Thoughts from the Learning Support Team

By Keren Lovie and Nichola Vo

By now, you have probably seen, heard and met at least one or two Learning Support Assistants (LSAs) around the school. You may have noticed us chatting in the staffroom; running around a classroom; or assisting you directly in classes. Even so, you may not be sure of how best to utilise this extra person in the room, and how we can effectively contribute to teaching. And, because we want to help, we have collated our ideas together in this blog post.

It’s worth starting this post by stating the obvious: no two LSAs, like any other group of teachers, will ever be the same. We all have our different personalities, styles, and backgrounds which contributes to our methods. However, what this post will hopefully do is provide an insight into how teachers can work effectively with their LSAs, in order to produce a supported, happy and engaged classroom environment for students. 

Who are we?

In Westminster Academy, there are 11 LSAs, usually helping multiple students a day.

• Imogen Blythe

• Hibah Rizki

• Janice Zvimba

• Bianca Triffin 

• Aminat Quadri

• Forzana Begum

• Mickey Lemos

• Keren Lovie

• Nichola Vo

• Iyesha Turay

• Chloe Ashley

What do we do?

In previous, Covid-free years, we would have been assigned to a particular subject area and assisted across multiple year groups. Now, to avoid mixing bubbles, we have been tactically assigned to follow one or two students with Educational, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). And, we’re not there just to help them: in the same class we could be assisting other SEN K students, EAL students, and anyone else who may need additional support. We’re there to facilitate every students’ success in learning as much as we can, whether it’s writing down to-do lists, creating differentiated questions, or giving them more attention and encouragement, we, and our whiteboards, will be there.

It’s quite difficult to summarise how we work 1:1 with a student. SEND students are extremely diverse in their needs so there’s no real one strategy fits all. Some students may require a lot of differentiation to answer questions and remain focussed, with us having to spend a lot of time with them. Others, you may just need to give clear, written explanations on how to do tasks, and you may never even have to check in with them again that lesson. There are even some who reject any additional help, and we have to come up with some subtle way to help in the background. And just to make our lives more interesting, a strategy that might have worked with a student in their Maths class, may not work at all in their English class. As such, we are constantly collaborating with each other to find the best method. 

Within the classroom, we have had to adapt to a Covid world. We can’t take students out to break out spaces as much as we used to, we can’t be in close proximity, and we can’t touch any of their things. Now we are trying to use technology to help us. I sometimes create differentiated worksheets on Google Docs, and then I can observe work from a distance. But one of the main tools in our arsenal is our multitudinous whiteboards. With our whiteboards, we can leave students a checklist, write out differentiated equations, show working, draw pictures - it is the most versatile piece of equipment. 

Finally, our job also includes keeping in touch with the students’ families. There can be multiple reasons why we may do this. If an EHCP student is absent for a period of time, we call home to check on them, and discuss how we can help them catch up on the work. If a student is showing negative behaviour, we can call home to see what’s happening behind the scenes. But it’s not all negative - sometimes we call home to let families know how well their child is doing. It can be stressful for a parent to have a child with any learning difficulties, so a positive call home can really put their minds at ease, and brighten up their day. 

How can you utilise our skills?

So that’s the LSAs role in a somewhat large nutshell. I know, it’s still a very vague description for our work, and you may still be a bit unsure on how we can work with you. So, we created a few ways you can utilise us the best you can:

1. Communicate with us.

Like any other kind of collaborative work, the most important driving factor for a successful relationship is communication. You can let us know your aims for each lesson, and we can suggest potential differentiation. Once the lesson is over, we can then review what worked and what didn’t. Whether you check in with us at the end of a lesson, drop us an email, or have a quick meeting, all communication is helpful.

2. Please share your lessons with us!!! 

This links to the above point - knowing what your aims are each lesson can help us prepare our strategy for the students we support. We can decide beforehand which key terms to focus on, whether we need to prepare a word bank, or even whether we need to take the student to a break out space to catch up. All the LSAs should have access to the Classroom Admin accounts on google classroom, so you could upload an early draft there, or you could just email us a copy. 

