particularly if the school specifies that it should be handwritten – never write straight onto the form without making a draft first. Your supporting statement or covering letter will need to be well written and show how you fulfil the requirements of the person specification. You should use it to sell yourself and to say why you are the best person for the post, so include details such as relevant previous experience, additional training you may have attended, or specific areas of expertise.

If you are writing a CV you should always include a number of essential details:

  • •name;
  • •address;
  • •other contact details (email, phone numbers);
  • •date of birth;
  • •qualifications;
  • •employment history (start with your most recent employer and make sure any gaps in employment are explained, for example, having children, travel, etc.);
  • •other interests and relevant experiences (running a scout group or Duke of Edinburgh award, first aider, guitar player, etc.).

brilliant tip

Always ask another person to check through your application and supporting statement for you before sending them.

Going to interviews

Going to an interview will always be a useful experience and you should try to view it as such, even if you are nervous. Remember that as well as the school finding out if you would be the right person for the post, you are also finding out about whether the school is right for you. Try to give yourself plenty of time to arrive and dress comfortably without being too casual or overly confident. Remember that first impressions will be part of the process!

There are some key questions which you may be asked – try to be prepared by having some answers ready in advance. You may also be able to ask other assistants in your school for the kinds of questions which they have been asked at interviews.

brilliant example

The types of questions you may be asked include:

  • •Why have you applied for this role?
  • •What kind of experience have you had?
  • •What have been your most/least satisfying experiences in the classroom?
  • •What would you do if a parent approached you with a question about their child’s progress?
  • •Outline different examples of how you might promote a pupil’s independence in the classroom.
  • •How should you approach the management of pupil behaviour?

brilliant dos and don’ts

Do

  • Think about the interview beforehand and be prepared for some of the more common questions.
  • Make eye contact with those who are interviewing you.
  • Try to relax during the interview.
  • Listen to each question carefully so that you are clear on what is being asked.
  • Have one or two questions ready to ask afterwards.
  • Smile and make sure you thank the panel at the end.

Don’t

  • Wear clothes which make you stand out for the wrong reasons (for example, a t-shirt with slogans, short skirt, loud suit, comedy tie, plunging neckline).
  • Panic – the panel may be just as nervous as you!
  • Try to answer questions straight away if you need to think for a moment.
  • Be dishonest. If you haven’t had the experience or don’t know the answer, say so.

Maintaining a work/life balance

One of the more challenging aspects of your role can be maintaining a work/life balance. You may have started part time and been asked to increase your hours, or have just returned to work after having a family. There will always be times when it can seem difficult to juggle your different roles; this can be exacerbated if you decide to go on additional training, particularly if this takes place over several months. It can sometimes seem as though everything happens at once, for example if you have started a new job while one of your own children has just started secondary school. However, many teaching assistants and other support staff are in a similar position, often as single parents or with other additional pressures, and there are some ways in which you can plan and use your time more effectively.

it can seem difficult to juggle your different roles

Plan to have some ‘you time’ each week

You should make sure that even if this is just for a couple of hours, you have some time away from being Mum/Dad/TA/student so that you have something to look forward to, whether this is a hobby or socialising with friends.

Plan your time carefully

You may need to review how you use your time – this may mean sorting out meals a week in advance, having your groceries delivered, or allocating housework to specific days of the week. People with less time often seem to manage to do more through careful time management.

Make the most of any offers of help or arrange some swaps with friends

If you have friends with children of a similar age, arrange some childcare swaps so that you get more time to yourself if possible.

Speak to your own family and enlist their help

Even if each person has one responsibility each week this will mean that you have less to do.

Join any TA forums or networks

This may help you with any study you are doing and can also help you to feel that you are not alone.

Whilst there will always be times in which you may feel that there are not enough hours in the day, your work with pupils should give you plenty of job satisfaction and be very rewarding. There are also many more opportunities for you now as the role of the teaching assistant develops to extend your skills and expertise and you may decide to take your career in a different direction through your experiences.

brilliant recap

  • •Prepare carefully for your appraisal through careful reflection.
  • •Try to keep up to date by reading educational publications and looking online.
  • •Keep finding ways to extend yourself as part of your role.
  • •Make sure your CV and record of professional development is up to date.
  • •Prepare carefully for interviews.
  • •Try to actively maintain a good work/life balance.

Further reading

Unions for teaching assistants

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