Children and young peopleIt is essential to have respectful and professional relationship with children and young people, and in the position of a Teaching Assistant; there are various ways which enable such a respected and trusted relationship be recognized.
A relationship where a child trusts and respects their TA and feels at ease in their company, allows the TA to propose a compassionate and caring surrounding in which the child can learn and develop. We want to make sure that we make children of all ages, abilities and cultures feel safe and valued. To get these relationships correct from the start, we have to to establish ground rules and joint respect from the start and converse with pupils the factors that will be vital when working jointly. Listening is debatably the most vital approach to create a respectful and professional relationship with a child or young person.
By listening to what a child has to say, shows them that they can trust you and can trust that you won’t judge and listen intently. Also listening to a child explain themselves, or defend themselves, it’s important that they know you will listen to them and hear them out. For example, if there has been a fight between two pupils, it’s best to first separate the two then sit both child A and child B down and listen to their explanation. They should always be reminded that bad behavior and breaking school policy will not be accepted. Furthermore, it’s important that children and young people respect you, and having that respectful relationship will make them want to listen to you when you give them punishment for their actions and rules are set in place for a reason. The TA should then clarify why they believe a rule has been broken and the required punishment.
The TA should always hold on to the schools behavior policy and pursue through with punishments. As a result of doing this, the TA communicates that there are consequences to the choices children make and that the punishment is ‘fair’ in regards to the rule break. It is imperative for the TA to be unswerving in such situations. For instance, if two children were to break the same rule it would be ‘unfair’ to permit one to go unpunished, yet punishes the second child. This would equal to a lack of respect from the children. As well, it would be ‘unfair’ if a TA shows favoritism.
An example would be, if a TA was to let their favorites to ‘get away with’ things that they would normally punish other children for; this is ‘unfair’. Eventually, the relationship that a TA wants to create with all the children is one of trust and respect. A relationship like this cannot be formed if a TA is unfair, incoherent or shows favoritism. Whilst communicating with children and young people, we ought to make sure that we take into account their stage of development. Children of diverse needs and ages will need different levels of attention and support according to their need and the duration of time they can focus for. As we develop into more qualified working with children we will begin to recognize the features which we may meet with different age groups. 4-7 year olds:- When speaking to children be clear and ensure their understanding by asking them to replicate what you said, back to you.
– Be patient, you might need to explain things more than one time. – Do not suppose they will not understand.- Listen carefully; show children you are concentrating and involved.- Use eye contact.- Keep a friendly approach; smile, listen and usually be easy to talk to.
– Ensure you get down to their height so that you are not towering over them as this can be very intimidating for Children.8-12 years: – promote children and young people to express their opinions and ask them what they think and recognize their replies.- Give explanations to support what you are saying.- cheer self-help and independence.- present them responsibilities.- initiate and encourage new vocabulary.
13-16 years: – discuss and look for compromises; pay attention to their reasons.- Use humour fittingly; do not use sarcasm.- Be sympathetic and demonstrate empathy.- provide young people space; use the right supervision level, don’t assume they constantly want an adult listening in.- Treat them like adults; do not demean or talk down to young people.- Use a general interest, e.g.
music, games, to connect them in conversation.- present them with responsibility; allow them to take on normal interesting jobs, e.g. carrying out an activity and not just clearing awayDealing with children can be challenging. Young children tend to get very emotional. This tends to happen especially in children in Infants years, even the most miner things can cause a disagreement, this may generally in the playground over toys. I find that the best way to deal with conflicts is to stay calm and get every child to tell us what happened and get everyone’s side of the story, this demonstrates that you are not taking sides and are listening to both parties and get them to apologise to each other. Children, particularly those who may perhaps be an only child, find it more difficult to share.
This is an additional issue affecting conflicts in this age cluster. For instance, during art class, distributing colours, several children tend to get impatient and not wait for their turn; this causes little conflicts between children. As a result I try to make clear to them that they must be patient and wait for their turn. Whereas with young people, you want to have a different approach in order to deal with disagreements.
This age cluster are more confident and usually will have their own opinions. They are more free and independent and include their own personalities hence will conflict further. Adults must give young people the chance to resolves issues themselves and intervene only when essential. I believe it is important to really listen to young people when speaking to them and let them explain the issue before giving your opinions. Children constantly look up to adults and often will take lead from adults around them. If we demonstrate good behavior then they will receive that and will follow it.
We must follow the guiding principle and rules, be well-mannered and respectful towards other, if the class teacher asks to do something then you must follow. Be presentable and wear smart attire. Treat everyone fairly and be conscious of your own approach. Being a team player and contributing help to others is beneficial in building successful relationships.It’s important that me as a Teaching assistant understand the importance of being aware of my own behavior when it comes to interacting with children and young people.
