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Weekly weigh in
- Thread starter penelope1008
- Start date
chrisa
New Member
Hi Penn, had our meetings at work today nothing much has changed, we have to work as long as it take sto get our jobs done if that means staying after we finish 3.15 or before our start time then thats what we have to do. We get SEN allowance and are paid full term time so its expected of us so we cannot twist about it the meeting was munuted by the bosses secretary so its in black n white, we have to tell the teacher what we are there for, cause some still think we deal with behaviour n we are not there for that. The teachers are guna love us telling them what we are going to be doing, i think not !!!!!!
penelope1008
Active Member
Hi Chrisa, sorry not been on here much this week only just picked this up. Sounds rather like us re hours. I'm paid at HLTA rate & for more hours than I can physically work with the kids so that covers them not paying over time or time in lieu for department meetings & parents evenings etc. that didn't stop me from being told I was being to keen coming in before the rest if the ta's at start of term. Things needed to be done & I wanted to start the term without to much pressure of catching up with them & doing my main roll. With ofsted arriving in that first full week of the kids being in I'm glad I did, some jobs got put to one side while data was collated & pulled for them so I'm still playing catchup but at least there's not to much pressure.
Surely it's the SENCO's or SMT's jobs to clarify our tokes to all staff not ours, yes confirm which student/s we are there for & what their issues are but then again a good SENCO should have issued an up to date list of students with special needs to at least each department head & year head as well as it being on the school computer system for every teacher to check & see as they should be aware of who the vulnerable kids in their classes are. Sadly many teachers think we are there for the naughty kids & yes sometimes we are but that doesn't mean they hand over that role to us they are the lead staff member we work to their direction for the benefit of all the kids, differentiating the work where required sometimes beyond what they have already done depending on the students need.
It's good our roles are being put in a more professional footing & that we respond appropriately to that change to get away from the mums army image the role had for many years. It's a hard one to shake off & the wage will never be commensurate with the role, plus there will always be those of us who go beyond the remit & do a damn good job, there will be those who give the good a bad name because they are just looking for the mums army role to earn while fitting in with the school holidays. Sadly until they are weeded out & the attitude of the old guard are changed we are always going to be between a rock & a hard place.
I worked with one of our new teachers yesterday just an odd support lesson & was asked to do some pairs work with students who had struggled with their homework. She selected done & asked for volunteers from others who felt they needed a bit if extra help, I saw about 8 kids in a 50minute lesson & I think everyone one went away with a better understanding & I felt used well in my role rather than the norm of sitting like a lemon while she taught & doing the behaviour monitoring I usually end up doing, being under utilised until the kids start working & I can walk around supporting as needed. It was a great feeling, one lad was all bristles when he came out, so while he did the factors section of the homework I went over the homework with the other student, she went off once she was confident she understood, I then focussed on him & corrected his errors, he backed down enough to accept guidance & seemed to be clearer in his understanding in the end & less hostile or defensive in his attitude. It felt good to be trusted in my role & utilised in a way that benefited us all.
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Surely it's the SENCO's or SMT's jobs to clarify our tokes to all staff not ours, yes confirm which student/s we are there for & what their issues are but then again a good SENCO should have issued an up to date list of students with special needs to at least each department head & year head as well as it being on the school computer system for every teacher to check & see as they should be aware of who the vulnerable kids in their classes are. Sadly many teachers think we are there for the naughty kids & yes sometimes we are but that doesn't mean they hand over that role to us they are the lead staff member we work to their direction for the benefit of all the kids, differentiating the work where required sometimes beyond what they have already done depending on the students need.
It's good our roles are being put in a more professional footing & that we respond appropriately to that change to get away from the mums army image the role had for many years. It's a hard one to shake off & the wage will never be commensurate with the role, plus there will always be those of us who go beyond the remit & do a damn good job, there will be those who give the good a bad name because they are just looking for the mums army role to earn while fitting in with the school holidays. Sadly until they are weeded out & the attitude of the old guard are changed we are always going to be between a rock & a hard place.
I worked with one of our new teachers yesterday just an odd support lesson & was asked to do some pairs work with students who had struggled with their homework. She selected done & asked for volunteers from others who felt they needed a bit if extra help, I saw about 8 kids in a 50minute lesson & I think everyone one went away with a better understanding & I felt used well in my role rather than the norm of sitting like a lemon while she taught & doing the behaviour monitoring I usually end up doing, being under utilised until the kids start working & I can walk around supporting as needed. It was a great feeling, one lad was all bristles when he came out, so while he did the factors section of the homework I went over the homework with the other student, she went off once she was confident she understood, I then focussed on him & corrected his errors, he backed down enough to accept guidance & seemed to be clearer in his understanding in the end & less hostile or defensive in his attitude. It felt good to be trusted in my role & utilised in a way that benefited us all.
