Tuesday, 17 December 2002.
Government plans to use teaching assistantsto cover for absent teachers have been given a massive thumbs down in aNational Union of Teachers survey.
Almost 80 per cent opposed the idea ofclassroom assistants covering for teacher absences with a further 11.7 per centhaving mixed views. Even using assistants as cover supervisors gained supportfrom just one in five respondents.
The survey, analysed for the Union by DrSean Neill of Warwick University, produced almost 30,000 responses. To date20,000 have been analysed and the results are published today by the Union.
Only around one in seven teachers showedany enthusiasm for the proposal to allow teaching assistants to lead teaching and learning without a teacherpresent. 25 per cent had mixed views but it was rejected outright by two out ofthree teachers.
As one teacher put it: If Tony Blairturned up for an operation, would he let the porter operate!.
Nor were teachers keen to see managers fromoutside education being brought in to run schools. This proposal gained theenthusiastic support of just 2 per cent of respondents while 70 per centrejected the idea completely and a further 22.1 per cent had mixed views.
The suggestion that unqualified staff fromFE, sixth form colleges and independent schools, should be recruited tomaintained schools got the backing of just one in 20 respondents.
Union members clearly valued the supportthey get from classroom assistants with 84.3 per cent either agreeing oragreeing strongly that they should assist in teaching and learning with ateacher present. Many respondents pointed to the poor pay and lack of trainingavailable to assistants.
Administrative support from assistants forheadteachers and taking responsibility as attendance clerks gained approvalfrom 86 per cent and 76.4 per cent respectively. But the proposal that theyshould act as examination officers gained an evenly divided response with 36.4per cent supporting the plan and 38.3 per cent rejecting it. 25.3 per cent hadmixed views. Respondents drew attention to the difficulties over this years Alevel results, pointing out that parents wanted to speak to a teacher. Theywould not have accepted reassurances from an assistant, said one secondaryhead of department. However a majority, 59.1 per cent were happy to seeassistants acting as invigilators.
Similar divisions existed over the proposalfor assistants to be responsible for careers advice with 37.7 per cent for,33.8 per cent against and 28.3 per cent having mixed views. Similarly, while 41per cent agreed with the proposal, 17.6 per cent disagreed, but 30.6 per centhad mixed views on assistants providing advice and guidance to pupils aslearning mentors. Views on assistants acting as timetabling officers were alsodivided with 41.2 per cent against, 31.2 per cent for and 27.6 per cent havingmixed views.
However there was resounding support forassistants as ICT technicians with 78.5 per cent in favour and just 9.5 percent against. 57.9 per cent supported their use as health and safety/sitemanagers. This contrasts with the evenly divided response to assistants asfacilities managers with 37.1 per cent for, 32 per cent against and 30.8 percent having mixed views.
Although less than half, 43.4 per cent,were against assistants acting as behaviour managers, the very high level ofmixed views, 31.4 per cent emphasised the concern teachers feel that lack ofthe necessary training and skills might merely exacerbate any problem.
Respondents were more strongly opposed tothe idea that assistants could be lead behaviour managers with 57.6 per centopposing the proposal, just 13.3 per cent supporting, and 29.1 per cent havingmixed views.
From my own experience, classroomassistants cause extra work, being unable to control the children they areworking with. They employ methods derived from their own schooling contrary towhat they are supposed to be doing, said a leadership group primary teacherwith more than 20 years experience.
Bringing into school specialist support assports coaches or foreign language assistants produced identical results: 54per cent in favour and 18.4 per cent against. Attitudes to music and dramaspecialists were somewhat less clear cut with 45 per cent in favour, 26.6 percent against and 28.5 per cent having mixed views.
Only a quarter of respondents backed theproposal to use non-teacher trained staff as human relations/personnelmanagers, with 43.6 against and 30.1 per cent having mixed views.
Support for non-teacher trained businessmanagers was clearer at 43.6 per cent, with 23.6 per cent having mixed viewsbut still a significant 32.9 per cent opposed the idea.
E N D PR.95b.02
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