Support Staff Case Studies

Simon Balle School

School No: 246

M. H. – School Manager - SLT Team

M. has worked at the school for 4 years and line manages 12 members of the admin staff.  She carries out 11 PMs with the admin staff. She is involved with interviewing and appointing support staff.

Support Roles in school:

Associate Staff:
13.5 Teaching Assistants H2
4 Learning Supervisors (With specific skills in Science, PE,Asdan & MFL) H4
SENCo Assistant                          
25 Invigilators
3 Caretakers
1 Janitor

Domestic staff & Catering staff are not employed by the school.

All support staff have written job descriptions

Induction

 
Teaching Assistants
New members of Associate staff meet with the SENCo and Assistant on day 1 and are informed of the staffing structure of the school and who is responsible for the various departments etc.  They are issued with a staff hand book and are given some basic Child Protection training.  For two weeks they shadow another TA and are broken into the role ‘very gently’.

Other staff will have a tailor made induction programme relevant to their post.  

Performance Management

All Associate staff have professional dialogue with their line managers. At these meetings the previous objectives are reviewed to determine whether they have been successfully met. If they have not been met support is then offered. During this discussion up to 4 objectives are discussed and agreed for the new year by both members of staff. This is recorded onto the relevant paperwork and a copy given to the member of staff. There is an opportunity for an interim meeting but this optional. PM is not pay related. The discussions start in September and are finished by October half term.

New members of staff meet with the Head and line manager after a month to discuss progress and after a 6 month review they then start the cycle of professional dialogue.
        
Invigilators have a joint meeting with the Exams Officer in September, to ascertain what went well, what could be improved upon and what training may be required.

CPD

All staff have the opportunity for training if it is relevant to their role.

Staff members are expected to share information with their colleagues after attending a course.

Associate staff are encouraged to attend staff meetings and briefings.