If I fail to listen and respect the class teacher, this creates a negative impact on children and young people. It’s wrong to advise them to do listen to the class teacher when we do not do it ourselves, this makes children think it’s okay to ignore the teacher as they follow by example. If a student observes that I have few favorites students, then he/she will believe he/she is been put on the back burner, could be thinking he/she is not good enough or smart enough, when he/she sees the other favorite students friendly with the me, this may results in a negative impact and could possibly start to rebel against the me and teacher or have conflicts with the ‘favorite’ student out of jealousy.
It’s vital I make sure not to become overly friendly with young people, this could make the students feel that I am their friend and therefore may undermine my authority. For example, a student may think of you as their ‘mate’ and says an inappropriate joke, and when I try and be strict they might not take me seriously. Learning outcome 2 –Know how to interact with and respond to adults.Adults It is significantly important to be supportive and polite with adults. Information ought to be kept in confidence (which exhibits trustworthiness). As a result of being attentive, passionate and sociable, a respectful, professional relationship can be formed. Active listening and corresponding appropriately will too provide a positive relationship. In synopsis, it is vital to remain professional in the school setting and when communicating with other adults in contact with school.
Treat everyone with respect. Observe the hard work and achievements of others. Offer practical support where required. And steer clear of speaking about others in a negative way such as gossiping. The significance of using positive adult relationships as a role model for children and young people. It is essential for any adult to become an efficient role model for children and young people. This means showing them how to communicate well with others at all times, through their own affairs and relationships with further adults, children & young people.
It is as well significant for children & young people to see all adults behaving properly and efficiently. Children and young people will constantly answer to positive communication and relationships from adults. The means in which one adult performs towards others will forever have an impact on the children and young people who observe it. This is due to the fact that children and young people follow by example, they will take their guide from adults around them and will be swift to point out everything which you tell them to do but do not do ourselves. It is key to consider how we advance other people and how we act in response to them. If our own exchanges with others are valuable, they will encourage the same positive result in communication with children & young people. Learning outcome 3- Know how to communicate with children, young people and adults.
Key stage 1 – 3-7 yearsYoung children are still budding their language and communication skills, they will have to be told frequently to take turns and listen when others are talking. When we are speaking to young children we have to speak clearly and slowly and try not to use big words otherwise they’ll get confused to what you are saying. We will have to verify their understanding of what has been said by asking questions and asking them to repeat themselves. Young children get worn-out quickly when doing activities and they fail to concentrate for a long time, this causes them to become bored and fidgety and start playing about and touching things and wanting to play with people around them causing a loss in focus and a disruption with others. Key stage 2 – 7 to 11 years oldChildren in this age have a better understanding of language and communication skills and will learn to stop speaking and listen to what the other person has to say, and really think about how they’re going to respond. Key stage 3 – 11- 16 year oldsYoung people at this phase use formal and informal language when interacting, they will know and recognize how to converse with people better. Teenagers tend to become more shy and nervous when having to speaking out in front of people due to them being self conscious or worried about what people may think and get embarrassed if they get it wrong.
You will have to support them to talk and giving them more time to do so.There are many resemblances between communicating with adults and children & young people, such as constantly upholding eye contact and attention, answering to what has been said, treating people with good manners and respect. Nevertheless, we should remember that we ought to take on different approaches depending on who we are speaking with. When communicating with children & young people, we must try to be very apparent and clear-cut in what we declare.
We need to speak clearly, what is anticipated from them, in order for them to learn to communicate well themselves. Complex language should not be used and long lists/directions best be avoided, seeing that these make conversation complicated to grasp. Being serene and positive are vital. It is key to confirm a child or young person has understood what has been said to them. Children of different ages will necessitate different approaches, and this may be as straightforward as changeable pitch of speech and adapting vocabulary. Commonly, younger children will need more assurance and physical contact.
As a child matures, they might call for help with talking through issues and repeating their thoughts. It is extremely vital to show an importance in what pupils are saying and support them in school activities. Whilst working in schools we come across communication difficulties often and it is significant we try to aim and mend these issues as soon as possible seeing that it could have an effect on the child’s academic development and even physical development. As there are more and more children who use English as their 2nd language are attending schools that utilize English as a 1st Language. This may perhaps be a setback as some children might struggle with the English Language. Various schools have multilingual employees on board to assist non-English speaking parents, as communication is very important. Nonetheless during school hour’s children are expected to only speak English, not their own 1st language, only if it is totally essential.
Several children could have hearing impairment. Some schools use Makaton and in addition have the loop system in place to permit improved communication. If a young child has a hearing impairment then they will automatically concentrate and lip read as hard as they can. If a child has difficulty hearing, talk slowly and with apparent enunciation so they can read your lips clearly.There are numerous different types of speech impairments:Apraxia of speech –Apraxia is a motor disorder that entails the inconsistent producing and postponing of speech sounds.
