S2, EP2: Powerful Partnerships in Practice

How do we maximise partnerships with other educators in the classroom to improve student learning outcomes?

Having support in the classroom is a hugely valuable asset to a teacher, however; the teacher takeaway team concede that many teachers often find it difficult to know how to best utilise them in the classroom.

In episode 2, the Teacher Takeaway team will be discussing ways that we can effectively utilise support in our classrooms, including:

• Different types of support roles in schools
• SLSO's
• Parents in the classroom
• Instructional Leaders

Different types of support roles in schools

Each school has a specific appointment for specialist teachers, such as learning support teachers, intervention teachers. Depending on the size and the complexity of the school, will determine the amount of funding a school attracts in NSW. 

Public Schools in NSW currently receive COVID intensive learning support funding to support students identified as needing additional intensive support during the pandemic. 

Your school may have one of more of the following support positions:

• English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D)
• Learning and Support Teacher (LaST)
• COVID ILSP
• Speech Pathologist 
• Occupational Therapist (OT)
• Interventionist 

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​English as an additional language or dialect (EAL/D)
​This specialist role is not in every school. Attracting funding for a EAL/D teacher depends on a range of factors including the number of students at your school whose first language is not Standard English. 

Within their role an EAL/D teacher might:

• identify each student's level on the EALD progression 
  • ​these levels are beginning, emerging, developing and consolidating
• support teachers in understaning strategies they could employ to meet the needs of the learner at their level
• provide professional development to staff
• co-teaching with teachers and model what strategies look like in practice
• taking a case load of beginning and emerging students to provide intensive lessons
• collaborative data meetings with teachers
• implementing New Arrival Program - an high intensity program to support students who have just arrived in the country with little to no English at all

SLSO's

The term SLSO refers to a School Learning Support Officer. These 'angels' work in classrooms with teachers to assist the teacher with the implementation of learning programs, particularly for students with a disability. Sometimes in schools someone in this role might be called a Learning Support Officer or a Teacher's Aide.

​This role is fairly common place across schools and one that I think we under-utilise but should be highly valuing. Remeber their role is not to replace you as the teacher, but to support you as the teacher. 

This means that we should:

• explicitly plan and set up a regular routine for when they come in the classroom
  • this ensures less disruption as the SLSO knows what he/she is required to do, record and communicate
  • having a folder they can pick up with everything they need in it
• communicate with them about the plan prior to them coming in the room
  • this ensures the role is valued and that the partnership between the teacher and SLSO are both on the same page
• make opportunities to debrief
  • this enables the SLSO to feedback about the student(s) they are working with and their observations. 
  • this also allows the teacher to plan for future learning to meet student needs

It is also important to allow the SLSO opportunities to particpate in professional learning, alongside teaching staff, to build their knowledge and capacity. Especially as we often ask them to implement programs or things in a particular way. 

To ensure our SLSOs are utilised effectively in schools and that staff are aware of their role, there are a number of things we can do.

1. Induction Process: new staff to the school are made aware of the support staff in the school and how to utilise them effectively 
2. Stage processes: Assistant Principal's hgihlight the support the team will receive and the team discusses how that support with the used effectively and documenting this in class programs and/or in another way
   
3. Learning and Support team: outlining the role they play in classrooms
   

Parents in the classroom

Having parents in the classroom as support is not uncommon practice in schools, especially before the pandemic anyway. 

Just like we do with SLSOs, we should be taking the time to plan for, communicate and train our parent helpers in the routines they will follow when working with students in our classroom. 

There is a program called P.A.T.C.H that helps to train parents to work effectively with students in the classroom. None of the podcast team have used it previously though. 

Instructional Leaders

All NSW public primary schools are fortunate to have an Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction which is a dedicated intructional leader tasked with supporting whole school literacy and numeracy development. Some schools also have a Deputy Principal Instructional Leader to support this practice. 

Instructional Leaders do many things and have a whole school 'big picture' view of the school. These teachers are a valuable resource that should be utilised by all staff within the school to improve the outcomes of all students. 

Some of the things they do are:

• working with teachers and learning support to administer universal screeners for key areas at the beginning of the school year
• gather and triangulate baseline data
• lead action inquiry cycles to identify learner centered problems teachers are facing, identify instructional strategies to address the problem and support them in implementing and reviewing those strategies
• deliver professional learning 
• supporting teachers in curriculum reform intiatives 
• building capacity of other teachers to lead
• providing opportunities for teachers to see colleagues practice

Additional Reading

A guide to help primary and secondary schools make the best use of teaching assistantse to help primary d secondary schools make the best use of teaching assistants

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