To think a TA is not always beneficial

[Dancedanceswim]

I should clarify that I’m both a TA myself and a mum of a (now adult) ASD child. I’m in now way against TA’s in general. This is specific to one child (mild ASD/ what would have been called Aspergers) I know of where I think that, in that case, him having a 1-1 TA is an error:

• firstly, having a TA means that the whole experience at primary school is very “managed” and a bit sterile which may make it much harder for him to cope at secondary
• This is an unpopular opinion but school really isn’t all about learning - the social aspect is vital. Therefore, if a child is sat with a TA all the time they won’t be able to freely socialise with their peers or enjoy any kind of childish behaviour without being constantly managed and having someone watching them
• They’re already self conscious about being different- surely sitting a TA next to them will only make them feel more different to their peers. Also, it will signal to the other kids that they are different and potentially make them a target for bullying/ socially being ostracised
• This child is actually very bright and there are many other kids in the class who could use 1-1 help in terms of improving their progress with work.

The reason they have a TA is because their parents absolutely fought tooth and nail. However, in my opinion I’m not sure it’s actually benefiting this child and this is perhaps a theme throughout.

This is about one child but I think in more general terms that while TA’s can be a valuable asset in the classroom and for some children can be brilliant, they’re not always beneficial. Aibu?

No and there's lots of evidence to support your assertion.

I've never known a TA in a mainstream school stick like glue to a pupil unless they are a risk to other children or likely to run
I believe that the whole well being is important, including them making mistakes and learning to manage it
How are you involved in this ?

My child has 1:1 support - he doesn't access education well without it. Before TA: date on page. After TA: full page of work.

He's autistic, so the social stuff is iffy for him anyway. He is different, this doesn't bother him. His TA prevents bullying. He would get nowhere with socialisation without adult support.

We don't want him to rely on it. We hope his reliance on it will lessen. We are working towards this. A managed experience is better than a negative one.

TAs have enhanced my DDs experience of school immeasurably. Extra attention, pastoral care, facilitating friendships. She's had 3 and warmly bonded to two. But the TAs weren't 1-1 care for a sen child so isn't that a different role?

My friend who teaches at a secondary school for those with severe LD said the same. If they have had a 1-1 at primary school their transition is harder.

There was a girl at dd’s school with global needs. She had a permanent 1-1 and spent virtually no time with the other children - no playtime, no assembly, no class time. Obviously the parents wanted her in a mainstream setting, but I couldn’t help thinking she would have had a better experience in a special school.

My child can't access education at all without her TA despite being academically fine. A good TA knows when to step back and encourage independence

It's not a one size fits all solution just as the education system isn't in this country unfortunately. For some children the 1.1 helps them immeasurably and in other cases its largely for the benefit of the rest of the class. The actual solution would be better funding so schools can increase staffing (more might find it an appealing career too), increase facilities such as nurture rooms, expand on mainstream plus schools etc.

Depends on the child.

Both mine are intelligent and could have done the work if intelligence was all that was needed.

One of them was completely unable to function socially although he desperately wanted friends the other children were unable to see past his autism. He was bullied, laughed at, mocked and excluded his entire school life.

My other son would yell, throw himself about and sometimes even punch people if they got into his space. Which they did. Because they were children. And some of them would set him off on purpose because they thought his meltdowns were funny. Except when they got a punch of course.

If you have a child with autism who doesn't need a differentiated curriculum, extra processing time, a quiet spot to be able to go to etc, who has no problems understanding social behaviours and is able to mix with their peers without issue, isn't a flight risk, doesn't have any challenging behaviours, etc then yeah, no reason for a TA.i suspect that type of autistic child is quite rare though.

As are the completely understanding, inclusive, nice and supportive NT classmates ime.

I guess you either need one or you don't. You aren't going to have one given the economical states of LEAs / schools otherwise.

That said, a lot of it is due to the environment. In a mainstream environment, autistic children offer need significant levels of support to manage which I do agree hinders on all levels. If the environment was different, they wouldn't need so much support and could be more independent.

My ds was a classic example. In MS at times needed 2:1 support. Now in a autism school and needs no individual support at all. The school itself is a totally different environment and he thrives there.

How can you be a TA (or have been a TA) when you seem to have no idea what a TA is or does? You seem to be talking about SEN TA who liaise with certain children depending on needs / EHCPs.

A good TA doesn't hover over a child especially in the upper end of primary. My sons TA moved a little away from him but in line of sight so he could signal. The primary were very good at transition the last two years towards more independence. A good TA helps engage socially especially in playground. My sons starts games and get other kids involved then they step back and watch and don't intervene unless needed.
Good TA are worth their weight in gold.
Also the child in question may need that level of support esp if they explode at home from masking at school all day.

I do know what you mean about socialisation in the scenario you describe and sometimes some SN dc prefer the company of adults in the end

Very much depends on the TA imo. Even on a 1-1 support basis the TA should recognise that sitting next to a pupil in a mainstream setting, for all the reasons you stated, is not always helpful. A good TA will be discreet and promote independence as much as is reasonably possible.
I’m

For a child to have full 1-1 there will be a proven need.

ds has had full 1-1 from year 3 to year 8 (now) and a good 1-1 is nothing like you outlined. They act to open doors not shut them.

A good TA would assist the child to integrate with the other children. I see this in DS's year - the TAs work to get their pupils engaged socially, which often wouldn't happen successfully without them.

