Teaching assistant and Tes Schools Award winner Aimee Durning has been noted for her “highly unusual level of commitment to learning” and is about to have her work on children’s reading published.
Award judges said she was at the “vanguard” of the development of the role of classroom assistant. Here, she shares her tips with Tes.
1. Build relationships: everything is about relationships. Everything you do, you need to build relationships, not only with the child but with the families and the team you work in
2. Be kind: be kind to everyone you meet. You never know how they’re [feeling when they’re] walking through the door in the morning, and that includes teachers, senior leaders, children and parents.
3. Read as much as possible: read the latest research and share it with your teams. You need to read children’s literature, and share it with other adults in the school and the children, and to read any relevant information as in EHCPs and other documents.
4. Do not label children: don’t label them as low-ability and do not label them as naughty or badly behaved.
5. Let children surprise you: give them the opportunity to do what they can do, by themselves without any help. Only step in when they really, really need it. You’ll be amazed at the results.
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