Just started new job as a TA and feel considerably out of my depth- did you feel like this?

[whenskiesaregrey]

I have just started a new post in a large mainstream school, in the Learning Support Dept. I will be assisting statemented children in mainstream classes. All my experience is in a special needs environment, at primary age, and mainly 1:1. I am used to using an adapted curriculum, not trying to get a child through a mainstream lesson in one piece. After my first week, I feel considerably out of my depth.

I'm not used to having to 'fire fight' all over the classroom, my experience is more focused on the child needing extra support. I feel I have the patience and experience to support these children, but I don't necessarily know what to do when a group of NT children are playing up, and specifically, winding up the child with SN.

Please reassure me I can overcome this?! Any hints/ tips would be hugely appreciated!

[joanofarchitrave]

I sympathise!

Can't help too much, as I'm doing 1:1 at primary as well. Try the TES forum? What goals (if any) has the teacher asked you to focus on?

I went into class for 3 days last week. I thought it would be great, as I wouldn't have to plan all my sessions in 0 minutes. It was terrible! I felt all over the shop. It's a completely different job.

[noblegiraffe]

Is the child that you're supporting very needy or do you have the time to be going around the rest of the class? What has the class teacher asked you to do?

I would expect the class teacher to be dealing with the majority of the behaviour issues, although if kids are winding up your charge you should be well able to turn, glare and tell them to get on with their work.

[whenskiesaregrey]

In some lessons you are expected to go around the class, helping all children in some cases as the classes are usually bottom set. As i am going to different classes with different children, the situation changes.in every class.

Thank you, I will post in TES :)

[noblegiraffe]

Remember, the money for you comes with the statement so you should not be bombing around sorting out all the other kids to the detriment of the child you should be supporting. You should only be doing that if you have the time while the statemented child is attempting some independent work.

[whenskiesaregrey]

Yes, that is one of my concerns. In a couple of lessons I have had a child who requires the support, however the teacher has asked if I help a few other children who are behind instead. But when these children start playing up and fighting amongst themselves, I don't really know how to deal with it. There was a class last week that involved them all moving around, and there was so much hitting each other over the head/ name calling/ general disruptive behaviour, I couldn't keep up! I'm used to dealing with one child and helping them overcome their issues, whereas in this situation, it is more about avoiding a situation where the SN child might be antagonised.

[fourquartets]

I worked as an SEN teacher in a secondary and our policy was that TAs helped the class as a whole even though they might be there because of a statemented child. While they would obviously help with any particular tasks (writing homework down, reading sheets etc) that the statemented child needed, the help was supposed to be across the room so that the statemented child didn't start to become too dependent or feel stigmatised. If the child was working happily for a period of the lesson then the TA would be expected to leave them to it and help out some others. Sometimes the TA might work with a little group too. I don't know what your schools policy is, but we expected TAs to be treated as equal managers in the classroom so they would be expected to give warnings and follow the school discipline policy. But they certainly weren't supposed to be there to just deal with naughty kids and I would expect the teacher to step in and sort it out if you are not managing to control them. Of course, if the teacher isn't coping that well either, it can be a bit tricky.

Sorry, that's not really that helpful. I suppose I think it's probably not that unusual in a secondary situation and I would suggest you ask exactly what your school expects TAs to do and talk to the teachers whose classes you are in to make sure you have the same expectations about your role. Good luck - it's a really tough job but you can make a huge difference!

[BitchyHen]

I would suggest asking advice from the other TAs, they will know some of the disruptive students better than you do and will be able to share things that work for them. Don't worry, once you get to know names, and students see that you are not a pushover it will settle down. It may well be that they are testing you to see how you react.

When I started my current job as a TA in a KS4 PRU, I thought I had made a terrible mistake accepting the job. The kids were rude, the lessons were disrupted constantly and I was out of my depth. However, four months on, I love my job. I have got to know the students, and they are usually respectful (but still not always keen to work).

