Working in a support role

Working in a support role

What’s in a name?Teaching Assistant (TA)

Teacher’s Aide

Education Support Officer

Support Worker

Special Aide

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support roleWhere are Teaching Assistants employed?

Independent schools

Public schools

Special schools

Specialist units

Hospitals

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

What makes a ‘good’

Teaching Assistant?

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

What professional

knowledge might be

required?

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Professional conduct

All staff working with children must

conduct themselves in an ethical manner,

respecting the rights of the student and

their family

Most schools have a Code of Conduct

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Confidentiality

All employees have an ethical obligation to

maintain the school’s confidentiality policy

which is designed to protect the right to

privacy of students, parents and staff.

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Duty of Care in relation to students

All adults employed to work with children

and young people must take reasonable

measures to protect students against known

hazards and risks of harm which reasonably

could have been foreseen and/or prevented.

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Legislative responsibilities

All employees must comply with current

State/Territory and Commonwealth

legislation as it applies to working in a

school setting.

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Duties and responsibilities

May relate to:

working with students and teachers

administrative tasks

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Comply with school administrative requirements

Be familiar with all policies and procedures

of the organisation that apply to record-

keeping and documentation.

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Administrative tasks:

Administrative roles for education support

staff will vary according to the size of the

school.

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Written documentation

Written documentation should be clear

and unambiguous, straightforward and to

the point.

Language should be bias-free.

All documentation must be kept

confidential.

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Working as a member of a team

Effective teamwork depends on every

member of the team taking responsibility

for carrying out the work described in their

position description to the best of their

ability.

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support roleTeaching Assistants and Classroom Teachers must work as a team:communicate

share information

collaborate

present a united partnership

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757

Working in a support role

Effectively supporting teachers and

students is both rewarding and

challenging.

It requires creative thinking, problem-

solving, and flexibility.

(C) 2012 Pearson Australia ISBN: 9781442541757