The Role of an LSA

LSAs support teachers and help children with their educational and social development, both in and out of the classroom. As well as providing academic support in lessons and helping a teacher to manage behaviour, they may also run small groups with certain pupils to help boost their writing, reading or maths skills. Many elements of the role are similar to those of a teacher, such as providing tips and guidance in lessons, but a teaching assistant will not be required to deal with lesson planning or marking.

The roles and responsibilities of LSA’s are varied and differ between schools. 
Your job can include:
• Getting the classroom ready for lessons
• Listening to children read, reading to them or telling them stories
• Helping children who need extra support to complete tasks
• Helping teachers to plan learning activities and complete records
• Supporting teachers in managing class behaviour
• Supervising group activities
• Looking after children who are upset or have had accidents
• Clearing away materials and equipment after lessons
• Helping with outings and sports events
• Taking part in training
• Carrying out administrative tasks
To support pupils with particular individual needs, some teaching assistants work one-to-one, while others work in small groups. Many schools employ teaching assistants with particular specialisms, including literacy, numeracy, additional learning needs (ALN), music and creative arts. If you are bilingual, you might do more work with children whose first language is not English.

• An ability to build good working relationships with both pupils and 
adults
• Good organisational skills
• Flexibility and creativity
• Enjoy working with children
• Good literacy and numeracy skills
• Ability to manage groups of pupils and deal with challenging behaviour
• Patience and a sense of humour, as well as bundles of enthusiasm
• In some jobs it could be useful if you have IT skills or are fluent in local community languages

An ALN LSA role differs in that it can focus more on pastoral development, with work often done with only one or two children, many of whom may have a range of complex special education needs. They’ll often require tailored support throughout their time in primary and secondary education. Part of the role will involve working closely with the school special educational needs coordinator (ALNCO) who deals with the provision for children with special educational needs or disabilities (SEND).
The support offered by an ALN LSA will vary but can include helping to motivate pupils, working on speaking and listening, or providing additional help with key subjects such as English and maths. Targeted interventions are often delivered on a one-to-one basis to enable a pupil to catch up if they have fallen behind in class. Alternatively, a learning support assistant could be brought in to aid talented children and push their academic limits.

Learning Support Assistants/LSAs are an extremely important part of the classroom set up. You are a very valuable extra pair of hands, eyes and ears for the teacher. 

Let’s take a look at a typical day as a Supply Learning Support Assistant to help you decide if this is the right career move for you…

8:30am – Before the children even arrive you will have plenty to keep you busy. You will need to help the teacher to prepare the classroom for the day ahead. This could be anything from helping with the seating arrangements to cutting, sticking and creating fun pieces of learning materials for the exciting day ahead, and there is normally some photocopying to be done. Use this time to talk to the teacher about what the plan is for the day and what you will be focusing on, make sure you have everything you need and are clear about your tasks. If there is anything that you are unsure of then always ask. If it is a new 
school for you then take a couple of minutes to find out where the essentials are such as toilets, fire exit, stationery etc. Also find out where the children put their coats, bags etc so you can be ready to start as soon as the children arrive, and a general idea of the timetable for the day is also handy. It is important to speak to the teacher to see if there is anyone in the classroom that has additional needs or any medical issues. 

8:45am – The children will start arriving at school. First thing in the morning can be busy with children arriving and parents maybe wanting to speak to the class teacher. As the LSA you’ll be on hand to help out by greeting pupils and getting them settled in the classroom. Depending on what age group you are working with you might need to help with lunch bags and coats and some children might need a little extra support entering the classroom.

9:00am – Class starts! Generally schools will focus on Maths/English in the morning. The teacher will introduce the lesson and the tasks that need to be completed. You might be required to hand out books/resources. When the children start working you will be supporting any pupils/small groups that may need a little extra help or are working on extension work. The teacher will make you aware in advance which children you will be working on and what the focus will be. Ensure that you feedback to the teacher if any issues arise during the lesson, and an overview of how the children managed the work. 

12:00pm – Lunch time! As an LSA you’ll often help out in the playground while the children are on their lunch break – you’ll be making sure everyone is behaving themselves, keeping quieter students company and ensuring everyone is safe. Lunch duties will vary from school to school, but you’ll often get 30 minutes to eat your own lunch, then help the teachers and other LSAs keep an eye on the pupils.

1:00pm – Back to lessons! It’s time to get everyone back in the classroom and settled for the afternoon’s lessons. The afternoon is usually a little more varied, it could be anything from PE to Welsh and ICT to PSE, and your duties will vary from day to day. On Monday you might be listening to a child read, while on Tuesday you could be outside on a nature walk, and then on Wednesday you could be 
creating a masterpiece for the display boards. 

3:00pm – Home time! Again, this will vary from school to school but sometime around 3pm is home time for you and the students. The teacher will let you know what she needs to do when the children are leaving, you might need to supervise a group of children who are being collected by bus, or maybe be on hand to send children to the door when the teacher calls their name. You may also be required to stay behind and help the teacher to clean up the classroom and put everything back in place, ready for tomorrow’s lesson. 

If you are only in the school for that day then ensure that you chat to the teacher before you leave and also return any lanyards etc to the office.