The Importance of Being Effective in Working in a School Team

When working within a school it is important that you actively seek out all policies and procedures and read them. To enable you to be as effective in your role as possible. This is essential for you to be professional when working within a school community dealing with pupils, parents, colleagues and multi-agency services.

When working with new or different staff it is important that if asked for advice regarding a pupil, that you follow all procedures in your confidentiality policy. There is a limit to some information you can give them, and what you are able to share. When necessary to do so you must remain professional. Only giving accurate information, not personal opinion. If you are uncertain, you could find out from senior management how you should respond and update them as soon as possible. Or direct them to a teacher or senior management.

When a new sub teacher has been in my setting enquiring about what work the pupils have been doing, I provided her with the teachers’ yearly planner and showed her the most recent worksheets the pupils had completed. She was then able to gage the level the pupils were at and set work accordingly. I am also able to advise them where to locate resources for learning activities on the interactive board and to websites the teacher used.

In a Special Needs School there are many different multi-agency teams of professionals such as Speech and Language Therapy, Dual Agency Behaviour Support Services (DABSS), Physios, Art therapist, Social Workers, Psychologists and other staff working together to provide services that meet the needs of the children, young people and their parents. We need to know when and how to refer to sources of information. We need to actively seek and respect other peoples’ knowledge and input to deliver the best outcomes for children and young people. I would not attempt to advise as I could be telling them the wrong information which could do damage; therefore, I would direct all enquires to the relevant teams.

If a parent of a child at the school were to make enquires about the class team, or any other information. I would follow the schools Code of Conduct and politely ask them to contact the class teacher. A parent of one of the pupils approached me requiring information regarding the criteria for key workers children attending school before closure due to Covid-19. He started to tell me his profession etc and I politely told him he needed to speak with the Vice Principal and asked him to wait at reception until I went to get her.

To work effectively as a class team, it's important to have as much knowledge about school life as possible and to do your best to help others who require further sources of information, advice or support. Any information we can share under policy and procedure guidelines, it is important that we do. For example, telling new staff who the head of departments are, which teachers are the head of different subject curriculum, and to advise on children's behaviour, well-being and medical concerns. This can be backed up by telling them where to source the relevant policy. The member of staff responsible for this role in my setting is the Designated Teacher for Child Protection. There are posters all around the school with this member of staff’s photo displayed on them. I could direct another member of staff to the poster and this can help them clearly identify who to ask.

Sometimes staff may need reassurance and support on an emotional level. I would try my best to acknowledge and personally offer them this. However, on occasions you must be professional and realise when a specific member of staff is more appropriate. For example, in my setting a sub teacher confided to me that she was finding another member of staff unhelpful and intimidating, she was obviously distressed. I advised her to speak with the Vice Principle, as she was responsible for placements and staff. I wanted to remain professional and guide her in the right direction for support on the matter.

My school setting has a Whatsapp, wellbeing group. Any member of school staff, old or new can join. I could refer any new member of staff to join it, though they are not obliged to. This might be especially beneficial to members of staff who felt stressed or anxious, I would do this by informing them of who the administrators were or forwarding the administrators their number. There are also leaflets in the school concerning Mental Health which I could direct them to and support services they could avail of in order to support them.