Tda 2.5: Schools as Organisations Essay

There are many variations of how schools are set out, although they all tend to have

1.4. Describe the roles of external professionals who may work with a school: --------- P194

Describe the roles of external professionals who may work with a school e.g. educational psychologist

A teaching assistant can have discussions with the teacher after obtaining a copy of the prepared lesson plan. Some time may need to be set aside for these discussions to take place, such as break or lunch times. These lesson plans are usually prepared in advance, the teaching assistant can provide support by doing their own prep work or helping out with task resources.

Schools employ and have teaching assistants, to again, create the best possible learning environment for the pupils. As a teaching assistant I will work as part of a team working to make the pupils learning journey, a successful one. I will attend staff meetings and continue to develop my skills through in-house training and other relevant courses. I will maintain and contribute to school policies and procedures, and work in partnership with parents and carers on behalf of the school.

A teaching assistant plays an important role for the standards of behaviour expected in the classroom.

The teacher's role is to plan lessons, direct and assess pupils learning. The role of the teaching assistant is to support the teacher in planning, delivering and evaluating learning activities and also, under the teacher's direction to give support to the class, whether it is the whole class, small groups or individuals.

A child will be assessed by an educational psychologist if there are concerns about their intellectual, communication and behavioural development. Assessments can be arranged by the SENCO or independently. The aim of the assessments is to find out why the child is not progressing and what support is needed in order for them to progress. Specific learning difficulties are often identified in this way such as Dyslexia, AHAD, Dyspraxia. Support and targets for the child are then set to help them achieve. The outcome of the assessments may involve the child referred to other professionals e.g. occupational therapist, optometrist, speech and language therapist, psychiatrist. The psychologist will advise the school on how to promote development for example, keeping verbal instructions simple. Keep stories and group activities short to match attention span.

My role as a teaching assistant is to take on tasks such as preparing the classroom for lessons and clearing up afterwards, which allow the teacher to concentrate on teaching. To support pupils with particular individual needs, sometimes my role is to work one to one, while others work in small groups or work with one of these groups. The teacher is not able to give every pupil individual attention, assistants provide essential support to the pupils and the lead teacher. My responsibilities also include:

1.2 Explain the characteristics of the different types of schools in relation to educational stage(s) and school governance.

All policies are important as they provide boundaries which to work by ensuring a teacher’s job is not put at risk and a child is not declined of their rights. The Grievance policy gives staff the freedom to make complaints following correct procedure and always be heard which is very important as it also gives staff the security of knowing they can approach their superiors if need be without

Examining the information obtained in the interview and the roles and functions of the school psychologist in Burr Elementary School, I would first like to investigate the client basis in Mrs. Montgomery’s practice. With the client focus centered on the children and teachers, as well as the social system, it can be seen through Mrs. Montgomery’s open door policy that she puts herself out there so that students and teachers know they can come to her for guidance and support. Not only does Mrs. Montgomery’s spend time with a student in a 1-to-1 setting, she also meets with students through the many instructional, social skills and outreach groups. For example, she incorporates small group meetings during lunch, to confer with students on various grade levels. This allows Mrs. Montgomery’s to cycle through students who are not on her caseload. Spending observation time sitting-in in classrooms, Mrs. Montgomery is able to consult and collaborate with teachers and administration about students who are struggling or who need extra

1.2 Explain the characteristics of the different types of schools in relation to educational stage(s) & school governance.

All state funded schools are regularly inspected by Ofsted & they publish reports on the quality of education provided by the schools. Special measures can be put into place for those schools that do not achieve the required standard.

Conduct psycho-educational evaluations, attend school meetings, such as Problem Solving Team (PST), develop recommendations and interventions consistent with student's needs and in accordance with data derived from evaluations and observations, counsel students and assist parents with referrals to outside