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A school support assistant (or Teacher’s Assistant; in Australia they have several names depending on the State you live in) is someone who supports a teacher in every way possible making many of his/her tasks easier to accomplish. Often the Teacher’s Assistant (TA) is the heart and soul of the class, particularly in situations where there has been teacher ‘turn over’. Whatever role they play in each classroom there is no doubt that they are an important part of the classroom team.

School support assistants can be responsible for listening to kids read and reporting their findings back to the teacher. TA’s help teachers by preparing resources such as photocopying their research and setting up equipment at the start of a lesson. Teacher Assistants have the unique opportunity of connecting with students at a level that is slightly different to the teacher. This gives them the chance to build relationships and do some of the deeper work that is necessary when working with students.

In countries such as the United States school support assistants can also take on the job of a substitute teacher when the teacher is not available. In Australia this is not the case, but they can find themselves in this situation, and although it is not appropriate, they usually are the one person that knows how the class is run. The duties of a school support assistant can some times differ from one school to another although their underlying duties remain primarily the same throughout.

People who become teaching assistants often have a background in childcare and nursery. However even though these seem to be a good starting point many school support assistants are not properly trained. This is an area that needs to be improved, as Support Assistants in schools are essential to each child’s education.

Are you a Support Assistant? Do you know someone who is? How important are they?