ABSTRACT
It is possible that you have come into the job of TA by answering an advertisement in a local shop or paper or even, hopefully, some of the readers are young people looking for a worthwhile career. Traditionally, people have come into the job through being known to the school, often helping in a voluntary capacity or employed as a midday assistant. In this latter case, the head or a senior manager spotted you and may have offered you a paid job in class for a few hours supporting a child with SEN. Secondary TAs may have followed pupils with SEN as they progressed into the upper phases from primary school. All of you will have been to school, and many of you are parents with children either at school or who have been through the system. It is tempting to think because of your previous experiences, you know all about how schools work. But being an employee, part of a workforce in a particular setting, does bring different perspectives, responsibilities, needs and support. All schools are different, not just because of their locations, geographical layout or phase but because of the particular gel of that group of people. Working with this group of people has similarities to working in any team or organisation, but schools also have their own legal and organisational framework, as well as developing their own ethos and culture. Relationships between all the people concerned are important, and even if you feel that you are only going to relate to a few pupils and one or two teachers, understanding the complexity of the whole-school community is essential to ensuring you achieve the best for those with whom you come into close contact. By the whole-school community, I mean the pupils and their parents, the teachers and support staff, the governors and the local community including the visiting advisers from the various authorities associated with a school.
