To say I can't handle this class

[Daisychain97]

I'm a trainee teacher working as a teaching assistant. I'm doing a subject specialism in maths and hope to teach year 6.

This term, I've been moved from my usual year 6 class to year 1 because the year 1 TA has left at short notice. I've gone from targeted maths 1-1s and SATs preparation to spending the entire just trying to keep the class quiet enough for the teacher to speak. It is the teacher's first year teaching and I've only been a TA for a year before this.

I can't handle the class. There are multiple children who aren't toilet trained and have accidents. Out of a class of 25, only 8 of them are actually capable of sitting quietly, listening and putting their hand up. The rest just shout out at you constantly, roll and crawl all over the floor. Some will cry and scream if they're told off and others will throw things if they're told no. It's chaotic. We have a huge amount of SEN boys in the class, but I think it's a step further than that. It seems some of these children have never been told no in their lives. I have to repeat a simple instruction 5 times for anyone to listen even when I'm speaking directly to a child. For example 'please put your pencils down'
Turns into at least 15 children shouting 'BUT IM NOT DONE,' refusing, some straight up crying at the instruction, others running around or throwing their pencil. It's unbelievable.

It was my second day in the class today and I was on the edge of tears I was so overwhelmed. I have ADHD so a lot of constant screaming and sudden noises really gets to me and every single shout and scream and thrown toy felt like a dagger in my ears. I eventually just zoned out and asked the teacher how I should be dealing with the behaviour. She was just as stuck as I am.

So what am I meant to do? Just continue being miserable? I earn basically less than minimum wage and not sure it's worth it to be honest. It's day 2 and I'm already dreading to go back tomorrow.

I can't exactly talk to the headteacher and asked to be moved because they need a TA in that class...

Bit of a rant but I'm so upset. I loved my job, I loved working with year 6. Now I'm just so overwhelmed and upset. Last year I worked with year 2,3, and 5 and loved every second. I know that a teacher should be able to handle all classes but as a TA I don't have much control or say in how this class is run so I can't change things like how I would if it was my class...

That sounds like something to really build upon op.
I'm concerned for the less exuberant children who want to pay attention and do their best but can't in the chaos. Surely the head should be concerned from their point of view if not yours.

To be fair the OP wanted help with her situation. She's not in a position to influence parenting at the moment.

As and NQT the teacher should be having observations by her mentor?

Same here.
One of my DCs had a teacher who divided and conquered. The class were split into 4 groups, each named a colour. I'm assuming each group had an equal mix of behaviours.

Then the tables were organised with different activities for each colour and the groups moved around during the day.

I volunteered to do an activity one morning and took each group in turn to a different classroom to do it (the school was lucky in that they had extra space), leaving a quarter less children in the classroom for the teacher to deal with.

Could you do something like that, where you take a group at a time apart to do a special 'fun' activity ?

Also, same teacher had 'jobs and responsibilities', which were assigned to different children each week. My DC loved having a responsibility (collecting paper, cleaning the white board, arranging pens etc).

The head seems to take the view that the class teacher just needs to sort it out. I wonder how often she visits this classroom, half way through the year with an ECT.

Sorry but this made me smile! My children attend an amazing school with some very disadvantaged children. My neighbour sent ber children to a school a little further away as she felt the first school would have rough children!! Oh how I smiled to myself at her stories of spoilt, entitled children, completely overindulged!

No, that's neither true nor the reason. English is not a difficult language to learn - children in Scandinavian countries, for instance, manage to learn their own (often much more difficult than English - Finnish is notoriously difficult, for example) AND learn English at the same time.

It used to be (I started school a few weeks before my 5th birthday, in 1963) that children here began school at the start of the term in which they were 5 - for me, that was the summer term. It was not the custom then to have nursery, or any sort of pre-Reception experience and you went straight into full-time school.

It seems some of these children have never been told no in their lives

^

The absolute crux of the parenting crisis

This would solve a lot of supposed SEN diagnosis too: simply saying no.

I guess these were born during covid, poor things.

^

How is this relevant???

I was told years ago that that was the reason. Do you know what the reason is?

There is no evidence that nursery is needed for children younger than 3.

^

Well, clearly they do nursery. Because the parents aren't doing any foundational learning, that would help massively for reception aged kids.

They may also be toilet trained too if they went to nursery....

i think you have that backwards.

its much easier to toilet train children who don’t go to nursery.

A year of nursery is useful for learning to be in a classroom environment. Group settings and learning to listen to a teacher can’t be replicated at home. The academics at nursery are only superior if the parents aren’t doing their job.

I just can't get my head around parents not toilet training their DCs. It's not kind to allow your child be the only one in a group still in nappies. Nappies are expensive. Nappy rash is a pain. Cleaning a child's bottom is more of a job if the child wears a nappy. So many reasons to toilet train.