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chrisa
New Member
Yes sounds just like me Pen, Its amazing how much the kids appreciate your help when the penny drops all of a sudden. Yeah most staff think we are there for crowd control as i call it , behaviour. Just ahve to knickle down now and get on with it the ,lines have been drawn. We do have all the sen register on Sims for all staff to see but the kids who have come off the reguister who dont qualify anymore are on another list so we can still pick them up and keep an eye on them. How when I am in so many subjects can I differentiate a piece of work i don't bloody well understand meself. That is whats guna happen, I am in tech, science, it, r.e, all different year groups and different teac hers give or take the odd one???? We'll just have to see how it pans out xx Hope we both have a better one next week x
penelope1008
Active Member
As well as HLTA Maths Specialist I've been the maths faculty TA for several years.
We've just swapped nearly all the ta's over to faculty ta's with the remainder being yr 7 & 8 year team ta's who do general support. So far it's working well we just had to convince the department heads to cover the sen kids etc before they allocated us where they wanted to what couldn't be covered by the faculty ta's was then covered by the year team ta's. it's a learning curve & my department head threw a tantrum over timetable rules so I sorted mine & my colleagues out rather than him. A few wrinkles to smooth out but almost perfect first time. Lol now to see how it works longer term.
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We've just swapped nearly all the ta's over to faculty ta's with the remainder being yr 7 & 8 year team ta's who do general support. So far it's working well we just had to convince the department heads to cover the sen kids etc before they allocated us where they wanted to what couldn't be covered by the faculty ta's was then covered by the year team ta's. it's a learning curve & my department head threw a tantrum over timetable rules so I sorted mine & my colleagues out rather than him. A few wrinkles to smooth out but almost perfect first time. Lol now to see how it works longer term.
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chrisa
New Member
There are 4 of us, n another 1 working in the area - vocational where i used to work, we look after the SEN kids, we have a person who does displays and stuff like that, we do our own admin bits and research and have to do differentiation as much as possible for our own lessons, I haev 1 ppa n 3 1-1 lessons, i am working with yr 7,8,9,10, n 11's. I am now attached to yr 10,s for tutor team meetings. Am sure we'll get used to it really by the time next summer comes round then it will change again no doubt haha xx
penelope1008
Active Member
I teach yrs 10 & 11's to entry level & gcse. Support 7,8 &9's in class do extraction lessons, have 1ppa a week 1 prep lesson & 1 meeting/prep lesson with the other faculty ta, 1 dept meeting a month, run the numeracy support extraction groups for yr 7 monitor all the home support books they do & it's just been extended out to a lot more yr 7's plus the underachievers in yr 8 &9. Like you busy busy all on TA pay & hours plus breakfast club supervisor.
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chrisa
New Member
Hi Penelope, had my performance managment meeting today, it certainly went but not my way, felt 2" tall when i came out. They have given me 3 days off time table to get all my resources for startegies etc. Cos can't get me head round it all, am guna have me work cut out i can tell you too long workn off tha cuff with vocational, now chucked in the deep end and hit the ground running. I need to have some interventions put in place to achieve the strategies think that makes sense, my head is all over. I have loads of lessons and different kids will ahve to find something thta I can use in several lessons but have agreed to do some visuals etc to build up a bank of resources for technology. Think my confidence has been shattered soo much and I am finding this job difficult, at the moment. Guna start in morning ot see what I can get together including my lesson plans. Have been to see head of Tech before I came home really upset me, just feel like might not be able to pull it off, they can be so nasty, am terrified incase don't pass observation when it comes. xx
penelope1008
Active Member
Hi Hun, sounds really tough & not totally constructive. So lets see if we can help you find a focal point to start from & let you hang a multitude if resources off.
1) What's your main subject you are teaching?
2) What are the main learning challenges they face is there a thread that runs through that you can use as the main thread to then spin off to meet individual needs with slight adaptations?
3) depending on their levels why not have a look at primary resources, yes I did say primary but there are loads of resources set up by teachers & ta's for every topic & from levels 1- 6 pdf's, docs & power points etc to use. Games, activities, work sheets & assessments. I use it for my year 10's 11's as long as I remove any headers & footers that mention primary they have no idea & is a good lead in or starters for topics gradually building on their understanding & confidence.
4) If you can borrow ideas & adapt them to suit your needs then don't re-invent the wheel use them.
5) Whatever you do don't panic, if they want this done they need to provide guidance & support both moral & technical.
6) You've done this for years, you know it inside out etc so if you were doing off the cuff what would you do? Use that to guide you to the resources you would have loved then given the time now while you have time to prep them.
