The word “assistant” can easily create the impression that it refers to someone whose role is to stay with one particular person and support them. In inclusive education, this assumption can lead to serious misunderstandings.
Parents who are just beginning to navigate the inclusive education system often encounter this misunderstanding. They hear about a teacher’s assistant and may assume that this professional will be with their child throughout the school day, help them with everyday tasks, keep them safe, and essentially be constantly by their side.
But a teacher’s assistant is not a child’s personal support worker.
A teacher’s assistant is part of the educational team and works alongside the teacher. Their role is to support inclusive education by adapting the learning environment, responding to children’s needs and supporting their participation in the learning process.
This is where it is important to distinguish between two different types of support.
If a child needs assistance with eating, changing clothes, using the restroom, moving around the school, navigating their surroundings, communicating, or maintaining physical safety, a very practical question arises: who should provide that support?
Current regulations clearly distinguish between these roles. A child’s individual social and daily living needs should be supported by a student assistant.
On paper, everything seems clear. In practice, however, this is often where problems begin.
Parents see a teacher’s assistant at school and expect them to help their child. The assistant explains that some forms of support do not fall within their responsibilities. A teacher cannot leave the classroom to provide continuous one-to-one support to a single child. The school says a student assistant is needed. And sometimes parents only learn about this after their child has already started school.
The problem is not necessarily that people are unwilling to help. More often, it begins with unclear expectations and no early conversation about the support a child actually needs.
That is why the need for a student assistant should be discussed before the school year begins, not on September 1 or only after a problem has already arisen.
The conversation should begin not only with a diagnosis or a professional assessment, but with the child’s actual needs. How independent is the child? What exactly do they need assistance with? Can they move around the school on their own, use the restroom, eat, communicate, and respond to potentially dangerous situations? What kind of support can the school already provide, and where is individual assistance required?
Parents should know the answers to these questions before their child starts school. They should understand what support the school can provide, why a student assistant may be needed, who can perform this role, and how the child’s support will be organized.
This is not about creating yet another potential point of conflict between parents and the school. Quite the opposite — it is about preventing one.
A teacher’s assistant cannot compensate for systemic gaps. A teacher cannot simultaneously conduct a lesson for an entire class and provide continuous one-to-one support to a single child. And families should not be left to solve this problem on their own once the school year has already begun.
Organising inclusive education is the responsibility of the school leadership. A child’s needs and the support they require should be identified and arranged before they enter the classroom – not afterwards.
The worst-case scenario is not when someone formally breaches their job description. It is when everyone does exactly what the regulations require, yet the child is still left without the support they need.
Inclusion does not begin with having a teacher’s assistant on the school staff. It begins with taking responsibility for ensuring that every child can attend school, learn, stay safe and receive the support they genuinely need.
