Children are our future, but they need help and support to thrive and reach their full potential. Children receive a lot of this support at school. Teachers receive a lot of credit for the support they offer children, and rightfully so. However, there are many others who play a big role in the support of children during their time at school.
Teaching Assistants
Teaching assistants are amazing people. They also do a lot behind the scenes such as marking or photocopying, ensuring the teacher can focus on the children. Teaching assistants work directly with children and often offer support to children who are struggling or who have fallen behind their peers. They do this by working on a one-to-one basis with children who need it.
There are many techniques that can be used by a teaching assistant to support children. They have more time to observe children compared to the teacher and so can offer more targeted help.
Teaching assistants don’t just support children in their academic development but in their personal development too. A good teaching assistant can help a child’s emotional development and increase a child’s confidence.
Reception and Office Staff
Reception and office staff are often overlooked but offer a lot of support for children. Although they don’t offer much face-to-face contact with children, they are the ones ensuring the children are safe and have everything they need.
Reception and office staff are key in ensuring effective communication between school and home. They can support a child’s learning by making sure that the teachers and parent are aware of any issue the child is having that affect their education.
Many schools use school trips and visitors to enhance their children’s learning. These are often organised and planned by office staff. There is a lot of admin and paperwork for something as simple as a parent helping out on a trip. But they ensure that these things can happen and as a result, they help support the children’s learning.
SEN Assistants
School can be difficult for a child with special educational needs. This can be a physical disability that makes it difficult for a child to take part in activities with their peers. Or a learning disability that makes it difficult to learn at the same pace as their peers. SEN assistants help to support children by putting plans in place to offer support where the child needs it. SEN assistants work with parents, teachers and outside agencies to make sure no child falls behind.
Pastoral Care
We all try to ensure our children are shielded from the big bad world. But sometimes children need that extra emotional support. Some schools may have a specific individual in charge of pastoral care while in others the role may fall to the headteacher. Many schools do things that support the children’s emotional well-being. For example, many schools promote looking after your mental health. Many younger classes also have a day at the end of the year where children meet their new teacher and spend time in their new classroom. This helps to prepare them for moving up. This all supports the children’s emotional well-being to help them thrive in education.
Supporting Children
There are many roles within a school that support children in their education. You may not realise how much their support is needed to ensure a child has the ability to reach their potential. Have you considered working in a school? There are many roles that don’t require a teaching qualification or any previous teaching experience.
But they are rewarding and give you the feeling that you’re helping to shape lives. i-teachers is a website that contains many vacancies across the country that help support children in schools. Maybe your next career is on there.