Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) and Safeguarding Children and Young People Bundle

Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) and Safeguarding Children and Young People Bundle

The Higher Level Teaching Assistant Diploma (HLTA) course study modules are based around the professional standards for HLTA status which set out for teachers, employers and parents the contribution to pupils’ learning that HLTAs can be expected to make.  Although this course does not provide you with HLTA status, the course has been written alongside the 33 TDA standards and will provide you with the underpinning knowledge to progress in this field.

The standards cover three areas:

Professional attributes (standards 1-7)

These set out the attitudes, values and commitment expected of HLTAs.

Professional knowledge and understanding (standards 8-16)

These set out the knowledge and skills needed by HLTAs to be able to work effectively with teachers as part of the professional team supporting learning.

Professional skills (standards 17-33)

These set out the expectations for planning, monitoring, managing and evaluating learning within the framework of guidance and supervision agreed with the assigned teacher and in accordance with arrangements made by the headteacher of the school.

There is a mixture of question types requiring a range of responses, including: descriptive answers or the completion of practical activities. If you are currently working with children, the activities may be used in support of your particular role. However, if you are not actively working with children at present, you will find that wherever possible the questions are structured to provide you with alternative means of answering them. You may find it profitable to approach the head of one of your local schools, to explain what you are doing and to see whether there are any opportunities for you to gain experience by helping out in the school on a purely voluntary basis.

The Level 2 Certificate in Safeguarding Children and Young People is an ideal programme for those who work with children and young people who require specific training in this area.
 
A child may be defined as a young person between the stages of infancy and youth. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) defines a child as an individual aged 0 to 18 years old, but within British Criminal law, a child is considered any person up to the age of 14, although they can be convicted of an offence from the age of 10. A young person may be defined as someone in the first or an early stage of life, growth or development or more specifically an individual between the ages of 14-19. It is important to note that a person’s development depends on a number of genetic and environmental factors and where these are affected in a negative way, so will the young person’s development.
 
Although Safeguarding has not been given a specific definition in law, it may be considered in its simplest form as ‘keeping children safe from harm, such as illness, abuse or injury.’ Following the implementation of the Every Child Matters agenda, the term ‘Child Protection’ has been replaced by ‘Safeguarding’ and is the responsibility of all professionals who work with children and young people. All professionals i.e. professional careers, parenting workers and care assistants, now have a duty of care to the children and young people they work with and are expected to protect a child’s emotional, physical and sexual well-being as well as to ensure the child is not being neglected.
 
A child or young person may be harmed in many different ways and it is not always obvious to the outsider as to what is happening in a young person’s life or if they are safe or being harmed.
 
Children and young people can be harmed by a number of different factors:

 • People
 • Environment
 • Health Issues
 • Accidents
 • Injuries