Good luck and don't be too hard on yourself, you are learning a whole set of new skills and it will take time.

[whenskiesaregrey]

Thank you, that's really helpful. I'm hoping that in time I will settle in and enjoy it, as its something I have been wanting to do for a long time. I can remember back to being at school and seeing any new teachers as an easy target, so I can almost see how I am being perceived!

Thank you all again.

[fourquartets]

Agree with BitchyHen that the other TAs will be able to give you lots of suggestions and, yes, they will definitely be giving you the hardest time possible to start with! Try not to worry too much about a bit of boundary-pushing and don't take it personally - they do it to everyone and if you don't seem ruffled by it they'll give up fairly soon.

[outofbodyexperience]

i found it really very tricky to start with. in most of my classes i would have one or two statemented children, then up to four or five on sa+, and a smattering of others on sa. one of the teachers was brilliant and always had sn materials prepared, so i would go from child to child helping them with those, but my least favourite lessons were the 'bottom set' ones. they were essentially crowd control, as well as having a higher percentage of sn kids, they were chock full of the unmotivated and (potentially undx) kids who had no interest in learning and would treat the time as a bit of a free for all until the bell rang.

i found it very difficult to accept that the 'annual review' process was essentially not ever completed. there was no time to assess current needs, just to rubber stamp continuation of the same. a lot of the children had no parental involvement in education at all. i would spend a fair bit of time and energy pushing for more suitable supports for some of the kids (laptops etc - sometimes i was used as a scribe to take down notes from the board or whilst the teacher was speaking - essentially although the child with sn was present, it often difficult for them to remain focused. when time was not a consideration, i fought for them to have access to IT, so they were taking part in the lesson.

i have to say that i found it exhausting - not the kids - thyey were on the whole great, but the lack of funding and the inability to effect positive change where it wa desperately needed. i tried to resign a few times but they kept persuading me to stay for the kids. i left when we moved away and whilst i often wonder if i ought to do the4 same again, i think the same issues remain.

i found discussing classes directly with the teacher v helpful. they were v open about what they were trying to achieve, and where they saw me fitting in to the process...

[whenskiesaregrey]

Thank you for your experience.

I've just got in from another day, and really starting to think I can't do it :( one of the children I work with frequently (IMO) isn't suited for mainstream. It's almost like he is being dragged through each lesson, with very little understanding of what is going on. I think he needs an adapted curriculum, and more 1:1 time, because he just cannot deal with the classroom environment. Coupled with other children goading him into saying silly things and getting him to do things that will get him in trouble, its not an environment he's going to thrive in. I am spending a lot of time telling him to stop doing things for the sake of the classroom, things I would usually let an autistic child do, for their own sanity and mine! Things like tapping pens on desks, or rocking on his chair I was letting him do, but then the teacher was saying for him to stop, so i wondered whether I'm not doing what they want?

Tbh, I'm just so confused and overwhelmed. I want to help the kids :(

[alemci]

It is hard. I have been there. Concentrate on your statemented child. If you can help others do but if they start playing up walk away. It is not your role to discipline normally, the teacher should be doing that.

Could you asked for differentiated work for the child and take him somewhere else to do the work.

Other TAs are usually really helpful.

At the end of the day the money is rubbish and you can only do so much.

[outofbodyexperience]

with the tapping and rocking, is there a less intrusive substitution that he would adapt to? (i'm thinking squishing blu-tac between his fingers or a fiddle band - something that he can still actively do and you can guide him towards, rather than the more obtrusive tapping or rocking that might be affecting the rest of the class? i had a boy with nf and asd who had to complete his rubics cube before he started every lesson... it drove the teacher crackers, but in the end we got him there a little early, he finished his cube, and then was ready with everyone else... sometimes it's looking for a halfway house...)

it is tricky. you are kind of stuck between the educational/ academic aspects, and the 'coping strategies for rl' aspects, with a lot of kids. how is your head of learning support? if she's approachable, do ask her if you arrange a time to get together so that you can talk over your experiences. mine was v open about the gap between what needed to be done, and what we could reasonably hope to achieve.