I can't exactly talk to the headteacher and asked to be moved because they need a TA in that class...

Both you and the class teacher need to talk to the HT immediately.

You describe the class as 'chaos' and kids rolling around/crawling on the floor and throwing things.

Do the parents know about this? Because I'm very surprised they haven't complained to the headteacher already.

I really wouldn't be happy if my child had to spend all day in a class where the two adults have so little control.

Whatever's going wrong here, the HT needs to sort it ASAP for everyone's sake and safety.

Totally agree, Ida

Just takes a bit of effort. Like reading, basic numeracy, etc etc

It's the absolute basics and a lot of parents don't seem to give a shit

Exactly what @Bushmillsbabe said. I believe there is a significant influx of SEN children now in mainstream, forced into mainstream and parents saying they would quite like a place in a specialised school told, sorry,no places, mainstream is best,go away. Well it's not working right now clearly.

The reply you describe from the Headteacher sounds like gaslighting you tbh.

I wonder how many of these kids are formally diagnosed SEN and on the schools SEN register. You should have access to that information. There will also I believe be kids in that class who are SEN and undiagnosed and their parents may be oblivious.

Sometimes the behaviour in school is alien to what parents see at home. Sometime there's also complete denial. Sometimes parents are also ND and don't see any issues at home.

It feels completely unacceptable to have teachers expected to deliver with a significant proportion of SEN ( diagnosed and suspected) in class.

I would wonder what the schools SEN policy says. I would wonder which of these pupils have an EHCP ( sounds like none). I would want a conversation with the SENCO about this tbh for your own protective and arse covering and also to just see if there's any room for improvement.

I feel quite strongly that the gigantic problem, the elephant in the room here is SEN,SEN,SEN. Everything else is just noise. So all I would do in your position, based on the limitation you have, is be raising this issue ( in meetings, to the SENCO). Everything here is about being expected to deliver outcomes that you are not resourced to deliver ( because too many kids need addition support to function in this learning environment). And then you get bloody blamed for it. Disgusting what's occurring.

How can you possibly accommodate all this. SEN needs can vary from seemingly low level, disruption, to extreme inability to cope, meltdowns, even violence. That's just not ok to expect any teacher to deal with.

You can't do much if the teacher is in charge.

I know some schools would have a large tub of silent sensory gadgets in the class to help focus ( loads online, let the kids grab one and fiddle that all day). Wobble cushions can help alot. They're not cheap but can help alot. How much can you influence this and will the school pay?

I would be using the words 'SEN pupils' at every single meeting because it's really the route cause of all this.

( Mum to a SEN child).

I wish people on here would stop blaming Covid for bad parenting and bad behaviour from kids!! A very poor excuse.

Don't give a shit. Apt.

I think I thought singing, reading, doing basic numbers with babies and small children was something that 'came naturally'. And toilet training. I was wrong. Far fewer Sure Start centres, fewer health visitors: this is the result. TBH, toilet training had me foxed. At two, DD happily sat on the loo (not interested in the potty) and was verbally advanced so could have asked to go, but we had numerous pairs of wet knickers every day for a good few weeks. But I persisted - making sure she tried to go before we went out, checking from time to time when she was playing, the occasional chat to see if there was something I was missing - but it never crossed my mind to put her back in nappies.

So regarding the children with toileting issues, one is SEN and the other isn't.
This week, I've been militantly asking them 'do you need to go to the toilet.' And saying 'you must tell me if you need to go'
I've given them both an 'I'm in the toilet' card that they can either leave on their desks or hand to an adult just in case they desperately need to go and for some reason can't get our attention to ask or don't feel they can ask at the time.
The SEN child is still having accidents but the non-SEN child is taking note and we haven't had an issue this week.
It makes me wonder what sort of toilet training has actually been going on at home or in past classrooms if we are making such progress with a child already?

English is one of the easiest languages to learn.

You can use any word order, mostly we use subject, verb, object (SVO) but any order can work, you sound like Yoda if you use OSV, the one we don't usually use.

Eg

SVO the girl kicked a ball

OSV kicked the ball the girl did

We have so many loan words from other languages that there is an argument that English isn't actually a language but a Pidgin.

Sorry for linguistics vent

@Daisychain97 On the toilet thing, and I don't know the children obviously and you do but could you suggest the child go to the toilet and try to have a wee (or whatever it is called) and do it at the same time each day.

What the hell is this?

At my school anything like that would have resulted in becoming acquainted with the teacher’s ruler, and, later on in one’s school career, the headmaster’s impressive collection of canes.

I suggest you immediately buy a ruler. It’s the only solution. 😀