WORKING WITH CLASSROOM ASSISTANTS. pack by Joan Menmuir et al. distributed to schools by the Scottish Executive Education Department. Further copies, contact Rod Minty at SEED, tel 0131 244 0988.
In an ideal teachers’ world, there would be enough continuing professional development time to take new materials such as Working with Classroom Assistants and use them to promote effective deployment of staff.
My initial reaction was that perhaps these were the first support materials for my new business manager, this special person who is going to join our team and return the job of headteacher to a manageable task. I intend to remain very optimistic about this.
The classroom assistants’ programme began in 1998 as one of the initiatives aimed at supporting children’s learning. A target ratio of no more than 15 pupils to one adult in primary schools by 2002 was set and as a result around 5,000 new classroom assistants were needed.
This is a large investment of resources and it is important that the end result is that teachers have more time to teach, children’s attainment is raised and our new colleagues feel valued.
SEED commissioned this pack, developed by a team from Strathclyde University. They worked with staff from local authorities and schools, and piloted their work in Angus, Argyll and Bute, Glasgow and Stirling.
The aims are laudable: to promote positive relationships, develop teamwork, manage the use of adults in the classroom and so on. This would be so much easier if there was one classroom assistant per teacher. In the real world, different teams will operate in different ways and classroom assistants will have to adapt daily to a number of teams.
The pack offers a wide range of materials. Individual teachers could use it to raise their awareness of the roles of classroom assistants; the inter-relationship between teachers and assistants; what is effective teamwork and effective management, and how best to delegate.
The new standards for the profession in Scotland indicate that a core professional requirement will involve relating appropriately to others, such as classroom assistants, and working collaboratively with them.
The pack is also designed to help heads to plan approaches to working with assistants.
Best value would come from colleagues working alongside one another and in the process evolving excellent working practices. This would take a considerable amount of time to achieve - as with all good staff development.
Sheilah Jackson is headteacher at Queensferry Primary, Edinburgh
