Do 1:1 TAs exist

My child has had 1:1 since year 1 and is now in year 6. Things have worked brilliantly and the aim this year has been to step back more in preparation for secondary; instead of sitting next to them, the 1:1 now observes from the side of the room. More watching from the sidelines in social situations.

The school is moving to a pool system in which the TAs move around to support the children so the children are used to different adults. But the children still have 1:1 support.

My DS had a 1:1 TA in primary school. He had violent meltdowns so it would have been unsafe to use his TA for the whole class. He only had 1 year in a mainstream primary with the TA, then he moved to a residential specialist placement (only awarded for DCs with very high needs). I can imagine a TA might be used as a more general class TA with a child who had less extreme needs, especially without a watertight EHCP.

I'm a 1:1 in a mainstream primary. I'm very focussed on my child but will converse/assist other children if appropriate (e.g my student is working on something independently). It's very much a case of assessing things as they go along, as the school day progresses steadily and classroom environments are everchanging even on a day to day basis. Sadly there's not enough funding in schools in general but rest assured we are doing our best and genuinely put the children first every day.

Has an EHCNA actually been requested? A SALT assessment can be part of an EHCNA.

Not always good for child as they learn to rely on the TA to do their listening and thinking. Lots of children are embarrassed by adult by their side all day.

Does he go into reception in Sept?

That should be enough time for ehcp though you might need to have some back and forth if they try to under provide support. Have you got SLT, OT and Ed psych reports?

My son only manages half days as otherwise it's too much for him but if your son does full nursery days hopefully he will be fine.

No it’s the fact that that an ehcp does not cover a whole member of staff around £6000 short. I’m one ta in a class with 4 ehcp. School are advertising but no replies. I’ve always been a class ta so I enjoy my interventions and phonics. If I’m told to do 1:1 I’ll be looking elsewhere.

Parents can choose to send their reception age DC part time until the term after they are 5. Or parents can also choose not to send their DC at all until the term after they are 5 or the start of the summer term, whichever is earlier. Or DC can attend full time. Some schools try to force parents to send DC part time, but the choice is yours.

They absolutely so assist but you need to make sure you research the law and know what your Entitled to and make sure the ehcp is worded correctly.
my DD has a full time 1-1 who is not employed by the school but smokies and completely funded by the local authority. That way the school can’t decide to use them elsewhere.

I can’t speak for primary but… I used to work in a mainstream secondary school with an extensive autism specialist provision.

1:1 TAs definitely exist and they key is getting your EHCP to reflect if this is what they will need. Absolutely question the LA if you need to and make sure it is not vaguely worded.

I worked 1:1 with various students but only in certain subjects eg. A pupil would have one TA for English, one for Maths etc. with the idea it didn’t create dependency on one specific adult, but still creating some stability/consistency.

If there were students with lower needs (for example we had one child who was fine academically but just needed the reassurance that he had a “safe” person to ask for things without speaking up in class) then we may have had two or three pupils to watch over in the class and would flit between them. A lot of the time this would be a child with an EHCP and one who was waiting on theirs. Once they had an EHCP they would normally get their own TA anyway.

it does seem to vary between LAs OP, but I hope that you can have a little reassurance that there are places where getting the EHCP is the hardest bit and once it’s in place things can and do work.

I did that job for 5 years and absolutely loved it. IME the people that tend to work as a TA don’t do it for the money - it’s shit - but they stay because they are really passionate about it.

good luck 💙

My DH is a 1:1 TA so yes they do exist but think it's very dependent on the school.

His SENCO is very clear about him not being used elsewhere but yes they do really struggle if he's off or on training.

They do if it's specified in their ehcp (when mine were little it was called their statement). They got full time 1:1 funded by the local authority. School was not allowed to use those hours in any other way. It specified hours rather than a named person or anything.

Didn't stop a couple of them treating my sons' 1:1 like a classroom assistant. I hit the roof when I found out.

