Best Practice Teaching Award

In July 2018 we were successful in achieving the BPTAA which highlights the commitment of Hope School team.

In 2022 we will be again assessed as a school to recognise the commitment and hard work of Learning Support Assistants and show how much they are valued by all in our school community.

'LSAs are very much valued at Hope School and groups of stakeholders commented on this: ‘I couldn’t do my job without LSAs’ (teacher), ‘The team support you’ (LSA) and ‘They give you a boost of confidence so you can do your work’ (pupil). The sense of teamwork shone through during the verification visit, ‘Staff team is the language that is used’ (teacher).( BPTAA Verifier July 2018)

'Pupils demonstrated a positive attitude towards LSAs in our meeting. Funny, fair, hilarious, caring and supportive, fantastic and cool were words given by pupils when asked to describe their LSAs. They also commented, ‘You feel really safe around them’.)( BPTAA Verifier July 2018)

'The appraisal process is a positive and supportive process for reviewing individual support staff performance and identifying professional needs, LSAs have annual targets which are supported through CPD and in addition to formal appraisal meetings there are informal opportunities to discuss progress towards targets with their line manager. Lesson observations are carried out as part of teacher observations that the Chair of Governors can also attend and he commented, ‘The understanding between teachers and LSAs is almost instinctive’. (BPTAA Verifier July 2018)

The Best Practice with Teaching Assistants Award (BPTAA) provides a straightforward, practical resource to support whole school improvement through leading the management and support of teaching assistants.

The core purposes that underpin the Best Practice with Teaching Assistants Award are:

1. To recognise and celebrate the invaluable, increasingly complex role of teaching assistants in supporting the teaching and learning and pastoral care of pupils.
    
2. To evaluate, monitor and support the leadership, management and work of teaching assistants in order to maximise pupil attainment, achievement and well-being of pupils.

These core purposes are based on a wide-ranging review of literature and research on the work of teaching assistants which is explored in detail within the BPTAA guidance.

Recent research, including the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS, 2009) project (2003–2009) and further resulting publications, suggest that the potential of teaching assistants to improve achievement and attainment of pupils is only fully unlocked through strategic management of their work.

The BPTAA supports schools to:

★  make straightforward changes that enable teaching assistants to work more effectively, in ways that can have a potentially transformative effect on pupil outcomes

★  demonstrate external validation of schools’ self-evaluation and development of the preparation, deployment and practice of its teaching assistants

★  improve pupil achievement, behaviour and social and emotional well-being

★  uphold the principles of the SEND Code of Practice 2015

★  use Pupil Premium funding effectively.

Through its supportive and thorough framework, the BPTAA seeks to ensure that every member of the school community feels valued, safe and secure, and every member can achieve their potential in all areas of school life.