Request
A
Please can you tell me how each secondary school on the Island use their teaching assistants?
B
Are they used in every department?
C
Are there specifically trained teaching assistants for different departments?
D
Please could you also tell me if there are any secondary schools in Jersey that allow their teaching assistants to have their own form group without having a qualified teacher attached to that form?
Response
A
Teaching assistant is a general term that refers to a number of roles within a school to support teachers with learning. These are all support roles and can be called Learning Support Assistant, Teaching Assistant, SEN Assistant, Wellbeing Facilitator (Emotional Literacy Support Assistant), Key Worker, Behaviour Support Assistant, Nursery Officers to name a few. One of the key features of teaching assistants is to support the delivery of “Ordinarily Available Provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in Jersey” according to the SEN Code of Practice 2017.
B
Schools determine the use of their teaching assistants across a number of departments. Each individual school develop their own structures and systems according to their needs, setting and budget. Some departments require teaching assistants to complete specific jobs, eg laboratory assistant, language assistants, ICT and food technicians. Some departments can have teaching assistants to run specific academic interventions, eg reading intervention. Some teaching assistant roles are assigned to individual pupils with assessed Special Education Needs (SEN). As such, they will work with the pupil in each department they attend for lessons. The schools with additionally resourced centres have specialist keyworkers to facilitate access to the curriculum for those pupils with high levels of need, eg hearing needs and Autism.
C
Teaching assistants are not required to be specifically trained in order to work in individual departments, however, teaching assistants may have a qualification relevant to the department they are supporting. Teaching assistants have a wide range of training available which forms part of their continuous professional development.
D
There are no teaching assistants that are responsible for a form group in any secondary schools in Jersey.
The information above represents only States of Jersey maintained and fee-paying maintained schools. It does not include the private secondary schools Beaulieu Convent School and De La Salle College.
