Training sessions

Core Skills Enrichment provides 41 fully-resourced sessions, which are closely linked to the National Occupational Standards for Classroom/Teaching Assistants. The sessions focus on those issues which need attention most, according to national studies. The training sessions are designed to improve the skills and knowledge of teaching assistants so that they can function better with pupils in classrooms. They can be used by schools, LEAs and other training bodies. They are designed to be relatively labour-free, in that they contain all the information a tutor needs to run each session with a group of teaching assistants. There are key sections on the following areas:

1. Teamwork – Working with colleagues and in teams successfully.
2. Learning process – Contributing to the learning process and raising standards.
3. Behaviour – Establishing classroom rules and managing behaviour.
4. Learning challenges – Supporting pupils with barriers to learning.
5. Records & resources – Managing classroom records and resources.
6. ICT in the classroom – The teaching assistant’s role in supporting ICT in the classroom.

Schools and individual teachers cannot function as effectively as they would like and as parents expect without highly-skilled teaching assistants. It is in the interest of all schools to relate the new skills and knowledge that teaching assistants need, to the effect they inevitably have on raising standards. The issues within these sessions will help to develop those skills and, by doing so, improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning.