Learning Support Assistants provide a critical and valuable role in helping all learners within further education receive the high-quality education they deserve. Whilst research into effective deployment for teaching assistants in primary and secondary has laid a great foundation for understanding the role of additional adult support, these suggestions must be adjusted to suit 16-19 settings. As a recent report from the Education Endowment Foundation has highlighted, support staff deployment is not one size fits all.
Support staff in further education (FE) are working with a more unique set of demands compared to those within primary and secondary environments. For these staff to complement and supplement (not replace) teaching, the realities of post-16 education require a different perspective.
Let’s take a closer look at some of these adjustments for learning support assistants in further education, and how it differs from those who work in primary and secondary environments, focusing on:
Role diversity for Learning Support Assisstants
The EEF guidelines draw attention to the diversity within the roles for support staff in FE. While primary and secondary schools use teaching assistant (TA) as an umbrella term for classroom support, in FE it is much more complex. In fact, the 2018 ETF/FETN survey identified 59 different job roles across 130 learning support staff. These different roles can be condensed into two categories: learning and learner support.
Learning Support: These workers provide general and specialist support in different educational environments. For example, some may work in workshops and others in classrooms environments.
Learner Support: These workers operate beyond the classroom. They are more concerned with signposting support, identifying barriers to improvement and tracking progress.
Beyond this distinction, Learning Support Assistants also have different expectations for their role. The guidance states that it is common for many LSAs to have dual specialisations. This means alongside pedagogical training, some may have vocational knowledge for their specific position. For example, specialist training for sign language, or subject-specific training for assisting learners resitting their GCSEs.
Learning Support Assistant Work Environment
While teaching assistants in primary and secondary schools typically work in more traditional, desk-based classrooms, Learning Support Assistants within further education may also work beyond these environments. They may be deployed to vocational workshops, community sessions and other non-school-based environments, requiring a higher level of adaptability.
These spaces can be less predictable, or stereotypically academic than the classroom, so clear communication between Learning Support Assistants and teaching professionals is crucial for students to benefit from the support staff.
However, this may be easier said than done. Compared to TAs, LSAs tend to operate on shorter or even part-time contracts which limit opportunities for collaboration. Therefore, the report urges leaders and managers to prioritise time for teachers and LSAs to define standards, goals and other important information. This can help learners receive the high-quality education they deserve.
Building Independent Learners
Given the age range of learners within further education settings, it is even more important that any additional support given to learners in these environments is focused on developing long term independence.
This can be difficult for a number of reasons. For example, some learners become dependent on their 1-1 support, whilst others may feel ‘singled-out’ or powerless to challenge their support. Either extreme can be a barrier to the learner’s independence.
To combat this, the EEF report recommends Learning Support Assistants target cognition, motivation and metacognition in these learners to support their development of self-regulated learning techniques. In addition, it is suggested that LSAs not only work collaboratively with teachers, but with the learner themselves. This could be through asking more open and effective questions and encouraging the learner to do the same.
Final Thoughts on Learning Support Assistants
When it comes to learning support in further education, one thing should be stressed above the rest: FE learners are emerging adults, so any support must be tailored to and reflective of this.
To integrate Learning Support Assistants into post-16 environments seamlessly, it is important for both support and teaching staff have clarity over their differing roles. LSAs will need to be adaptable and engage in collaborative support to ensure long-term independence remains the key goal.
By keeping these ideas at the forefront further education institutions can equip their learners with the confidence and autonomy needed to thrive beyond a learning environment.