i would start with looking for more 'class-room friendly' tics or stims that your wee man can be guided towards, and also approach the teacher for that subject about your concerns wrt to the academics. if he needs an adapted curriculum, there is no harm in raigin that discussion. is he statemented? what does it say about his learning needs? (ime i hardly ever got to see the statements, so i would approach it from the needs i could see and identify, and suggest changes... a lot depends on the ls team though. i was very open that i wanted to be there to improve the lot of the kids, rather than pick up a pittance for turning up to work, so i was reasonably forward with my views... there's no guarantees you'd get the same response... i can imagine that a TA making suggestions to improve the support ot the kids might not go down well in some settings....)

i know it's hard, but i would also try not to make judgements regarding ms/ss. if you concentrate on trying to adapt the current setting to the best it can be, if it all fails then maybe you will have highlighted the concerns to effect the necessary change to another setting. but try and concentrate on what you have currently and improve that?

[whenskiesaregrey]

Yes, you are totally right. The other TAs talk frequently about children not being suitable, and I seem to be falling in to the same trap. I think these last few years are the first with quite a few children with really high needs, and the school is trying to adapt.

I have had a quick look through a couple of statements, but will mention in my review this week I'd like more time to do this.

If a new TA joined the school, how long would you expect it to take them to settle in? The team of TAs are lovely, but I'm worried about their patience wearing thin with me. I feel like I'm struggling with the basics, but its lack of experience on my part. I am aware a lot of my issues are down to not knowing the kids or the environment yet, but I worry what the impact of looking like a fish out of water now will do for the impressions that will be forming from pupils and teachers.

Thank you both for your input, I appreciate it hugely.

[outofbodyexperience]

it isn't the children that aren't suitable, it's the setting. so tweak the setting as far as you can (with the exception of trying to re-direct anything that is actively disruptive to the rest of the class - i do wrestle a bit with the 'changing the child' notion - esp with the rocking/ handflapping/ noise side - but realistically if you can guide towards more socially unobtrusive but equally rewarding for the child substitutes, then you will be making the child's life easier in the long run... it's a fine line though)

i would say a few months to settle in. all of the fish out of water stuff is so familiar, honestly. and i think some of these kids see sooo many support staff turn over that it does take a while before you get any sort of meaningful rapport that you can work with. but just being there will be building up that relationship - and by being there you'll be getting to know more about what they need and picking up clues as to what might help. it took me a good month or two to not feel like the new kid in the school, wandering the corridors to find my class, and trying to remember which kids were in it. i found it really helpful to have a map of each class with names on, so that i had a crib sheet for everyone's names, with 'my' kids highlighted.

everyone else seemed so together, and i remember being really in awe of them, but tbh i have no idea what they were like at their jobs. i suspect most of them had the same issues in the classroom. i used the teachers a lot, and tried to spend a couple of minutes with them after each lesson just to touch base and see if they had any feedback, or provide them with some feedback about aspects of the lesson and the sn kids...

you sound as though you will be a great TA. as you get to know the kids and the setting, your confidence will build (it does seem daunting at first) and then you can start to work to improve the supports - but be kind to yourself!

[whenskiesaregrey]

Thank you so much for that, it is really helpful! I do hope you're right, I'd love to really be a positive influence on these children.

I will spend tonight thinking of alternative stimming activities I can suggest! Thank you. You have made me realise I need to adapt the environment, not the child. I will bear all you have said in mind :)

[blueemerald]

Hi whenskiesaregrey (This may be long as teaching and SEN are my passions)
I worked with pupils with special needs in a mainstream secondary school for two years and I know how you feel.

