More on classroom assistants

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CLASSROOM ASSISTANTS ADVISED OF WORKING CROUP RECOMMENDATIONS


A CROSS PARTY working group set up by HighlandCouncil to review the role of primary school classroom assistants has recognised the important role played by assistants in the classroom and isrecommending that the budget for the service they provide be reinstated in2011-12 and that further work is carried out to redefine the role they play.
Assisted by a task group of education professionals and parent council representatives, the working group has met on four occasions and will present its recommendation to the next meeting of Highland Council onThursday 23 June.

Classrooms assistants have been advised of therecommendations which are to:

· Establish ageneric post at two levels to provide support to children in primary classrooms

· Establish a taskgroup immediately to report to a cross party working group to consider thedetails of job descriptions of a generic post and implementation issues

· Identify alternative funding to substitute for the savings anticipated in 2011/12

· Implement thenew generic post (at two levels) from August 2012

In a briefing note to classroom assistants, Hugh Fraser, Director of Education Culture and Sport said: “The members of the cross party working group have been very clear from the outset that the Review should be child centred and that recommendations should be driven by a proper analysis of needs.
“If the Council accepts the recommendations on 23June then a working group will be set up immediately to work on the detail of what should be in the job description for the two levels of the generic support post.
“It will be proposed that there will be no reductionin school budgets for classroom assistant posts in the current financial year and, as a result, we will be in a position to consider the filling of vacancies.This is likely to continue - as with many posts across the service - to be onthe basis of a temporary filling of vacancies. As you know, we do have to lookat all vacancies very carefully and therefore although we can be clear in saying to staff in post that there will be no changes for them we cannot give an absolute guarantee of being able to fill all vacancies.”

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