Working Effectively With Your Teaching Assistant: A handbook for primary teachers

From Sara Alston, co-author of The Inclusive Classroom, comes a new book supporting primary teachers to work more effectively with their teaching assistants to promote children’s learning. Specifically focused for early career teachers, this book provides valuable support for managing this vital but potentially challenging relationship. Working Effectively With Your Teaching Assistant supports teachers in maintaining classroom relationships, including working with the expert or inexperienced TA. It explains: - different TA roles, including the role of the classroom TA or learning support assistant, the special needs assistant and 1:1 TA - different forms of intervention, including pre- and over-learning and the importance of ensuring that all children access quality first teaching - how to work collaboratively, including ways of sharing planning and feedback, differentiation strategies, promoting independence and how to support each other beyond the classroom. Featuring quotes from TAs about their classroom experience and what would help them, plus solutions for when things don't go to plan, this book will help primary teachers to have a significant impact on learning, while saving themselves time and reducing stress.

About the Author :
Sara Alston is a practising SENCO and an independent SEND and safeguarding consultant and trainer with over 30 years of teaching experience. Sara has written a number of online courses and resources for teachers and TAs, including on pre- and over-learning and differentiation, for a range of organisations such as Inclusion Expert, School Bus and UK Parliament Education Service. She writes regular articles for Teach Primary and Headteacher Update as well as blogs about SEND and safeguarding issues. Sara is the co-author of The Inclusive Classroom: A new approach to differentiation, with Daniel Sobel.

Review :
An absolute gem! It’s a book that every teacher should read if they want to get the absolute best from their TA. Full of practical strategies which can be easily implemented. Whether you are a newly qualified teacher or an educator who has been teaching for many years, this book is for you. This book provides this valuable information for senior leaders and teachers and every school should purchase a copy. Sara uses her wealth of experience to share a solution focused approach to working with TAs. There is great insight into how to positively develop practices that support the efficacy of TAs in schools. A comprehensive and accessible guide to support anyone in gaining the most from their support staff. I enjoyed the many practical strategies and case studies to support and inspire! A must for teachers, SENCOs and TAs alike. Whilst clearly EYFS and Primary focused, it works for Secondary schools too. The advice, guidance and examples are practical, realistic and accessible. Practical, highly relatable advice for new and experienced teachers with brilliant personal stories and case studies that really brings this book alive. The key takeaways at the end of each chapter are succinct and support teachers with knowing exactly what to do next to consolidate and improve outcomes in their class. Teachers learn to teach; nobody teaches teachers about managing TAs, this book gives a superb step by step guide to support best practice. This well-informed book is an important must read for anyone teaching alongside an assistant. This relationship can be confusing, so this book unpicks issues through a case study approach and common sense thinking. Packed with tried-and-tested advice from a life of coordinating SEN, Sara's book is my new “go-to”. Highly recommend. School librarians work with staff across the whole school and any teaching assistants (TAs) assigned to students will accompany them to library lessons thus the role of the TA in the library is no different to that in the classroom; one of supporting learning, using various interventions, and sharing planning and feedback. Many school librarians will immediately identify with the introductory chapter which presents the challenges of working with TAs including roles being unclear and developed by stealth as well as a lack of job security. The book focuses on support for students with SEND, and highlights the need to establish working relationships and using the strengths of individual TAs. Each following chapter has key points, a list of things that work and things to think about, and there is a comprehensive glossary and index. Although aimed at primary teachers, the wealth of practical advice, strategies for working with TAs, case studies and personal stories make it an extremely useful additional for staff libraries at both primary and secondary levels. Getting the relationship between teacher and TA right is so important for the success of pupils in the classroom, and I think this book will be a helpful tool to teachers, especially those new to the classroom, in forging strong relationships with the teaching assistants they work alongside. This is a useful book that synthesises a large amount of expertise and information into succinct and easy to understand advice and support for newly qualified staff and as a professional boost for more experienced practitioners. A valuable resource. This book offers a wealth of knowledge and ideas about creating a good working relationship among staff, with case studies providing a personal touch. I enjoyed the sections titled ‘if this isn’t working… try this’, which give practical advice on a variety of scenarios that will no doubt be familiar to all of us.