Working as an HLTA

The Priory Secondary School

School No: 33

Angela Benucci

Working under the direction and supervision of a senior teacher – good HLTA practice – Angela is The Priory School’s Individual Study Centre Manager. As such she works with a wide range of pupils, from those in the Isolation Room who have been excluded from lessons to others who have a broken leg, particular learning needs – or temporarily pink hair!

Background

Angela worked as an SEN TA in a nearby school for 4 years, during which time she gained the Specialist Teaching Assistant qualification at the University of Hertfordshire and did various other courses. When The Priory School advertised for a TA to work in the Individual Study Centre (ISC) Angela applied and was appointed, although she also did a lot of Cover Supervision in the first year! This helped her to gain HLTA status, as she found that she had experience to meet all the standards.

The ISC is split into two separate but linked rooms. One forms the Isolation Room, which is the school’s alternative to excluding pupils from school. Margaret Chapman, the school’s deputy head, is clear that it is “crucial that students do not enjoy being there – if they were misbehaving to get into the ISC it would defeat the purpose. There is a contract when pupils go in there, with clear rules and guidelines. Students never stay in there long – they are quickly re-integrated, usually in a day or two. The ISC is about quality staffing and having someone who has the ability and desire to improve the lot of all students.”

The other room is the Progression Room, where pupils whose needs can’t be met in classrooms attend for as long as the need is there and are more gradually re-integrated. Thus a school-phobic pupil might start with a few hours a week in the Progression Room, and only join classes where they feel comfortable. Even when they are fully re-integrated Angela stresses that pupils will still pop into the ISC to say hello, or one of the ISC staff will visit them in lessons occasionally to ensure that all is well.

Angela manages the work of other staff in the ISC, working particularly closely with Rachel, another TA: “we bounce ideas off each other.” Angela is also responsible for the paperwork, and a termly audit of who has attended the ISC, for how long, the support given and re-integration levels. “I am meant to step back and do some of it during the day, but the pupils come first.” She has a budget to provide books and other resources, and often works closely with parents, outside agencies, the SEN department and counsellors.

How it Works in Practice

When I visited the ISC a variety of pupils attended the centre. Two were in the Isolation Room, and were kept plentifully supplied with work. Angela did not allow one of the pupils to avoid a piece of work he was reluctant to tackle – “You know what happened last time, it all collapsed.” Angela was firm but supportive in her reply – “That was paper, this is card – give it a go, then I’ll come and give you a hand.”

The atmosphere throughout the centre was relaxed, calm and purposeful. Pupils were kept on task and any inappropriate behaviour was corrected with a look or a polite request. When one student was in danger of disrupting the others Angela spoke more firmly to him, reminding him of the code of conduct in the room and that he only had a further ten minutes to go to complete a successful lesson. This brought him back on task.

Throughout the lesson Angela quietly directed the work of the other teaching assistants, asking them to hear a student read or find some extra work for a student who had finished his. Although the work is provided by classroom teachers to ensure continuity, Angela and her colleagues work hard to make it relevant and often discuss it with the student to ensure understanding. When working with a boy with very limited English, Angela started by asking him to remember what he had learned the day before. She revised this with him before advancing his learning further.

Angela was careful to work with all the pupils in the course of the lesson, and all of them responded to her well. She spoke quietly and with respect to all students, who in turn clearly appreciated working in the ISC, some being reluctant to leave at the end of the lesson. Angela and Rachel acknowledge that on some days, when there is a lot of cover supervision required in the main school, it gets “busy” in the ISC. Although there are clear procedures available to call for support from senior management, they rarely have to use them, and it is easy to see why.

And the pink hair? A Year 10 girl, clearly embarrassed by her error, had put a colour in her hair that was supposed to wash out after a couple of washes. However, the colour had been made more permanent by the bleach already present. Instead of having to be sent home, she could continue to work on her coursework, with support.

The Last Word

“Throughout the HLTA course we emailed each other and stayed in touch afterwards as well. We learned a lot from each other. Doing the assignments does clarify your thinking. Being in classes and knowing the schemes of work etc has put me in a better position to get the whole picture. Margaret and the head recognise that I am more capable.”