Professional Framework for Classroom based Support Staff:

Job Descriptions, Pay and Planning Preparation and Assessment (PPA)/Cover

Summary and Overview

This summarises and updates the advice and guidance in the “Green Binder for Support Staff”

The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) Support Staff strategy is underpinned by the belief that the most effective support staff are learners themselves and highly reflective practitioners. This advice and guidance aims to support schools in developing their support staff to become highly reflective, to be clear about their role and to be accountable for their performance

The Qualifications listed in bold are essential. Those underlined are strongly recommended (and included as RBKC good practice) and others may be desirable, depending on the chosen career pathway. This picture may change in the future.

The Standards are benchmarks of highly effective practice and, like the Professional Standards for Teachers, reflect the knowledge, understanding, attributes and skills required to be effective in role (as outlined in the Job Description). It is RBKC policy that all support staff should engage in Performance Management and they should have Continuing Professional Development (CPD) portfolios. The National Standards should replace the old "competences". The CPD portfolio should include evidence that the standards are being met. The evidence in the CPD portfolio may also be used to support colleagues in gaining relevant, work-based, professional qualifications.

Please note that a person employed as a Level 2 Teaching Assistant (TA) would progress to a Level 3 Teaching Assistant(TA) by demonstrating that they have fully met the Level 2 standards and are capable of progressing and meeting the Level 3 standards. This decision is made through the Performance Management process. The opportunity to progress to the Level 3 TA (specialism) depends upon the role being available within the school. The post would be advertised and colleagues would need to apply. A similar rationale applies to Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) roles. Colleagues do not automatically progress to the next level of Job Description and pay.

All advice and guidance will be available on the Royal Borough website (ADD LINK). This advice and guidance is often referred to as the “Green Binder for Support Staff”

Job Description (Level) / Pay Range / Qualifications / Comments re Cover/PPA / Relevant Standards
Teaching Assistant Level 2/3 / Range A: Scales 2 - 3 / Level 2* - Literacy and numeracy / Relevant Support Staff Induction qualification (e.g. Support Working in Schools Award (SWiS)) / Should not be regularly doing whole sessions of cover/PPA. If they are Level 3 and headteacher is secure that they have the knowledge, skills and experience, a Level 3 TA could, under an agreed system of supervision, take the whole class when teacher attends meetings etc / National Occupational Standards(NOS) in Supporting Teaching and Learning (STL) Level 2/3 Early Years TAs to use Children’s Care Learning and Development (CCLD)
Teaching Assistant Level
3 plus specialism / Range A: Scale 4 / Level 2* - Literacy and numeracy / Relevant Level 3 Support Staff qualification or equivalent (for TAs in EY, Level 3 CCLD qualification) / This should be seen as a transition towards HLTA Status. The Job Description may include aspects of whole class work. Support Staff working at this level should not otherwise be expected to regularly do whole sessions of cover/PPA (see above) / NOS in STL Level 3 (EYs TAs to use CCLD)
Secondary School Cover Supervisor Level 3 / Range B: Scale 4 - 5 / Level 2* - Literacy and numeracy / Relevant Level 3 Support Staff qualification or equivalent / This is a full time role in a Secondary School. Learning is supervised/facilitated and good classroom management is maintained. Cover Supervision does not involved planning, preparation or assessment. In Primary Schools, Cover Supervision can quickly become Specified Work and the HLTA Job Description is more appropriate. / NOS Level 3 in STL
HLTA / Range B: Scales 5 - 6 / Level 2* - Literacy and numeracy/ Relevant Level 3 Support Staff qualification or equivalent. HLTA Status / Job Description may include regular PPA cover for specified teachers (1/2 days of PPA). This will be Specified Work under the guidance of a senior teacher / HLTA Standards
Senior HLTA / Range C: Scale 6 - SO1 / Level 2* - Literacy and numeracy / Relevant Level 3 Support Staff qualification or equivalent. HLTA Status. Foundation degree or similar / As above but PPA/ Cover may be more of a substantive part of their post (2/3 days) and the exceptional experience and skills the HLTA brings offers a much higher level of intervention. / HLTA Standards
Nursery Officer / Range B: Scales 5 - 6 / Level 2* - Literacy and numeracy, NNEB, NVQ3 or equivalent, NVQ4 CCLD / Job Description will include regular PPA cover for specified teachers in their setting. This will be Specified Work under the guidance of a senior teacher / Adapted Early Years Professional Standards (EYPS)
Senior Nursery Officer / Range C: Scale 6 - SO1 / Level 2* - Literacy and numeracy, NNEB, NVQ3 or equivalent, Level 4 CCLD, Foundation Degree, EYPS / As above but PPA/ Cover may be more of a substantive part of their post (2/3 days) and the exceptional experience and skills the HLTA brings offers a much more effective level of intervention. / Adapted EYPS Standards (with greater focus on Leadership)

* a Level 2 qualification is broadly equivalent in standard to a GCSE grade A* - C. Level 2 Numeracy or Literacy Key Skills qualification is not as large a qualification as the full GCSE and is not acceptable if colleagues wish to enter the teaching profession

