Teaching assistants - should they be "phased out"?

[frickfo]

The government has axed the whole central budget for training teaching assistants, and one of its favoured think tanks, Reform, is proposing that ALL teaching assistant jobs are "phased out" to save money.

If you think this is a bad idea, please join our campaign weneedtas.blogspot.com/

i went to school in the 70s and we had class helpers

"Can anyone explain why at Primary School there were 30 kids in my class and no TA in the 1970s but now we have TAs?
What changed so that we suddenly needed TAs?"

Good question. I don't know the answer, maybe some teachers know when TAs became widespread. I think it is probably due to the fact that 30 years ago teachers didn't teach by differentiating work, it was more common to use a whole class approach. Also there is now better provision for SEN.

I think you are right claig.

In the 70s kids with SN either would not have been at a mainstream school, or would have been in a separate 'remedial' classroom.

I was born in 1977 and I can remember by Y3, 2 of the original kids in my year had left to attend special schools.

Yes, as I recall, there was a whole class approach to teaching general topics but each child was reading a different reading book and doing different mathematics excericses.

in my school, in the 70s , there were lots of parent-helpers (parents did lunch duty, or reading individually. Most of these were women. What has changed is that more women work now, so there are fewer Parent Helpers).

It is a bit cynical, as ALL tory MPs probably send their children to private anyway, so this sort of thing does not affect them...

Still, if there is no money, there is no money, and we have LABOUR to blame for this lack of funds, remember that.

We have a globaL economic crisis to blame actually

• which would have hit out country a lot worse without Brown at the helm- or is he responsible for Spain, Portugal, greece etc crises too

Its true. Portugal had its debt downgraded today and the UK Govt debt was put on watch for a possible downgrade if the deficit is not cut sharply.

The bond markets are now in charge of what education our DCs get and what pension/healtcare our parents get. It is no longer about what we want but what investors are prepared to allow us to spend.

What has changed since the 70s?

Inclusion means that where children with special needs in previous generations went to 'special' schools. These children now attend mainstream schools. For example, our school has two children with downs syndrome, three who are autistic and many with ASD. We are just a normal mainstream school. It is hard to see how this could continue without TA support.

Lifeissweet hit the nail on the head in her earlier post explaining why TA support is so important for all children, not just statemented.

Another thing that has changed since the 70s is children's ability/behaviour on entry to reception. Many children are now unable to do basics sunch as getting dressed, toileting inependently, sitting down and concentrating for short periods of time on entry to school. Whether this is due to social changes and the structure of the workforce over the last 30-40 years, I'm not sure.

It will certainly be a huge loss to our children and schools if TAs are simply cast aside as if they do no maningful work in schools. It really is a disgrace.

""What has changed since the 70s?"2

Maybe in the 70 parents supported teachers more than they do now and there was therefore no need for additional support within the classroom? (like when I was little,not in UK BTW, we had homework every night and my parents would check that I was doing it properly and and give me more explanations if needed. Now it seems to be that a lot of parents think children should not have homework and do complain about it)

It is just a theory though.

I can understand that people are slightly paranoid about where the axe might be about to fall, but the announcement to cut training for TAs isn't something to get particularly worked up about.

All that has happened at the moment is that the training budget for 2010/11 has been cancelled, and that there is no more funding for TAs to train to HLTA status.

In many areas there are more TAs qualified to HLTA status than there are actually doing a HLTA job. Schools allow TAs to embark on the training, without any realistic hope of it being recognised, simply because the funding is there to do it. From now on, schools wanting to train a TA to HLTA level will have to fund it themselves.

Leonie, I was describing my own experiences of primary school in the 70/80s and I certainly don't advocate returning to a similar system. I'm all for inclusion, me

I think TAs should remain and be given more support, certainly not 'phased out'.

earthworm. I think people are concerned because 'Reform' the government's think tank have recommended that teaching assistants are phased out in a cost cutting measure.

