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TA Deployment Review - Staff Survey

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About this survey...

 

Why have I been asked to complete this survey?

Your school is seeking to improve the use of its valuable teaching assistants. As a first step in this process, it is important to know how things are currently, so all teaching and TA staff in your school are being asked for their views. This survey is not about finding out how well you do your job. It is designed to provide a picture of existing practice, and to identify what works well and which areas may need improvement. Please use this anonymous survey to have your say on how TAs are used in your school.

 

Who developed the survey?

The survey has been developed by the Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants (MITA) team, who support schools to make best use of its TAs. The questions have been developed and field-tested over several years, and proven to provide schools with useful information on which to positively develop the role of TAs. A version of this survey is contained within the TA Deployment Review Guide, which is downloadable from nasen's SEND Gateway.

 

I'm a member of support staff, but I have a different job title. Should I complete the survey?

For the purposes of this survey, we use the term 'teaching assistant' to cover similar support roles, such as learning support assistant, classroom assistant, special needs assistant and higher level TA. We also include within this definition cover supervisors and early years practitioners (e.g. nursery nurses), even though they are slightly different roles. This is simply to make the process of data collection and analysis more straightforward.

 

Will anyone be able to identify me by the answers I give?

No. Responses are collated together and anonymised. This way, no one will be able to match up responses to individuals. In fact, the survey does not even ask for your name. We hope this will encourage you to be open and honest when responding to the questions.

 

How long will the survey take to complete? 

It should take about 5 minutes to complete the survey. In most cases, you will be presented with a set of short statements or options and asked to tick the one that best matches your own experience or view.   

 

What if the options do not fit with my own experiences?

There are a limited number of options for each question, so it is possible some will not fit exactly with your own experiences - but that's OK. Just select the option that fits best for you. If you want to say a bit more about your circumstances, experiences or views on a particular question or issue, there is a space at the end for you to make additional comments.  

 

What will happen to my responses?

Your survey responses will be securely stored and will not be shared with anyone or used for any other purpose without the permission of the survey administrator at your school. Once again, your identify is protected, as the survey does not ask for your name.

 

How can I find out more about the survey?

In the first instance, please refer any questions about the survey to your survey administrator. This will be the person in your school who emailed you the survey link. 



Important notes:

  • Please answer each question. You will not be able to submit your responses until you have provided an answer to the mandatory questions. Any incomplete questions will be flagged to you when you click Submit. 
  • Please do not exit the survey or refresh this page, as your responses will be lost.

 

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey. 

Answers submited

This is a preview. The responses will not be saved.
Please answer the questions...
1 - Please select your role in school.
- QUESTIONS FOR TEACHERS

For the first few questions, you will need to think about the LAST lesson in which you received support from a TA.

Thinking about what you did in that lesson, put the list of five activities into rank order from 1 to 5. Use 1 to indicate the activity you spent the MOST time doing in that lesson, and 5 to indicate the activity you spent the LEAST time doing.
1.2.3.4.5.
Working one-to-one with a pupil
Working with a pair or group
Walking around the classroom (monitoring)
Leading or teaching the class
Other (admin, marking)
- To what extent are the answers you have just provided typical of what you do in other lessons?
- Once again, thinking about what you did in that lesson, which two groups of pupils did you spend the MOST time supporting.
Higher attaining pupilsAverage attaining pupilsLower attaining pupilsPupils with SENMixed attaining pupils
Most time with...
Second most time with...
- To what extent are the answers you have just provided typical of what you do in other lessons?
- What are TAs' main roles and duties in your school?

Describe what they do.
- What suggestions would you make to improve the way TAs are deployed?
- Does your school have a written and up-to-date policy, or guidance, on TA deployment?

This might be incorporated into another policy (e.g. your teaching and learning policy).
- In general, when TAs come into the classroom, how confident are they about carrying out their role effectively?
- In general, when TAs are in the classroom, how would you describe their impact on the following aspects of pupil development?
Significant positive impactMostly positive impactSmall positive impactNegligible impactNegative impact
Learning
Confidence
Motivation
Staying on-task
Independence
- Tick the statement that best describes your opportunity for communication with TAs before and after lessons.
- The final questions are about the preparation and delivery of structured interventions. For example, programmes to help pupils develop their phonics skills, improve their reading or numeracy skills, or speech and language.

Tick which member of staff is responsible for the following tasks in relation to structured interventions.
SENCo (or equivalent)TeacherTASomeone elseNot sure
Who chooses the intervention programme?
Who plans and prepares the intervention sessions?
Who delivers the intervention sessions?
Who assesses the work completed in intervention sessions?
- Tick the statement that best describes your opportunity to communicate with TAs about structured interventions.
- If there is anything else you would like to add, please use the box below.

When you're ready, click Submit ONCE to send us your answers. The page may take a few seconds to refresh and confirm that your answers have been submitted. Thank you
- QUESTIONS FOR TEACHING ASSISTANTS

For the first few questions, you will need to think about the LAST lesson in which you supported a teacher. Thinking about what you did in that lesson, put the list of six activities into rank order from 1 to 6. Use 1 to indicate the activity you spent the MOST time doing in that lesson, and 6 to indicate the activity you spent the LEAST time doing.
1.2.3.4.5.6.
Working one-to-one with a pupil
Working with a pair or group
Walking around the classroom (monitoring)
Listening to the teacher teach
Leading or teaching the class
Other (admin, marking)
- To what extent are the answers you have just provided typical of what you do in other lessons?
- Once again, thinking about what you did in that lesson, which two groups of pupils did you spend the MOST time supporting.
Higher attaining pupilsAverage attaining pupilsLower attaining pupilsPupils with SENMixed attaining pupils
Most time with...
Second most time with...
- To what extent are the answers you have just provided typical of what you do in other lessons?
- What are your main roles and duties as a TA in your school?

It might help to think about a typical 'day in your life' as a TA.
- What suggestions would you make to improve the way you are deployed?
- Does your school have a written and up-to-date policy, or guidance, on TA deployment?

This might be incorporated into another policy (e.g. your teaching and learning policy).
- In general, when you go into the classroom, how confident are you about carrying out your role effectively?
- In general, when you are in the classroom, how would you describe your impact on the following aspects of pupil development?
Significant positive impactMostly positive impactSmall positive impactNegligible impactNegative impact
Learning
Confidence
Motivation
Staying on-task
Independence
- Tick the statement that best describes your opportunity for communication with teachers before and after lessons.
- The final questions are about the preparation and delivery of structured interventions. For example, programmes to help pupils develop their phonics skills, improve their reading or numeracy skills, or speech and language.

Tick which member of staff is responsible for the following tasks in relation to structured interventions.
SENCo (or equivalent) TeacherTASomeone elseNot sure
Who chooses the intervention programme?
Who plans and prepares the intervention sessions?
Who delivers the intervention sessions?
Who assesses the work completed in intervention sessions?
- Tick the statement that best describes your opportunity to communicate with teachers about structured interventions.
- If there is anything else you would like to add, please use the box below.

When you're ready, click Submit ONCE to send us your answers. The page may take a few seconds to refresh and confirm that your answers have been submitted. Thank you