Do 1:1 TAs exist

[Emeraldrings]

After reading a thread on here I'm now really concerned. DS doesn't have his EHCP yet but it is being applied for.
Senco at nursery, padeateic team and health visitor all seem confident he will be awarded one. Senco, DH and I all fairly sure DS will not cope in mainstream school but if he does he will need a 1:1.
Yet on the other thread teachers, TAs and parents were saying 1:1 TAs work with other children too.
I know DS will need a 1:1 but are they really 1:1 or do they end up being used for the whole class?
I know I sound selfish but DS has high needs and I'm scared of him getting "lost" if he doesn't have a 1:1.
And I can't apply for a special needs school because his EHCP hadn't come through yet.
I'm so worried. He's 3 but not toilet trained, has regressed on what little speech he had, struggles to understand simple instructions, has physical difficulties, can't cope with change to routine, can't interact with other children, it's a constant worry.

I worked as a 1:1 TA for 2 years. I worked with other children as well only in the sense that if my 1:1 child was taking part in group work and another child in the group asked me a question I wasn't going to refuse to help them (tho obviously the 1:1 child was my priority and I wouldn't leave him struggling). If one of the other children came up to me with a question when I was helping my 1:1 child with solo work I would tell them to go ask the teacher or class TA.

Also, it can depend on the child's needs / skills / behavioural issues. Part of my remit as that particular child's 1:1 was to encourage independent social skills so during free play (Reception and Yr1) I might set him and a friend up with an activity then sort of hover nearby keeping an eye on him but talking to some of the others if he and his friend were doing OK.

LAs and schools rely on parents not challenging them. Those parents need to be supported to appeal and then enforce the EHCP. The school not normally providing 1:1 is not a lawful reason to refuse to name parental preference or provide 1:1.

The 1:1 might work with a small group including the specific child they work with as this could benefit their social skills. It depends on the particular need of the child but imo it is usually wrong for the child to be isolated and never work or play with other children. This is not the same as the TA being used as a general TA.

@SyntacticalVortex explained it better.

In my mainstream school where I’m currently SENCo, we have general TAs and SEN TAs. All the SEN TAs work in a 1:1 basis. We currently have 5 children in EYFS with 1:1 TAs but most of those children started on a reduced timetable which we are building up to full time. 2 of them didn’t have an EHCP when they started, but their previous setting had started the process. 4 other children with EHCPs / 1:1 TAs throughout school are waiting for a place at special school.

In my experience with my son who is nearly 5 and has had an ehcp since he was 3, it needs to be explicitly called out in section F (I think) and the LA will do everything possible to avoid it. We had to get a solicitor involved to secure ours for my son who is very high needs (awaiting specialist school).

So school can allocate 1:1 or small group work. They can apply for extra funding for this. When you get a ehcp section F will specify what additional support is required. The school should then adhere to that. It may say 1:1 or 1:4, 1:15 etc .

My dc has asd and global developmental delays. He has a 1:1 830-9. 10-12, 12-1, 1-3.

This is 1:1 just for him. We have had issues of his 1:1 being utilised elsewhere but I keep a close eye on things. I'm on board of governors and I volunteer in school

I used to be a 1 to 1 TA for a children with high needs. I was constantly asked to help other children, take groups, do classroom jobs. It was a balancing act. I've been told it's even worse now as there are fewer class TAs due to funding cuts.

Small groups can help integrate the child with SEND so that can be a big positive. But if the child with 1 to 1 can sit quietly then their TA is often used to engage with children who have challenging behaviour and are disrupting the class, but have no TA. That’s obviously not ideal at all.

I have spent the past 2 years as a 1:1 however last year was year 6, so did a lot of independence preparation from mid spring term ready for the move to secondary, where provision is different to primary. I spent mornings supporting 1:1 and then working more general support in the class in the afternoons, falling back to 1:1 when needed. Towards the end of the school year I stepped even further back and spent more time floating around the classroom, keeping an eye, but supporting across the class.

This year I am 1:4 in lower ks2, my job role is supporting those 4 children all day every day, sometimes the class teacher will do input and I'll support and then we swap, I'll support the main class and she supports the group I work with, I think this is a lovely way of working as she knows them really well rather than them being in a little bubble with me and I just talk to her about them, which has been previous experience with some teachers. However, fully aware as a 1:1 this method would less likely to be possible.

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.

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 .

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,

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 💙

I think DS will struggle anyway. He has a fantastic bond with his KW at nursery and she is brilliant with him. He does like the other staff but will always look for her but obviously he won't be with her in September so I'm not sure this bond is in his best interest (long term).
I have heard it's really hard to get a 1:1 for a child and I've heard stories of schools encouraging parents to only put their children in part time or on reduced hours. How are parents supposed to work? Or is it just another discrimination against parents with SEN children?

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.

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.