It is likely that the government will go along with most of Reform's proposals.

www.reform.co.uk/Research/ResearchArticles/tabid/82/smid/378/ArticleID/1197/reftab/1 61/Default.aspx

I think there needs to be more clarity about the differences between primary and secondary TAs. In primaries, often there is a TA available much of the time. They know the children well, and the teacher is able to use them effectively as they know they will be there, what their skills are, and can plan for their time.
In secondary if you ever get access to a TA they are either attached to an individual child (often therefore isolating that child), or attend a class apparently at random (in my experience). This means they have not been planned for, and teachers in this instance often see them as an intrusion rather than the massive support that they should be. Secondary teachers and TAs need better training on how to work together, and timetabling needs to be more consistent, otherwise TAs are not effective.
Also, on the "intrusion" note, many of my colleagues have experience of the "spy" TA, who can become an intrusion as their sole aim seems to be to report back to the powers that be as to anything that goes wrong in a lesson. Perhaps there should be better training for TAs to avoid this?

I have had a look at their website mum, but for some reason I can't access this specific report.

However, surely they are just one of very many non-party, independent think tanks that conduct research that aims to inform government policy - newspapers are full of such stuff every day.

Is there any indication yet that the government are going to pluck out this recommendation for implementation?

IME, society in the 70s and 80s was less concerned about great swathes of children leaving with no qualifications. In fact when I left school in the 80s, it wasn't at all unusual to leave with not an O-level to your name.

I believe that education has become more important to us as a society. Nobody was outraged by DCs leaving school barely able to read in the 80s. It was expected. People are at least a bit bothered about literacy and numeracy these days, and unlike the 80s, you are stuffed if you don't have at least a small clutch of cetificates.

They are indeed. However, most of them are saying the same thing. It is hard to see how with projected 25% budget decreases (certainly over threeyears if not one) schools will be able to maintain teaching assistant salaries. Reform also recommended an end to 'buildings for the future', this is this has already been cancelled. Most see the cancelling of HLTA funding as the start of TA cuts.

I would be surprised to see workforce reform measures brought in by labour like PPA time for teachers last the next 4 years as well.

I hope that I am completely wrong about all of the above

According to the posts on TES the qualified teachers find TA's a hinderance in some cases, there are some excellent TA's in my daughters school and there are some with think they are qualified teachers and should be booted out, doesn't mean the concept is/was wrong though.

I was appalled when I saw the post, and contacted Reform to ask if I could see their published proposal to phase out TA's. They replied very promptly (not sure of the etiquette of cutting and pasting emails into this, and did not want to get flamed! ) ).

I was directed to the site below:

www.reform.co.uk/portals/0/Documents/Education%20briefing%20FINAL.pdf - particularly, see pp. 14-16.

The email went on to say the proposal was made after consulting both empiracal and academic evidence, but also after extensive conversations with heads and teachers.

I am so surprised by this comment(without wishing to cast aspersions on its authenticity!). I cannot imagine most teachers saying, "yeah, actually, I don't see the point of my TA, they are no use to me at all"...

If anyone else would like to contact Reform (the think tank proposing this), they can be contacted on [email protected]

I've forwarded it on to my children's primary head for comment!

Please keep us in the loop sydenhamhiller, I'd be interested as would others I think.

Just a little history here; Thatcher was responsible for deregulating the banks, Brown didn't DO anything to replace them admittedly but I get fed up with labour being blamed all the time.

Reading this thread makes me furious.

My son has asperger's syndrome, he is in mainstream school unsupported. We are trying to get a TA for my son, to help him. He is academically bright and able but needs support in many areas. Mainstream school is the right place for him.

We CANNOT leave these children unsupported, they will be isolated, underachieve and, in most cases, suffer damage to their mental health.

People from Reform, or Tories, if you are reading this, YOU WILL RUIN OUR CHILDREN'S FUTURE IF YOU REMOVE TA's FROM THE CLASSROOM.

You will also end up costing the country more money because our children will need greater help in the long term.