Wokingham

Wokingham District Council has once again paid tribute to the contribution that teaching assistants make to the education of pupils across the district by hosting the annual specialist teaching assistant certificate (STAC) graduation ceremony on July 13.

The Wokingham district council has been working in partnership with the Open University for many years to offer teaching assistants in primary schools the chance to study for a qualification to develop their classroom skills. This is a national certificate and 11 teaching assistants from the Wokingham district have been successful this year.

The specialist teacher assistant certificate course enhances professional expertise in literacy, numeracy, science and information and communications technology and develops high level skills for supporting all children including those with special educational needs or English as an additional language.

The Wokingham teaching assistants receiving their qualifications were:

Samantha Baldwin - Coombes Infant and Nursery
Joanna Beresford - Hawkedon Primary
Lynda Flanders - Farley Hill Primary
Samantha Mansfield - Coombes Infant and Nursery
Angela McNally - Hillside Primary
Laura Mulligan - St Dominic Savio RC Aided Primary
Anne Pipe - Hillside Primary
Jill Risk - Farley Hill Primary
Julia Roberts - Hawkedon Primary
Debra Shaw - The Palmer CE Controlled Junior
Anne White - Walter Infant School & Nursery

To gain the certificate, each Wokingham teaching assistant has to build up a portfolio of project work carried out both in their own school and another paired school in the area, as well as completing a course of home study, writing assessed assignments and attending tutorials, all under the guidance of an experienced teacher appointed as their mentor. They also have to study for 600 hours over the school year.

David Hawthorne, corporate head of Wokingham children’s services (education), said: “This course is a recognition of the key role that teaching assistants play in the classroom. By sheer commitment and dedication, these teaching assistants have achieved a recognised qualification, which can count towards an Open University teaching degree if they choose to. I was pleased to present them with their certificates and join in the celebrations.”

Cllr Frank Browne, executive member for Wokingham children’s services, said: “Teaching assistants make a real difference to pupils’ learning and development in the classroom and also provide much needed support to teachers. I would like to extend my congratulations to those who have achieved this highly-regarded qualification.”

Over the past seven years, some 70 teaching assistants have achieved this qualification, with almost 100 percent pass rate.

Wokingham District Council