Mine has a 1:1 TA but she's "used" well. The school work hard to ensure my child is supported by all staff so as to not develop a reliance on one person, so that in the event of e.g. sickness, anyonè else can step in and support without issue. EHCP specifies 1:1 adult support for 32.5 hours per week. In reality is what that looks like is teacher/TA (there are multiple) during class time and a playground assistant during break and lunch times.

I know they're all different but at 3 mine was in nappies and non verbal. Now at 5, they're toileting independently and thriving in mainstream with the right support. Oh and very verbal and making up for lost time!

My DS had 1-1 all through primary, and the TA really did work with him, then he one in the morning and another in the afternoon. My DS has very physical needs though, and the echp provided 1-1, because when DS needs someone he needs someone there and then. It was and is a safety thing. He still cracked his head open mind. However we agreed with the school where and when we’d turn a blind eye to that TA supporting others. They knew they weren’t supposed to, we knew they weren’t supposed to, but DS can work well, provided he’s safe. Now he is at secondary the ehcp still provides 1-1 support all day. Which he gets but from different subject specialists. So it can be done and provided. I should add we have never needed to take the LA to a tribunal. The school worked with us to get the ehcp, then they got the £££ and DS got the support.

I posted earlier about my son's 1:1s. I would say from the start there were always two TAs looking after him - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. They were there primarily to support him but it was important that where they could they stepped back and allowed my son to gain independence and confidence. They also ran interventions for grps e.g. fine motor skills which benefitted my son but also others. I have seen other kids in the school who spend a lot more time with their 1:1 often out of class but part of me questions whether that's right. My son and his TAs were part of the class and that was really important to me and to him. If he was just being educated alongside his mainstream peers by a 1:1 I think he would've missed out on a lot.

Banding/funding is irrelevant. It is the wording in F that is important.

Yes 1-1 TAs do exist. At my school there is a child who has a 1-1 funded full time, he is with her all of the time apart from her lunch break. She would be unable to work with other children in any capacity because the child needs her 100% of the time, he is a runner and a flight risk so her job is to soley be with the child.

But we also have various other children who are awarded a 1-1 with funding but they are much more independent and do not need someone supervising them 100% of the day. These children will be supported during lesson times but are more likely to be able to work in a group and the TA will support the whole group together. They don't need constant monitoring at break or lunch times so the TA will do a lunch time duty etc As their needs aren't as severe the TA is sometimes free to listen to readers, work with other children who need help etc whilst their 1-1 child is engaged in other activities.

I think it depends just how much support your child needs.

As a PP has said, they do exist but many classes in primary now have at least one, often more like 2-3, children requiring this level of support plus another 2-5 with lower level needs of support so sharing a TA. And the classrooms do not have room for 4 adults as well as 30 children. This is exacerbated at schools which have a good reputation for SEN support. It’s a significant challenge, with no obvious solution.

The individual children can also become very dependent on the adult and not have a need to speak to other children or even to the main teacher.

Absolutely agree with this. However good the TA is they should not be the only person directly engaging with the child. Swapping with the teacher for group work can allow more variety. As a 1 to 1 I've been in the position where the teacher left everything re that child to me. It's not right or healthy. Fosters too much dependency.

@Lltb and you do that? Even though its an unlawful policy?

Yes, but as said you need to make sure it's clear in the EHCP the 1:1 is for your child and your child alone,

I don't think they exist like they used to. A few years ago I was a 121 TA for a Y4 pupil and the general Class TA, it was too much.

At my youngest DCs schools 121 TA are shared .

It depends on the EHCP banding.

I have usually had at least one 1:1 in my classroom and they are usually based with their main child but they help out with the other children who need support but do not have an EHCP. This usually results in quite a nice experience for those children as they almost form a little club and are used to working together so can practise taking turns etc.

This year I have a 1:1 TA who is working with 3 children as they all have a low banding so it does not cover a full time person just for them.

In all honesty although it sounds ideal to have someone working just with your child, having more than one 1:1 in the room can often be quite tricky as there end up being so many voices in the room and they can sometimes get distracted by each other. The individual children can also become very dependent on the adult and not have a need to speak to other children or even to the main teacher. Of course it is sometimes necessary though and I understand your concern.