SEN Framework and the role of the Teaching/Learning assistant

In recent years there has been a great increase in the number of non-teaching staff employed in school classrooms to support the learning of a wide range of children and young people.  Those working with learners who have disabilities and/or SEN need to be familiar with some of the laws and associated guidance on SEN, including procedures set out in the SEN Code of Practice, and how these may be put into practice in a mainstream school setting. This 5 hour online course looks at the impact of recent legislation on provision to meet learners’ SEN and reviews a number of possible roles for Teaching/Learning Assistants

SP

within the inclusive framework of mainstream schools.  There are 4 parts to the course:

• introduction
• legislation
• role of the TA in identifying the additional learning needs of pupils with disabilities/SEN
• role of the TA in providing specialised support for learners with disabilities/SEN

This course offers some optional practical activities that will help teaching assistants to develop confidence in their identification of individual pupils’ additional learning needs.

SEN Framework and the role of the teaching/learning assistant

Course aims:

• to raise teaching assistants’ awareness of the wide range of pupils’ additional needs
• to help teaching assistants support individual needs in a mainstream setting



Learning outcomes:

The classroom teaching/learning assistant will develop a knowledge and understanding of:

• legislation over the past 10 years that has impacted on provision for learners who may have special educational needs
• role of the TA in identifying the additional learning needs of pupils with disabilities/SEN
• role of the TA in providing specialised support for learners with disabilities/SEN

Course content:


This course is presented in 4 parts:

Part 1 Introduction provides a brief overview of the whole course to enable participants to plan their time.

Part  2 Legislation and Implementation introduces the recent legislation and national initiatives relevant to Inclusion, Disability and Special Educational Needs.

Part 3 Identifying Individual Needs explores the role of the TA and LSA in diagnostic testing and screening for conditions such as:

• dyslexia
• ADHD
• Asperger syndrome
• Dyspraxia/Developmental Coordination Disorder

It reviews the importance of classroom observation of learners in the curriculum and considers the place of checklists for identifying individual strengths and additional needs.

Part 4  Supporting the delivery of an inclusive curriculum reviews the individual support that may be required to meet the additional needs of specific groups and individual learners  for access to the curriculum and considers the specialised training required in order to deliver this type of support.  Course participants are encouraged to explore this specialised support in the context of their own school and authority.

There is a brief quiz at the end of each part to help course participants review progress and a longer quiz at the end of the course to enable users to reflect on what they have learned and to plan next steps. 

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Next steps
For those who wish to apply the knowledge they have gained in these courses, the following courses are recommended:

Barriers to Learning

Look out for:
Our forthcoming follow up courses Developing a Pupil Profile (5+ hours CPD)
In different versions for teaches and teaching assistants, this course includes practical classroom activities and offers the opportunity for course members to submit the profiles they have developed to course tutors for comment.

CPD Bytes is a registered CPD provider with Learning & Teaching Scotland