Do you like your children's TAs?!

[pickmeupps]

hello all! I was wondering what your relationship is with you children's TAs? What do you look for in a good TA, do you value them as much as the teacher?
DS (8) has a brilliant connection with his TA, I feel like I rely more on her than I do on the class teacher!
Just curious for other opinions :D
xx

Not really, she's nice enough but fussy.

I have likes all of my dd's TAs so far but dd2 has a complete and totally irrational hatred of one of hers

Ds is disabled, in a complex needs resource base - in the base he spends time with a variety of TAs (there are 6 in the base and 1 teacher) he loves all of them. In the afternoon he goes into ms class with a 1-1, who is the same TA every day, she is amazing, she gets him so well, and makes him laugh. He uses a talker device, and makaton and between them they have great long conversations, she is patient and takes time to undertstand what he is trying to say. She does a brilliant job of balancing support, and stepping back to let ds achieve what he can (which is a lot!). Ds doesn't really like other children much, but she helps him play with other children, and build up confidence to spend time with them. She always takes the time to write in the home book (and it is proper relevant stuff) and to talk to me at the end of the day about what ds has done through the day.

We are very lucky, she is a star.

My experience was not so positive. TA "knew" my sister (not as a friend more of an acquaintance at Slimming World) and was telling my sister what my DS was doing or not doing in school. He was dx with Autism and we, as a whole family, were really struggling.

It resulted in me having a meeting with the HT to tell her that the TA was gossiping. I did have my sister's support by the way as she was upset to think that a TA could gossip like she did.

No but she is an excellent TA and my son adores her. I hope she moves up with ds's class next year.

One of mine has additional needs.
To be honest throughout primary school we have had way more success with our relationships with TA than the teachers.

We really like the TA in ds class and the class below. The one in his class is just lovely and she is kind and caring.

We don't see her much as she finishes before the school day, but make the effort to see her regularly.

I loved my ds's class TA last year. She was just lovely. I felt like he had second Mum in school. I saw her telling him off so many times, but I felt love from her, not negative vibe. Everything about her was just so positive. Last day of the year she said to me, " You have a lovely child.", it made me cry.

I really like DS2's TA's. He's currently having chemotherapy and it's lovely to drop him off at school knowing he's being cared for by a group of caring ladies

Our school is really good at matching TAs with class teachers. We had teachers who are really sweet and sunny with a stern but fair TA, a funky and creative teacher who goes off on tangents with a super-organised TA and a stern and very pushy teacher with a motherly, chirpy TA. The nervous NQT we had one year worked wonderfully with the veteran TA who'd seen it all. The seem to take great care doing the pairings.

I didn't actually realise how important TAs were in a classroom until DD started school, we didn't have them when I was in school . But all of DD's are truly amazing. They are all just fantastic and actually do almost as much teaching (and have often more knowledge) than the teachers. It's actually for that reason that I'm training to be one!

The best thing is that they're obviously not there for the money (because it's rubbish!), they are there for the love of the kids and their jobs, in my experience anyway.

Love her! She is a motherly figure for ds and he adores her. She has been in the same class for 15 years and is highly experienced. She is just what my ds needed.

Never really had any dealings with them. Couldn't tell you if DS1 has a TA (yr2) and I know the one from DS2s class (Rec) by sight only

A few of us mums cried when DD's class TA left last year. She'd been with them since reception, DD really loved her!