The standards are devised for assistants working in schools and cover the five-to-14 age group, but would also be appropriate for use with rising-fives.
Christina McAnea, Unison national officer for education services, said, 'In general we support the development of the national occupational standards, because there was this view that you could take on the "mums' army" - that just because someone was a parent they were qualified to help deliver education to children in schools. We welcome this as a way of professionalising the job and giving them proper experience.
'However, occupational standards are very much based on working practice and will not cover specific aspects of delivering the national curriculum. LEAs need to continue to provide continuous professional development for teaching assistants just as they do for teachers.' The standards have been developed by the Local Government National Training Organisation. The Early Years National Training Organisation has been involved on the steering group and all the standards are written to be applicable to any age within the five-to-14 range, although some are more suitable for older children and some for younger.
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