If not, what would a secondary non-pedagogical role consist of? A book on the whole of the DISS project will be published by Routledge later this year, as will a handbook, based on our work with schools, which will suggest alternative ways of using TAs.
• For more on the research, visit
www.schoolsupportstaff.net. Readers may be interested to know that Dr Anthony Russell and Rob Webster will lead a half-day workshop for school leaders exploring ways forward for TAs at the Institute of Education Summer School in London on July 26.
References n Alborz et al. (2009) The impact of adult support staff on pupils and mainstream schools, London: DCSF & Institute of Education
n Blatchford et al. (2009) The impact of support staff in schools. Results from the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff project. (Strand 2 Wave 2), London: DCSF
n Brown & Harris (2010) Increased expenditure on associate staff in schools and changes in student attainment, London: TDA
n Giangreco & Doyle (2007) Teacher assistants in inclusive schools. In Florian (ed.),The SAGE handbook of special education, London: Sage
n Slavin et al. (2009) Effective programs for struggling readers: A best evidence synthesis, Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University
n Webster, R. et al. (2011) The wider pedagogical role of teaching assistants, School Leadership and Management, 31(1)
1: Briefly, the TDA report presents associations between school-level growth in TA numbers and gains in attainment, and growth in expenditure on TAs and gains in attainment at GCSE between 2005 and 2008. Claims made about the statistical significance of the relationships between the variables are weak, and in the case of that between expenditure and attainment, would be rejected by peer-reviewed journals. Moreover, an association does not mean that one thing caused the other. There are a number of likely school-related factors that might have accounted for increases in achievement, other than TA numbers, but unfortunately these were not factored into the analysis. The sample of schools is also small and unrepresentative, heavily skewed to high-attaining schools. For these reasons, the results are not interpretable, and the interpretation in the TDA press release promoting the study is not just incorrect, but misleading.
Veredus interim management is at the forefront in providing quality interim leaders across all education sectors. We are currently experiencing an overwhelming demand for exceptional primary headteachers to fi ll interim assignments. Our national database of interims is made up of headteachers who have recently retired from their substantive posts as well as those who have chosen interim management as a career choice.
All the relevant statistical information indicates that there will be an even higher demand for interim primary headteachers as more and more reach retirement age in the next two years.
Our interim headteachers enjoy the variety and fl exibility that interim roles offer as well as the fi nancial rewards that these assignments attract.
If you think that you have the necessary skills and attributes to work in often challenging situations, where the expectation is to effect substantial change in a short period of time (usually two terms to a year), then why not contact Paul Horgan on 020 7932 4233 for further details or email a copy of your CV to
paul.horgan@veredus.co.uk
www.veredus.co.uk
21
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40