Improve own & team practice in schools

T.D.A 206. Help Improve Own and Team Practice in Schools.

OUTCOME 3:
3.1

Team work in schools is important as it’s a development not only for you but also for others. It helps to build a positive relationship with those that are within your team, as well as showing that there is support for one another within the structure. Whatever the size the school you work in, you will be part of a group of people who each have a different role to fulfil while working to support individuals or groups of pupils. Whilst each member of the team know and understand their own role, they should also know and understand the roles of other team members, and how they all fit together in a school environment. Where there is team work, responsibilities and tasks are shared between the team, therefor, the tasks will be completed more effectively and also in a good time scale. Each team member has their own skills and expertise, communicating with them not only increases your own knowledge and skills, but also allows you to understand your own role within the team. Communication is a very important tool in team work; you can ask for advice or even give advice about certain subjects or topics, as well as sharing ideas on them too.
When it comes to the pupils, communicating between each other is very important as you will share information on the child such as the child’s welfare, medical information or even their progress within the classroom. When adults are working effectively together, working as part of a team, the children will see them as role models and will follow, copy and mimic what they see. They will not only use this in and around the school, but also when they are at home. To a parent this shows that the school is setting a good example to its pupils, which in turn will give the school respectively high standards and a great reputation.
3.2
As well as working and having shared roles, the team must have clear purpose and objectives. The main purpose of team work are:
To provide a safe environment for the pupils.
To motivate the pupils to use their full intellectual potential.
To support the pupils development.
To support and respect one and other.
In the setting to which I am part of a team, there are a number of purposes and objectives of my team in which they work, for example working in a team makes things easier for everyone. This could be with activities, paperwork, observations, snack times etc, this makes our school run more easily and effectively. Our schools main objectives is to create a safe educational environment for the pupils to learn in and also help them to develop in all areas. Our setting offers a variety of activities for the children to take part in, such as health and beauty, life skills, fun fit leisure and employability. These will help the pupils to develop in areas that focus on individual development rather than development of the group on the whole. These will help the individual pupil reach the goals set for them and prepare them for when they leave school into a working environment.

3.3
My own role and responsibilities as teaching assistant is to work under the instruction and guidance of the teaching staff and senior staff. I work in a Post 16+ Special Needs School. We have about 12 student that attend our school, all having individual needs. I work with the class teacher, supporting learning for the pupils and providing general support to the teacher in the management of the pupils and the classroom as well as the outdoor activities.
My role as a teaching assistant is to take on tasks such as to supervise the pupils, to ensure they have the correct tools to which is needed for the lesson to which is being taught and to ensure the pupils clear up afterwards, this allows the teacher to concentrate on teaching. To support pupils with particular individual needs, sometimes my role is to work one to one, while others work in small groups or work with one of these groups. The teacher is not able to give every pupil individual attention, assistants provide essential support to the pupils and the lead teacher. My responsibilities also include:
• Supervising creative activities (e.g. when the pupils use scissors, glue or even using the computer).
• giving support to pupils (individually or groups) who need support in a particular task.
• helping pupils to learn through role play or other play activities.
• offering support and understanding to those who are upset.
It is essential to have effective open communication with others within the team through regular meetings to ensure you have a clear plan of yours and others roles and to be able to establish any action plans and deadlines that are in place. This will give you an understanding of how what you are doing fits into the whole team and school.
3.4
The reason why it is important in respecting the skills and expertise of others is to develop a good working relationship with other members of your team. Each member of the team is equally as important as the other members of the team; as they will all bring something uniquely different to the team. When shared, via communicating, with each other, you can learn new skills and techniques, which then helps to develop your ongoing learning. It is always respectful to listen to the opinions of others as well as listening to their knowledgeable ideas. This is not only showing that you respect them as a person, but also their contributions to your development, and it also helps to develop a good working relationship with them. For a new member to join the team, they may feel intimidated in offering input at first. They may have new ideas on how to progress or help with something, but may not offer it in order to avoid any conflict with those who have been there for some time before they started. On the other hand, if a new member were to join the team and they said that something should be done differently, without listening to the opinions and advice of others, this may cause unease and problems within the team.