You can't make a sweeping generalisation on this. It's entirely dependant on the child and their needs.

I am a parent of a child that fought tooth and nail for mine to have 1:1 TA. They have it, full time, and have done since Reception. Over a couple of years I've also had to fight tooth and nail repeatedly to bust the myth that they don't need it because they appear 'fine', aren't disruptive/violent and are academically able. I've also had to battle school staff sneakily taking my child's support for other children and lying about it, despite it being set out very clearly, and enforceably in their EHCP.

The fact is, without that 1:1 TA they couldn't access school or the curriculum at all. They likely would become extremely disruptive if forced to, or would not be able to attend at all.

Yes, there are almost certainly other children in the class that need the same level of support and some don't have it. I cannot do anything the fact that their parents haven't advocated in the same way as me. But I cannot allow my child's provision to be diluted to make up for that. I won't.

The plan is that as time goes the reliance lessens and independence is always encouraged and praised. Small steps here are actually happening already, under my child's own steam when they feel regulated and settled. It categorically wouldn't be happening if forced, and wasn't in line with my child's development and needs. A good TA knows their child and can read them/their behaviour to see when is and isn't a good time/day to promote more independence.

We hope that by the end of primary, the TA input will be minimal. With the right approach, for my child, this should be achievable. It won't be for all children though.

If a child still needs full time 1:1 TA support at secondary stage, is likely that mainstream education isn't going to work for them.

Sometimes they have to support other dc. They are not going off for a coffee

My experience of having 1 to 1 TAs is much like @Sirzy a good TA is worth their weight in gold and we have been lucky to have benefited from a few good TAs. The bad ones are little more than appendages though. The answer isn't to remove 1 to 1 TAs it's to ensure that the bad ones are weeded out or that they receive support and training necessary to make them good TAs.

They tried giving my DD a 1-2-1 but she hated it as no one else in the class had one ( although she hasn't got funding for a 1-2-1 so she was actually the year group TA). What she actually needs is someone to take her out when it's getting too much.

Depends hugely on the child!

I suspect with a lot of children with similar difficulties, it is not the presence of the TA that makes them feel different or that alerts other children to the fact that they are different - their actual differences do this. Without the TA, they will still be different, and potentially even more subject to being ostracised or bullied. The TA can hopefully prevent some of this, and allow them to develop confidence and ways of relating to other children.

The presence of a TA might allow the child to perform at his or her best. It doesn't matter if other children in the class are academically weaker and need more one-to-one help than they are getting; that's a separate issue.

There's no way to tell whether a child at secondary who finds it difficult without a TA would or wouldn't have got on better as a result of having one or not in primary - there is no control to this experiment. It could well be that the child who needed intensive support in primary woudn't have made it to mainstream secondary without one, and so the fact that they are there, even if struggling, may mean that having a TA was just what they needed in primary. That doesn't mean primary was 'sterile' or 'managed' in some negative way, but might have been the way that allowed that child to progress to their current point.

Of course the social experience may be different, but in many cases, it's not like the child would necessarily have a normal social experience anyway. They might not be able to socialise freely because of their difficulties. If they are able to, a good TA is not going to interfere in that way.

Yes there might be situations where a child doesn't need a TA all the time, but a good TA can foster independence as needed. There are times when children may depend too much on the TA for things, or when a TA provides unhelpful support that stops a child developing, but those are problems with the TA support, not from the fact that the child has a TA.

I think it's totally individual to the child, the TA, the type of difficulties, the classroom, and it would be extremely difficult for an outsider to make an informed judgement.

Is a 1-1 TA always a good thing?
Of course not. The needs of children vary and for some children negative impacts have to be taken into account as well.

This, with bells on!!

The TA should be there to enable the child to be integrated into the school as much as possible. There’s no need for a TA to be sitting next to a child at all times. If they are able to work independently, even if only for short amounts of time, then they should do so. At these times it’s entirely appropriate for the TA to help other children.

I think you have a long but I would still say that overall it is beneficial to have a TA.

A good 1-1 will not hover around the child constantly and will be able to effectively support the child from a slight distance, or while sharing their support around so that it doesn’t put the focus solely on one child.

The problem is that they will pretty much recruit anyone that breathes as a TA, especially as a 1-1 as it’s not a popular job ime. It’s a job that does require skill and experience to be done well but the pay doesn’t reflect that so the best people go for other jobs instead.

This depends very much on the reason the child needs a TA, the personality of the TA and how the TA is used.

My DS had a TA throughout primary school. He was also very bright with an ASD diagnosis but struggled to stay on task so became disruptive. Some TAs were better at managing him than others. He could be quite manipulative and was very good at negotiating his way out of things or getting the TA to do stuff for him! As he moved up the school they found a more assertive TA to work with him and then worked better. The TAs often worked within a group of children and helped others but DS was always in that group.
The focus on transition to Secondary was very much about using different TAs so he was used to different people. As he got older he preferred the TAs to be at a distance and it was agreed they would only step in when needed. It became apparent that in the lessons which interested him most he did not cause any issues and remained focused so there was a gradual withdrawal in some lessons. This was always discussed with us and with the individual subject teachers. We did have one or two TAs where there was a definite clash and we had to ask for them to be removed from working with DS.

So I agree that a 1:1 marking with a TA can have it's down sides with some children but as you have pointed out, each case is individual and should be managed as such by the Senco.