Senior Teaching assistant

Dot Cavanah, Senior Teaching assistant

How long have you been in this role?

10 years ( plus 8 years as teaching assistant)

Brief description of your background

Worked as a childminder and in a playgroup, helped out at children’s school before starting at Southgate in 1989 as a welfare assistant.

School

Southgate Primary School, Bursar@southgate.w-sussex.sch.uk

Training you have done prior to this job role and during the job role plus dates

NVQ level 3 for Teaching Assistants, Certificate for Teaching Assistants, HLTA status.

Impact of the training on your job role

I have gone from starting as the only welfare assistant in the school (washing paint pots and covering books) to covering whole classes for teachers PPA (planning preparation and assessment) time and running a team of 10 teaching assistants and 3 dinner supervisors.

I can not express how much my confidence has risen. I find myself giving advice to other teaching assistants and watching them grow in confidence too. I confidently take lessons and plan lessons due to the training I have received. I can assist teachers, especially NQTs (newly qualified teachers),  with the knowledge I have acquired. I enjoy attending courses and putting what I learn into practice, sometimes others will take on board the same practice because of its successs.