How do your dc's schools 'handle' TA cover for breaks/lunchtime?

[Hangingbellyofbabylon]

DD's statement has been finalised and after some considerable tweaking we now have 32.5 hours/week of TA support for dd. The statement also states that these hours are to be specifically used as one-to-one cover for dd. The LA is funding 25 hours of the cover but the school have to pay for the rest and are already moaning about that. Bastards.

They are also talking about dd's TA being with her at break time, then taking her own break when dd is back in the classroom and dd being 'covered' by the class TA. "It's only for 20 minutes". . This to me is unacceptable because the class TA is bound to be needed by other children at this time.
I was hoping someone here might have experience? What do they at break and lunch if your child has full TA cover?

The school are also really mucking us around with not actually getting off their arse and adverstising for someone to be dd's TA. I thought that gettng the statement would be the hard bit but now getting the school to actually do anything about it is really hard.

I've just been to a meeting with SENCo of ds1's school to discuss his TA arrangements (he also has 32.5 hours of one-to-one).

The way it will work is that one TA will cover the time he is in classroom, then the TA who runs the nurture group he'll be in 3 afternoons a week will be his named playground person, and a third will sit with him at lunchtime. That means everyone gets breaks but there's still someone there all the time.

I'd been worrying about the TA's breaks issue because it's hard being with one child all the time (be difficult for me and I'm his mum!), but this seems like a good solution. Works for the school and is still predictable for ds1.

HTH

thankyou niminy - I know what you mean, the TA will need a proper break or will quickly ru8n out of steam looking after dd.

I work as a TA in an infant school, but I am a class TA.

One child in our school has a one to one TA. The TA does just as you describe in the OP. She accompanies the child at playtime outside, and then has her break either before or after playtime. 3 times a week this coincides with assembly - so tehe class TA or class teacher supervises, the other times would be snack time - so the class TA supervises then.

Not sure what happens at lunch time TBH. I know the TA sits and helps the child eat her lunch. The TA is, though, entitled to at leats half an hour lunch break of her own - so I assume she takes hers just afterwards an the class TA covers.

You are never going to get someone to cover 100% of the time as the TA needs to have a proper break, as you say. But it is very unlikel a school will employ someone to cover those breaks. This system does work well int he Y1 class it is used in at present and the little girl copes very wel with it.

DS1 has a couple of people who work sections of the day as support for him. He doesn't get 100% cover, but does get breaks and lunchtimes, as these have been identified as flashpoints for him, but the small portion of the day when he doesn't have 1:1 is first thing, when he is usually relatively calm and focussed, anyhow, and then there is a whole class TA or at least a parent helper so his teacher is not absolutely alone with him and 18 other kids.

And a whole day is hard on the helper and the child, specially with kids like my DS1. DS2 only has one person he responds to and he will be getting 100% cover, next year, so it'll be interesting to see how that pans out.

DS's school cobble it together. They have two floating learning mentors who usually cover the LSA's breaks/lunch. Failing that he has to go and sit with the SENCo or Headteacher. It is far from satisfactory. This is all being done at SA+, though, as still trying to agree on his statement.

They have to put something proper in place for your DD. Insist they come up with strategies, and if you have any bright ideas of your own, push them forward.

The best scenario I have come across, is where the 121 is split between 2 people. One covers the morning session, the second covers the lunch time and afternoon session. It also stops child becoming too dependent on one person and if one of the TA's is off for any reason, you have cover from someone who already knows the child, and the child knows them.