7) lesson plans do a few general broad strokes, add the finer details as you develop the general ideas, try to put enough in so if you ever need cover its easy for them to do but flexible enough that if they don't finish that days plan because something important they fly with leads you off at a tangent but you can pull back round to topic next lesson using what you learnt as well. These kids as you know can't be hemmed in by rigid planning. That would guarantee failure & a lot of stress on all parts.
8) most importantly remember you are great at your job no matter what today said, yes we can all learn & improve on something but don't let them destroy your self confidence & worth.
9) finally give me a shout if I can do anything to help you at all my mobile no is 07967 131188 personal email is [email protected] if I can help ask & I'll do my best.
Good luck Hun believe in yourself your brilliant at what you do.
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1) What's your main subject you are teaching?
2) What are the main learning challenges they face is there a thread that runs through that you can use as the main thread to then spin off to meet individual needs with slight adaptations?
3) depending on their levels why not have a look at primary resources, yes I did say primary but there are loads of resources set up by teachers & ta's for every topic & from levels 1- 6 pdf's, docs & power points etc to use. Games, activities, work sheets & assessments. I use it for my year 10's 11's as long as I remove any headers & footers that mention primary they have no idea & is a good lead in or starters for topics gradually building on their understanding & confidence.
4) If you can borrow ideas & adapt them to suit your needs then don't re-invent the wheel use them.
5) Whatever you do don't panic, if they want this done they need to provide guidance & support both moral & technical.
6) You've done this for years, you know it inside out etc so if you were doing off the cuff what would you do? Use that to guide you to the resources you would have loved then given the time now while you have time to prep them.
7) lesson plans do a few general broad strokes, add the finer details as you develop the general ideas, try to put enough in so if you ever need cover its easy for them to do but flexible enough that if they don't finish that days plan because something important they fly with leads you off at a tangent but you can pull back round to topic next lesson using what you learnt as well. These kids as you know can't be hemmed in by rigid planning. That would guarantee failure & a lot of stress on all parts.
8) most importantly remember you are great at your job no matter what today said, yes we can all learn & improve on something but don't let them destroy your self confidence & worth.
9) finally give me a shout if I can do anything to help you at all my mobile no is 07967 131188 personal email is [email protected] if I can help ask & I'll do my best.
Good luck Hun believe in yourself your brilliant at what you do.
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penelope1008
Active Member
You're very welcome, so glad it helped. I knew you could do it & just needed a bossy mare to stop you worrying & focus on what you do brilliantly so you could then say yes I need to do x, y or z & get it done sometimes we get so bogged down in the minutiae of what to do we lose the whole picture. Glad I could help to get you back in focus. Hope tomorrow & Friday are as fruitful as today.
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penelope1008
Active Member
Weigh in time tonight having missed last week & gained 3lb not good back up to 11st 11lbs really need to fine tune eating to lose again back to my lowest yet or my target for healthy bmi & weight. Rather than a half baked attempt at losing or maintaining. Think I need to visit GP to ask for help with mental focus be it a counsellor or families of mental health patients support group to let me get some support & help me get some equilibrium back in my life while helping the family cope. I'm slowly admiring to myself I need help & what I feel I need to ask for , is the first step in getting there & for me to admit I can't do it alone is a big step forward.
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Fuffs
Shrinking Big Brummie
Hi Penny.
Well done for acknowledging your head issues. Takes a lot of courage xxx
The support group I went to Tues were talking about how the head can get in the way. And the need for psychological help in this process.
Good luck xxx We are all here to talk to or vent at if you need to xxx
Well done for acknowledging your head issues. Takes a lot of courage xxx
The support group I went to Tues were talking about how the head can get in the way. And the need for psychological help in this process.
Good luck xxx We are all here to talk to or vent at if you need to xxx
penelope1008
Active Member
Thanks fuffs, at the moment emotionally I just want to run & hide. So if nothing else that says I need help, usually can drag myself back up but at the moment I really can't be bothered, I'm
Going through the daily motions so need to do something before I really join my hubby & son. Hubby should have meds & won't son on such high doses its affecting his memory & only just keeping him level. It's nearly a year since he went into hospital & we still have no idea of a diagnosis for him beyond severe depression & physcotic episodes.
I sometimes have the odd blue days but lately I can't shake them & its triggering the old bad food habits & I need to stop those if I'm not to waste this chance to be healthy.
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Going through the daily motions so need to do something before I really join my hubby & son. Hubby should have meds & won't son on such high doses its affecting his memory & only just keeping him level. It's nearly a year since he went into hospital & we still have no idea of a diagnosis for him beyond severe depression & physcotic episodes.
I sometimes have the odd blue days but lately I can't shake them & its triggering the old bad food habits & I need to stop those if I'm not to waste this chance to be healthy.
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