When it comes to stimming it seems to me you need to get your SENCO more involved; there is tons of evidence to show that things like tapping a pen or feet, rocking on a chair, chewing etc can help a child with ASD to concentrate. I've linked [ this video] so many times on here but it's so useful! (Proprioception disorder is very common in people on the spectrum). Teachers should not be stopping these behaviours!

My solution to your struggles (not keeping up with classwork, distracting classroom, annoying students) was to take direct ownership of the students' work/prgoress when it became extremely clear that the teachers were not going to. (But you'll need a brass neck and steel balls)

Can you hold your own detentions at lunch or put students in afterschool detention? We were allowed to and being TAs we were much more aware of bullying/teasing that happened on the "ground level" so it was stamped out very quickly.

I differentiated and adapted (one of my students was visually impaired) the work. None of my students could cope with the maths curriculum for their year so we did the year before or went over the basics again.

Even though technically it was "against the rules" I took my students out of many lessons to work elsewhere.

I set my students quite a bit of homework as there was very rarely class homework (I gave a certain amount of reading, spellings and maths with extra touch typing practice for my VI student).

I basically took over because it was obvious to all (including the students) that the bottom sets had been given the crappest teachers.

All of my students made years of progress (I was there 2 years and my 3 students' Reading ages went up by 3-4 years, Spelling ages by 2-3 years, my Irish Traveller students attendance went from 40% to 70% and 45% to 80%).

In conclusion you are 99% of the way there because you are clearly intelligent, motivated and you care. By taking a genuine interest in these students you habve already started to make a huge difference.

[whenskiesaregrey]

Thank you blueemerald

Going back to stimming, I mentioned this to another TA. I was concerned that I was doing the wrong thing in letting the child carry on with it, so I asked what they do in the situation. They explained that, because the child is in a mainstream class, and usually a bottom set, if the teacher allows the 'annoying' behaviour by one child, then other children start to join in, or complain that it is unfair that one child can do something and another cannnot. How do I get round this? I can see the point here. In a lesson this afternoon, the child I was working with kept shouting another child's name, for no particular reason other than he liked his name (I think). Although I kept trying to explain to the child I was with it can be distracting for other people, in the end the other boy started to get annoyed. He will often make noises, whurring or popping noises, which other pupils copy and get in trouble for doing so.

I appreciate these are the kind of things I will pick up with time, but I'm keen to get to know what to do asap. I have had a good read through the school's discipline guidelines, but I don't think it would be fair to apply these to some o the children I am working with. In terms of detentions, it has been advised we leave these to the teacher, so as not to step on toes. I am going to bring up what I can do in terms of discipline in my meeting on Friday.

Thank you for your advice, and your kind words :)

[whenskiesaregrey]

Just had an incredibly frustrating 1:1. They think stimming should be discouraged, to prepare them for the 'real world' and how to behave like 'normal' people. I think they think Autism is a behavioral thing, whereas I don't. This is something the head of support thinks too. Is this something I can get around?

[joanofarchitrave]

As if people who aren't on the spectrum never fiddle, pick, self-comfort...

Sounds like there's several issues here. Really tough for you and him.

Re the general lack of coping in the school with children on the spectrum, could you ask them to get some advice 'for the boy' from the local ASD base - like some time from a learning mentor? She could run a training session maybe.

Re the stimming, well as you say the current type of stimming genuinely is disruptive. Could you set a target with your lad re the noises, and in the meantime, pursue the less disruptive stimming route? You could present it to them as a staged process - if they think the ultimate goal is to eliminate the behaviours, whatever.

[whenskiesaregrey]

Unfortunately the head of l/s is talked about as an 'Autism expert' so I don't think she would embrace outside support. Without wanting to say too much, one boy has, what i would consider, a very non-disruptive stim. But i found out today every other TA discourages this. So I'm torn between doing what everyone else does to keep continuity for the boy and not to confuse things, and to let him do what he does, as I think that it the best thing to do?!

[joanofarchitrave]

Really sorry but personally I think as a TA you have to fall in with the policy

[whenskiesaregrey]

That's what I thought :(