Childhood

My Roles I work in the reception class which is 4-5 year olds, My duties include getting the children into the classroom in the morning and helping them get their coats and bags off ready for register time, I then start to prepare the mornings equipment and materials whilst the children do a warm up exercise called wake and shake with the class teacher, the morning materials usually include worksheets involving Mathematics, reading books and certain educational toys. For the remainder of the morning I take a group of six children who need a little more support in their reading to the quiet room then I can record their progress. At lunch time I tell the teacher how the children I have been working with have coped with the activities they have been doing that morning and if I believe any of them seem to struggling or excelling at their work so the class teacher can check on their progress for herself later on, I then start preparing the afternoons materials and set up the outdoor play area for the children. After lunch I again help the children with their coats and lunch bags and get them settled again for register time, After register time I am in charge of reading the children a story before I begin taking groups of 5 children out to play on the outdoor equipment I make sure all the children play safely as to avoid injury to themselves and others, when all of the groups have been outside I get 2 children to help me hand out the snacks of fruit and milk whilst the children are having their snacks I help the teacher clean up the classroom again. I am in charge of making sure the children’s reading records and bags are up to date so I make sure when the children have Read to me I make sure I update their records on how they progressed with the books they were reading and make sure I replace the books for them to take home with them. I also work with groups of children who need a little extra help with their work e.g. I recently helped a group of 6 children who were having difficulty in a mathematics activity which involved the children completing a number line, I assisted them in getting the numbers in the correct order to enable them to complete the task. As suggested in study topic 2 (Burke and Grosvenor, 2003 pg 131) our class has a quiet period at the end of the day where the children discuss their day and the things that have made them happy or sad and any problems they may feel they are having. I believe my roles in the school support the framework of education in all areas PUPILS:- I am on hand to attend to all the pupils personal needs such as making sure they wash their hands, I support them with their learning and have established good relationships with all of the children so they feel comfortable around me, I try to make sure all the children in my groups are included in all activities we do and have a good understanding of what is required of them, I also try to encourage all the children to try things for themselves instead of relying on the adults around them. The Teacher I help the class teacher prepare the classroom for all the lessons and clear away everything afterwards, I also help her in displaying the children’s work, I report any problems the children seem to be having or any progresses the children have made in their work I also help her to record the children’s progress. I photocopy, laminate and collect any money off the children and also speak to parents as needed and if the teacher is otherwise occupied. The Curriculum: I help the children to understand any instructions given to them by the teacher and I support them in their early years leaning, I also support them when they are using the computers. I also prepare and maintain all equipment and assist pupils when they are using it. The School: I am aware of and hold copies of all the school policies such child protection and confidentiality and I am also a fully qualified paediatric first aider. I help support any children who need a little more help in their learning and make sure they have equal access and opportunities to learning, I also attend any staff meetings required and any training they wish me to go on, I have assisted the welfare staff at lunch times and have accompanied the staff and pupils on numerous school trips. Previous interests and experience:- I have previously worked as a care supervisor in a residential home for young and older people with mental illnesses the experience I got from working there and the skills such as patience and helping people make choices helped me in working with children and I need to do these things on a daily basis I also helped some of the residents gain more independence which I try to do with the children as well. I am an avid reader and enjoy teaching people how to read this is why in class I am in charge of the children’s reading in means of listening to the children and noting down their progress in the reading log. I consult the teacher at the end of every day with the reading log so she knows what the children have done in their reading lessons with me in case she has to do it whilst I am away from the classroom My only other experience of working with children was during my work experience when I was 16 years old at the time I was put in a reception class and thoroughly enjoyed my time there I learnt to notice behaviour changes in children when they couldn’t understand the work they were supposed to be doing and help them by explaining again what is expected of them by the end of the lesson I have been able to take this with me into my current job. I also believe that having 2 school age children of my own helps because I had knowledge of how the school was run and what was expected of the children before I started as a teaching assistant there. I am able to deal with things the smaller children may need and can also deal with any quarrels between the children easily, knowing how the School is run I am also able to talk to the parents about things they want to know and any worries they may have about their child and the school setting. It also helps me to understand what small children are feeling by having the knowledge of my own children I tend to know when they are tired and need that little bit more help to complete any work they are doing I am involved as a team member in ways such as I regularly attend staff meetings in which I am called upon to help explain how the groups of Children I work closely with are progressing during class time. As with the case study of Susan Platt study topic 2 pg 31, I have monthly appraisals with the class teacher and the head master where I am able to put across any concerns I may have and they tell me what they think of my performance and if I could do things differently. These meetings help me because they give me a great deal of feedback on the duties I have been undertaking in the class room and also give me and the class teacher a good idea of the things I should be doing during class time and also any extra things they would like me to be doing. Training Needs:- MY Roles:- My current role requires me to work closely with the children in the class or in small groups, the class teacher and the main teaching assistant in the class at all times during the school day as stated above in the assignment I help the children with anything they need this may include help with their work or just generally talking to them about things they want to talk about, I assist the class teacher with anything she needs me to do be this photocopying, laminating or helping to teach the class, I assist the main teaching assistant in planning the class displays and the displays for the main hall, I also help her with any children she may need help with this could be if children have accidents or are just misbehaving and she needs some assistance. As with Juliet in study topic 1 pg 26 my role has changed dramatically since I started I am now more involved in the running of the class and the education of the children than I was when I first started. My responsibilities:- My responsibilities require me to make sure all the children are getting the most out of their education even at such an early age it is up to me to make sure they are progressing in their reading skills and to let the teacher know if I feel any of the children are struggling at any stage. It is also my responsibility to make sure any of the children in the groups I am taking are safe from harm whether this be from their selves or from other children if I believe anything is going on I inform the class teacher who can then pass the information on to the appropriate person. My responsibilities to the teacher are to make sure I am on hand for anything she needs me to and also to make sure I inform her of anything I think is important so that she can act on it immediately these are the same as my responsibilities to the main teaching assistant and also the other teachers in the school. The setting in which I work offers lots of training programmes such as ICT training which I am on the list to do next time a course comes up that I am able to attend and SEN training which I would like to do as I would like to work more closely with children who need more help for any reasons. I have already completed a full first aid course so am fully qualified and am due to do EPI pen training in October as we have some children in the setting with Severe allergies to things such as peanuts and bananas, I have also successfully completed a safeguarding children course and a supporting teaching and learning in schools course which have helped me more in understanding everything about working in a classroom. I would be willing to do any training courses the school offered to put me in for because anything I can learn will only help me in the long run, I am hoping to do some training in the near future which would allow me to work more closely with children who need extra support due to disabilities as this is my main aim.