To be annoyed that our Teaching assistant might not be included

[MaLopez]

My son is in Year 3 and is autistic with a Teaching assistant. When we do class collections, we collect and split between all the staff, teacher and 2 teaching assistants.

Due to collect for Christmas (I know, we are early) and I hear some parents are not happy that they are donating for my son's teaching assistant. The teaching assistant, even though he is our one to one, works with other children in the class as well.

Am I being unreasonable to be a tad annoyed. I think it might be sadness that I am hiding under the anger that once again, we are on the sidelines. Just wanted your opinion xx

I dont agree with class collections. If people want to donate thats fine, but they should only donate what they want.

I've also been at schools where this isn't done. Dd will get gift for teacher etc.
Glad we don't have these class collections, sounds like a mine field.

I would get really petty and tell all the other parents that if they won't contribute I don't want my DC's TA shared. And would be prepared to escalate/follow through with the schooL.

A lot of projecting going on here.
The OP isn't asking anyone to contribute money to a fund. She's merely asking that the pot is fairly split. She isn't organising the collection, or saying that more money needs to be raised.

The whole concept of class collections is bollocks but that isn't the OP's dilemma. She is only trying to make what has already been done, and is out of her hands, fair.

I'm not a teacher or a TA but I can see how a 1:1 for a child with additional needs is of benefit to the whole class. I think it's mean of the other parents not to see that.

Just cannot understand why people give presents at all, it doesn't happen at High School you know....at least I don't think so.....can't imagine people buy a gift for every teacher that comes in contact with their child. I just picture the scene, all the kids standing there watching their friends bringing in bigger and better presents so as their parents outdo each other....bet it's a bit awkward and embarrassing....what should the teacher do...make a big fuss of the child who brought in a present or politely and quietly hide it away so as not to upset the children whose parents failed to bring one in. It makes me wonder if parents do it so as their child gets more house points /merits the rest of the year? Teachers do get paid you know, quite handsomely too....

Sister that is one of the most ridiculous statements I've read on MN

You don't know much about current thinking about best practise then.

As a teacher and parent of a reception child I totally disagree with organised class collections as they are entirely unnecessary and put pressure on people. It's not so much the money but the expectation that people will contribute to something. I'll be sending in chocolates and homemade cards for the teacher and LSA. But I get that this is not the point of the post and if there is to be a collection then it is absolutely right that ALL classroom staff are included.

Sister, that does sound a very bizarre point of view!!
How on earth would a class manage without 1:1 TAs for children who are unable to sit on the carpet or work without the safety blanket of an adult sitting alongside them? Or a child with physical disabilities that requires a lot of assistance? Or a deaf child who needs their 1:1 TA to sign to them as the teacher is teaching?
In your system the rest of the class would suffer as the teacher or class TA would need to do those things (and take our time to be trained to do them whereas the 1:1 is employed on the basis of having those skills)
It seems better to me to have a dedicated 1:1 whose spare time (when the specified child does not need them) is spent with the rest of the class as bonus support for them)

Ds EHCP actually highlights the importance of ensuring different adults work with him throughout the day. His 1-1 stuff is generally done by one of 2 TAs but st least one other is trained to do his therapy stuff too.

Beyond doing therapy based stuff though really as daft as it sounds the role of a 1-1 TA is very much to encourage independence anyway, so helping the child to understand what is expected and then gradually reducing the help they need to complete the task.

Yes I see what you mean for secondary school age. I was thinking more of my own experience which is a 4/5 year old who is unable to use equipment independently/needs someone to sign to them to access the mainstream curriculum

If a child has a 1 to 1 it is because there have been multiple assessments made by a team of professionals and the 1 to 1 support is documented in a legal document either a statement or an EHCP. Teachers don't get to choose whether a child is deserving of a 1 to 1 TA it is not their place to make judgements. What they should be doing is implementing the 1 to 1 as advised in the legal document for the sole benefit of the child to who the 1 to 1 is assigned. Failing to do so would give the parent of said child the opportunity to complain to the LA or even take court action if necessary. It is attitudes like those held by sisterviktorine that mean children with SEND are repeatedly short changed by the schools who should be supporting them.
FWIW if dd's TA was absent she would be covered by the second TA in her support system if they were both of then the school would be forced to allocate a different TA to her from their own resources and if worse comes to worst then the school would have to use a TA from the LA bank staff (never happened because school TAs generally happy to have extra hours when necessary) Failing to meet the terms of her statement isn't an option available to them.