For example, potato may become totapo. There are two types of this speech disorder: Developmental: It is obvious from childhood and is usually there from birth. Acquired: It is apparent in adults and is normally an effect from a psychical injury or stroke.It’s essential to adapt the way you talk, when the person you are communicating with has a Hearing impairment/deaf, Medical trouble, disability, use’s English as a second language, Special educational needs, reduced vision or blind. As we are communicating with children and young people with SEN it is significant to use the following: -Talk clearly and properly when communicating.-Slow your speech if required.-Use visual aids such as pictures or flashcards.
-Use sign language.-Uphold fine eye contact and use encouraging body language.Someone who is deaf or hard of hearing, ensure to face the person when speaking, talk slowly or you might need to use sign language if you already know how to do it and steer clear of using facial expressions e.g., a frown since this could upset them and make them feel as though something is wrongChildren and young people with autism, can find it easier to comprehend the world around them through visual aids. Teachers may perhaps use a visual schedule showing times and easy drawings of the activities, thus the child or young person knows precisely what they will be doing and when. A child or young person who has Poor vision or blindness, you should attend to the visually impaired child or young person by calling them by their name when talking to them. If a child has some functional vision, move them closer to the front of the class so they can see you and the board more visibly, don’t be scared to inquire what an object looks like seeing that this will aid you to understand how much they can see.
For someone who doesn’t speak English very well, you will have to to speak slowly, might want to re-explain things using diverse words and you might need a translation or use visual aids.If the situation is TA versus a child, then the odds are that the child is being argumentative and disobedient. You would need to point out the limits and make clear that it wouldn’t be sensible to cross these boundaries if the child did not mean to make the situation worse for themselves. With an adult, they tend to have their own viewpoint on the caused of the disagreement and this ought to be noted and afterwards you must peacefully put forward your point of view.It is necessary to establish respectful and professional relationships with children and young people in the role of TA. There are assured strategies which allow such a appreciated and trusted relationship to be recognized. A relationship where a child has trust and respect for their TA and feels at ease in their company, consent to the TA to proffer a encouraging and caring environment within which the child can gain knowledge of and develop.
During certain moment in my life, I have found myself in the middle of disagreement. It’s very important to be wise, tactful and aim to help to resolve the issue, that’s if somebody asks you to. Countless times people distinguish how to sort it out, or what ought to be done to resolve the problem, however they can get very emotionally caught up at that moment and purely not able to do anything. If such a situation occurred, it’s beneficial to listen and provide them with time to cool down. This could take couple minutes or longer period of time.
The main objective is to be patient, which may be difficult to do at times, but it is fundamental to keep yourself calm at all times. There might be times where I may be needed to referee discussions, over a period of time, which is until both parties feel that the problem has been resolved to their contentment. There may be disagreements at work, in the midst of friends, amongst children at school, or at home. Initially, whilst wanting to supervise disagreements, the ability of listening to both sides of the conflict and considering the entire circumstance is necessary, before making any final decisions.Learning outcome 4 – Know about current legislation, policies and procedures for confidentiality and sharing information. Including data protection. Under the Data Protection Act, whichever personal information acquire on children contained by the school have to meet strict privacy rules. The reason of getting hold of the information must be recognized.
It should be stored thus not to permit any third party admission, this must include protected hard copies in a sheltered office or password protecting information kept electronically. If a parent has given me information about a child, I must make certain that this is recorded accurately and following school policies, giving it to the appropriate member of staff as soon as doable. Where a child protection distress is raised, information will be passed on to the Head teacher or elected senior person to seize charge. Contribution of any of the information among staff members will be made on a “need to Know” base. It is significant to reassure children, young people and adults that any information will not be leaked and kept confidential as a way to gain and uphold their trust and confidence. It is important for a member of staff not to abuse this trust or put them at threat of damage by exposing personal information to others.
On the other hand, if the case of child protection, it might have to be clarify to the child / adult that the information they are sharing with you, this information will have to be passed on the significant senior individual and the reasons following this.Children should be made aware that any information they choose to disclose, will be taken seriously and frequently it will be a big step for a child to tell and adult their concerns, as a result if they feel this will be shared with others or that other children may possibly “bully” them for talking to a teacher, they are not as much likely to talk about what could be very sensitive subject. Thus significant at all stages to clarify what you are going to do with this information and what will happen next.Adults who work with children and young people will appear to know most of the personal information such as date of birth, address and contact details and as well as sensitive information like behavioral topics, some medical information, family background, if parents are divorcing and etc. The adult has responsibility to keep this information confidential.
They have to protect the individuality of the child they work with and that of their families. They should do all in their power to guard the privacy of every child and adult.