Additionally, it will refresh our memories on the subject. As I mentioned earlier, LSAs now assist in multiple subjects, some of which we may not have studied for a rather long time. For instance, I (Keren) haven’t thought about French since I was 12 years old. But still, I assist in a French class. And while this may have some usefulness in the class (e.g. students often end up correcting me on my incorrect grammar and spelling, which shows they are learning) it’s not useful if we’re telling them the wrong answers! 

3. Read the student passports. 

These are fantastic resources which provide useful context and pointers on how to best engage students. We know these inside and out, but you being on the same page can help tremendously when planning lessons.

You can find all the student passports in WA SEN Folder > Student Passports > Student Passports 2020-21.

4. Ask us for resources.

If you have read the student passports, you may have noticed a couple of pictures in the “to calm/re-engage” column. For instance, you may have seen the Zones of Regulation handout, which we use for students who might not be able to access their emotions easily. Or perhaps you have seen the Lazy 8 handout, which we use to try and help students calm down. If you would like to understand how to use these resources, or want further resources please do ask us.

You can also ask us for help on creating resources you can use to assist work in the class. For instance, in English, for students who struggle with writing answers to analytical questions, sentence starters are a fantastic way to get them practising. In language classes, using shape coding to differentiate verbs, nouns and other words can be really helpful. One thing that I’ve seen be really helpful for some students who have ADHD or ASD is a class checklist, breaking down the class into chunks. This can be granular as you want (e.g. including taking out equipment at the start of the lesson) and gives a student a visual guide to the lesson. There are loads more techniques we can suggest - so again, just ask!

5. Think of attainable goals.

Any student who cannot access the work given to them is going to act negatively, regardless of whether they are SEND or not. So it’s important to communicate with us what exactly a student will be able to learn, and what we should be rewarding. For instance, some students will find it simple to write one paragraph, but for a particular SEND student, writing one is an achievement worthy of a house point. We know these students well, so talk to us to find out what a good goal or target each lesson could be.

With regards to class engagement, it’s important to check when a student will be comfortable contributing to class discussions. Cold calling students should generally be avoided as that may increase their anxiety, but some students may be comfortable giving an answer if you give them a warning that you will.

6. Don’t be afraid to sanction SEND students (as long as the work is accessible!)

If you have done everything you can to allow students to access the work, but the student does not put effort in or begins to act out, don’t be afraid to start sanctioning students. We, generally, don’t want to send ECHP students to G22 if at all possible. One day lost at school can be disastrous for someone with working memory issues, anxiety, or ASD. However, they too need to be prepared to learn about honesty and responsibility so if they’re acting against that in any way (e.g. playing video games instead of doing work) they should be sanctioned. Make it clear from the start what the standards are for the class. For instance, when some students I have worked with started consistently playing video games in class, I began to tell them at the start of every lesson that if I caught them three times playing games, they would get a detention. And, with each warning, I would remind them how many more they had until detention.

While LSAs can explain these standards to students, because students get used to us from every class, warnings from us may not seem as severe. So additional help from teachers with discipline is appreciated. Discuss with us how best to do this, whether the LSA comes and tells you when a student is acting out, or you have regular check ins with the student.

8. If you’re not able to be in lessons, we can still help.

In this “new normal” we’re in now, there is a chance you will be asked to self isolate for two weeks. Provided that we haven’t also been told to stay home, we can help out in class to make sure it goes as smoothly as possible. This includes having us cast do now activities, continuing to assist all students, and behaviour management. Let us know what we can do to help in this strange time.

On the other end of this issue, just because we may have to self isolate does not mean we still can’t help. We can still work with our students over Zoom and google documents to help out as much we can. And, if you’re worried about having one less person in the class, let us know. We will try and find another LSA to fill in if absolutely necessary. 

9. The methods that help SEND students also help other students

Keep in mind, the methods you use will not hinder other students! In fact, they might also assist them. Any method that works for a student with learning difficulties will also work for everyone else. 

I hope that does something to inform you about our role and how we can assist you. We’re a friendly bunch so please do not hesitate to ask us anymore questions if they arise.