  1. Level 3 TAs in Primary Schools who are not currently ‘specialist’ can be asked to do specified work if the HT is secure that they have the necessary skills, experience and training and they are under an agreed system of supervision. These TAs are likely to already be paid at the top of their scale and for the time that they are doing the specified work, they will be paid at SO1 point 29 per session (a session is a minimum of half a day; they will receive the difference between their pay and SO1 point 29 (a conversion table - for information - will be included in the Revised Green Binder). The pay is for the minimum of half a day. Payroll will need to be emailed and they will calculate the additional pay (see document "pay scales for cover Sept 10"). Should this become "regular", a review of the Job Description and pay would be required.
  1. HLTAs can be asked to do occasional cover in unforeseen circumstances but this would be a short term arrangement under the supervision of a senior teacher. If the experience, skills and training enable them to adjust learning techniques to match the individual neeeds of children and they are able to give the senior teacher suggestions of new work for the children and feedback on teaching and learning, they will be paid Scale SO1:Point 29 (minimum of one day). Should this become "regular", a review of the Job Description and pay would be required.
  1. Nursery Officers can be asked to do occasional cover in unforeseen circumstances but this would be a short term arrangement under the supervision of a senior teacher. If the experience, skills and training enable them to adjust learning techniques to match the individual needs of children and they are able to give the senior teacher suggestions of new work for the children and feedback on teaching and learning, they will be paid Scale SO1:Point 29 (minimum of one day). Should this become "regular", a review of the Job Description and pay would be required.
  1. It is RBKC advice that teaching assistants working at a level that equips them to competently fulfil any form of cover role should be supported and encouraged to gain the HLTA status to provide Quality Assurance for their performance in role and to ensure they can be remunerated appropriately for their contribution to teaching and learning.

LIAISON TIME/ NON CONTACT TIME / ADDITIONAL HOURS

a. For classroom based support staff to impact on teaching and learning, quality liaison time with relevant teachers is essential.

b. For more senior support staff, non contact time will be required to fulfil the job description

c. Additional hours may be negotiated in order to accommodate liaison time and/or non contact time or when a role shares some elements of another role (for example, when there are elements of specified work in a cover supervisor’s role)

The Green Binder for Support Staff is a collection of generic, ‘model’ documents developed by Head teachers, Unions and Local Authority officers in response to the Government’s remodelling agenda (Education Act 2002).

GLOSSARY

National Occupational Standards / National occupational standards (NOS) are statements of competence describing good practice in a specific job task or role in terms of performance outcomes. They provide a comprehensive framework of the roles and responsibilities of support staff in schools, describing what people need to be able to do, as well as what they must know and understand to be competent in their work. NOS are used widely to support individual and organisational development, benchmarking and quality assurance at all levels.
Children’s Care Learning and Development (CCLD) National Occupational Standards / These standards are relevant to those who work with children from 0 to 16 years (and their families) in settings or services whose main purpose is children's care, learning and development. Settings include: Daycare, Crèches, Childminders' own homes, Schools, Pre-schools / playgroups, Children’s centres, and many more. Support staff working in Early Years may find these standards relevant to their work.
Supporting Teaching and Learning (STL) National Occupational Standards / The national occupational standards for supporting teaching and learning in schools (NOS STL) were developed to cover the full range of learning support staff roles and responsibilities: Teaching Assistants, Learning Support Assistants (SEN), Supporting Teaching and Learning in Secondary Schools, Cover Supervisors, and many more.
Cover Supervision / This is more common in Secondary schools where Cover Supervisors are employed to cover short term absence. It involves supervising work set in accordance with school policy, managing behaviour of the pupils whilst undertaking this work, responding to pupil’s questions about process and procedures, collecting completed work and returning it to the appropriate teachers and reporting back.
Specified Work / Unlike cover supervision, specified work requires a greater depth of planning and preparation by a support staff member undertaking the work. This work is not seen as the solution to short term cover but strategic and long-term deployment of support staff in the school in order to support their teacher colleagues. Specified work is usually carried out by qualified teachers or appropriately skilled, trained and deployed support staff (e.g. Nursery Officers and Higher Level Teaching Assistants).
Teaching Assistant (TA) / A Teaching Assistant is employed to support learning and teaching in the classroom.
Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) / This is a highly effective, well trained member of support staff who has gained the National HLTA status. Most HLTAs start out as TAs.
Support Work qualifications / These qualifications are new and replace the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs). They are unit based and include Awards, Certificates and Diplomas at Levels 2 and 3. All support staff qualifications are based upon the National Occupational Standards in Supporting Teaching and Learning (see above).
Diploma in Nursery Nursing (NNEB) / Many Nursery Officers hold the NNEB Diploma. This has been replaced by qualifications in “Children’s Care Learning and Development (CCLD)”, based on CCLD standards (see above)
Planning Preparation and Assessment (PPA) time / It is written into the School Teachers Pay and Conditions Document (STPCD) that all teachers should have allocated time, away from the classroom, for planning, preparation and assessment

Produced by Janis Denselow (Training and Development Manager, Continuing Professional Development Service, RBKC) and Maddy Luxon (Advanced Skills Teacher - AST

for Support Staff) in consultation with (and special thanks) to Bernadette McHugh (Human Resources) and the following schools and Union

Representatives: Servite, Marlborough, Avondale, Oratory, Chelsea Open Air, Unison, GMB. Last update 26.11.2010