Inclusion. Hmmm. How does that work without TAs ? How does a child with ADHD cope without a 1:1 to help them manage? How does the teacher teach 29 other children when one is shouting, possibly throwing furniture or harming others? This is what it can be like to include all .

Dd's TA isn't there to encourage independence her TA is there to manage dd's autism/sensory needs/ adapt learning resources/ provide clerical support/ liaise with teaching staff/ support dd individually with alternative resources prepared by her teachers when the curriculum is adapted for her etc etc so that dd can continue to learn and perform at the best of her ability.

Yes De Vere I did. Why?

Dd's TA isn't there to encourage independence I have worked with 3 chn on the AS and it has been a specific part of their IEP to encourage independence in preparation for secondary school where a named 1:1 TA is a rarity. Just stating my own experience. I was always in the room if the child needed me. It improved self esteem when the children were able to complete a task on their own.

My dd is autistic and has a ft 1:1 and the class collect for her as she does do things within the class although she's meant to be with my dd. We buy for her separately but love that the parents also buy her something.

Petty to single one member of staff out.

Just buy your own, hate class collections anyway as lots don't give and the teacher has no idea of who gave to thank.

My ds has a 1-1 ta, well two actually as a job share. I do get where Sister is coming from, but it was clumsily phrased. The TAs for ds are trained by physios and ot, and actually that part has to be the 1-1 as it is hard enough to get them up to speed, and they are the people who I talk to to make sure the curriculum is accessible to DS. The teacher teaches ds like the others, but sometimes I and the TAs look at rearranging the classroom, where ds needs to sit but also other things, and that is not the job of the teacher. Her job is to teach.

We have a full statement with 1-1 from the moment I drop ds to the moment he is picked up, but the 1-1 do other things too, so long as they are there immediately when ds needs.

Turning to the class present all ds 1-1 have shared in all class collections, and that is right IMO is we have class collections. I don't arrange them, but the 1-1 are part of the team and seen as such but the children and their parents. I would hate for them to be excluded from whatever sum is raised. Equally however all presents come from all the children whether they contributed or not as we have a very diverse class with some families on benefits, or otherwise struggling and some who earn well over £100,000 per annum. There is an understanding that you contribute what you want, no amount has ever been suggested, but the wealthier parents tend to put in£20+ and others nothing or a £. It works well, and is fair I think.

I'm surprised at how many posters have no understanding of how a 1:1 works.
Do some of you honestly think they are only there for one child- always?
It almost never works that way.

chopstick dd is in secondary year 9 she has had a statement since she was 3. She has two TAs in secondary the specialist ASD TA and her deputy. Dd is very independent in her learning, she has a group of friends she doesn't use her TAs as security blankets they are more PAs so that she achieves what she is capable of by them adapting resources, teaching an individual curriculum where necessary, providing clerical support when necessary and ensuring her sensory needs are considered. It works very well for dd she is predicted top flight scores across the board.Itmight not be what you are accustomed to or even what happens in her school in general but it's what I fought for, it's what her statement dictates and it is what happens and it's all documented to my satisfaction so that I know it happens.

Its not a bizarre point of view. Its what inclusion would look like.

Well, this! If a child in a class needs 1:1 support then an additional, full time adult should be added to that class.

However, it should NOT be only that adult who works with the child. The whole staff team should know the child well and they should all- in a cohesive, planned way- input into their education and wellbeing, most particularly the class teacher. Agreed, there may well be therapy input etc that only one adult is trained to deliver, but then another adult can take them out at playtime or support them in assembly. In activities where the pupil can be independent the adults should give them space to do so.

Most of the pupils I pick up have ended up working in a separate area of the classroom, a corridor, even an isolated workroom with 'their' TA. In some cases 'their' TA has planned the majority of their curriculum. This is NOT inclusion.

Ah I see. All my experiences of 1:1 TAing fit with what you suggest. The idea of sitting in a corridor and planning a separate curriculum is not familiar at all.
Every 1:1 TA I've come across IRL follows your ideal model. We do still call them 1:1 TAs though, and you obviously don't, but it's the same thing