I was horrified at the weekend to read that 1000s of TA jobs are to be cut because they can't prove that they are making a difference to pupils' progress. Indeed, there were even some articles which said that children's progress had been delayed because of the TAs. We know that there is a great of mis-information in reports about any topic but it is very worrying nevertheless.

What was their criteria for success, how are they measuring progress or performance? There is however, one element of probable truth: staff need training to fulfill their own potential and the development of the children with whom they are working. This is true for any us. Yet, how many of us know untrained, inexperienced staff who are trying their best to support children with such complex needs that they require 1:1 support.

Our Speech and language Support for 5-11s and 11-16s courses are specifically designed to help practitioners including TAs understand the processes involved and how to apply practical strategies in the classroom. As all Elklan courses, the feedback is carefully anlaysed and has always been extremely  well received.

 Once someone has done  a basic course, they can go on to do the specialist courses such as working with children with unclear speech or verbal children with ASD. The majority of learners report that it helps with all the children with whom they come into contact.

Instead of cutting TAs because  they can't prove the system works, we should be empowering them with the necessary training.