TAs, would you talk to me about your work?

[maktaitai]

Hi there,

I'm training as a SaLT at the moment, and would like to be better at working with TAs - at the moment I don't know much about the conditions of your job, what the SLT work you have to do is like to deliver, and what training you get in the job. Quite frequently I look at a TA's face when we are handing over work ideas for a child, aka buggering off and leaving them to get on with it, and think, is this any use in the real world?

would love to hear any comments [ducks]

Thank you for considering the TAs! Having got sick of just being handed some sheets I now ask if I can sit in at an assessment or watch a 'trial' session with the resources that I will be given and the SaLTs are very agreeable to this.

It was always infuriating to be given for example a list of words or pictures and 'needs to practice the 't' sound'. HOW do you DO the 't' sound?!! I need to know how the sound is produced, and a diagram of the tongue positions during the sound would be good. I was given these diagrams at one school I worked at and was cross that I didn't photocopy them for future use! Any techniques used with a specific child would be useful to watch. Also to know whether the parents are being given the same 'course' to follow. And frequency and duration necesssary. Teachers just say 'oh, slot it into the five minutes after lunch on Monday'. Whether this is timetable restraints or on the advice of the SaLT I'm never quite sure.
To sum up - I think it's important to talk through the work to the TA who will be responsible for delivering it and that they are left a contact name and number. Sometimes the school have no contact info at all (or so they tell us) and we continue to work in the dark.

Hope the above makes sense!

Hi I second hocus's thanks....

Things I have found with SALTS sometimes they give you too much jargon and not enough practical tips..
Recently the SALT team sent through work for a child it involved the child developing his use of verbs ... they gave us a crap picture lotto with terrible animated people jumping sitting, crawling etc... the pictures where unclear and the ideas very boring if using pictures please send us real images etc....

Try to make your ideas as practical as possible not just a picture lotto game..

Pease make yourself available to chat if you can as if I get stuck or the child does not respond to the set tasks it would be useful to have a chat about teh way forward etc :)

Listen to the TA as sometimes I have felt that some SALTS think that they know better but we are the 1s working with the children day in day out...

Oh brilliant, thank you both for replying.

Horrible thought that the school wouldn't have a contact number I assume one of those situations where the SLT gave it to someone when they started working there, but that person has left, or it's somewhere in a file that the SLT left but which was not much use so sits on a shelf...

Like the idea of tongue diagrams. Will start putting a pack together I am really hoping to work either in early years or school age so I really appreciate you replying.

Do the parents ever talk to you about the SLT work, or come in to see what you are doing? One of the things I didn't like about working in schools was the lack of contact with parents and I mull over ways to stay in touch with them while spending the time in schools as well.

The parents ask about progress and the work, and at their request can come in and see the SALT/ a session... The parents also get a report.. I would talk to parents automatically though daily about progress next steps, issues etc