When I was in junior school, we always had at least one or two teaching assistants in the classroom, and outside the classroom there were at least two more SEN trained teaching assistants who could work with the children who needed closer attention. We also had extra teachers who came in to hold special, smaller classes in Maths and English for those who were over achievers. Furthermore, our English and Maths classes were split, so for the less abled children, more teaching assistants were available in that specific subject. Our teaching assistants were absolutely essential to the classroom and I don't doubt for a second that any of the above work which has been described already goes on, because I saw half of it myself. Not only do they help in specific areas but they also dealt with all sorts of extras, such as upset children, upset parents, sorting out display boards, sorting through work, aiding children in potentially messy arts and crafts classes. The list really is endless. I'm just pleased they all made it into our class photos!
|