A day in the life of a Teaching Assistant at Aurora Meldreth Manor
Every day is different for pupils at Aurora Meldreth Manor School – but what about for the staff? Teaching Assistant Tiffany Thomas explains what a typical day looks like for her.
08.00
I get to school well before the children arrive so that I can check my emails and prepare for the day ahead (and, of course, have a cup of tea!).
I check my lesson plans for the day and gather what we need for our morning learning activity. Today it’s numeracy, with a focus on our current topic of the week: animals.
09.00
Time for the daily briefing, which is led by our Head of Education. It’s a good opportunity to share positive news and reflect on our growth as a team.
The children arrive and we all sing the ‘morning song’ to signal that it’s time to start learning. I’m delighted to see several children signing ‘Good Morning’ to me in Makaton!
09.30
Our morning learning activity begins. All our pupils have their own workstation with tailored tasks such as colour matching, shape sorting, and stacking blocks. I keep an eye out for those who need some extra support and encourage them to engage with their activity.
10.30
Before I know it, snack time has arrived. Today it’s strawberries – the children help to chop them up and we encourage them to count aloud how many pieces they have.
The children then choose a movement break activity, either a walk around our lovely sensory garden or a few laps of the site on a tricycle. As usual, I have to run to keep up!
11.00
For our second learning activity of the morning, we head out of the classroom for Forest School. The children get to have a go at everything from carving wood to planting daffodils. We finish the session around the campfire, with hot chocolate and marshmallows– yum!
12.00
Next, it’s lunchtime. We support the children to eat their meals before handing over to their support workers. I fill in each pupil’s morning diary, logging what they have done today. I also have my own lunch, along with a well-deserved sit down and another cup of tea!
13:30
After lunch, we help the children to get ready for their afternoon activity. Today we’re visiting the Soft Zone Area. Two of the children jump straight into the ball pit, so I jump in with them! We play catch and use Makaton to sign the colour of each ball.
15.30
After a fun-filled session, it’s time to head back to class to get ready to go home. We all sing the home time song together before saying goodbye to some tired but very happy children!
I write up the lesson plan for tomorrow, then send an update to the children’s parents and social workers to let them know what we’ve all been doing today.
16.30
Finally, I give the classroom a quick tidy, turn the lights off, then it’s time to head home and recharge – ready for another exciting day tomorrow!
