Education support is the UK charity that champions good mental health and wellbeing in schools. It provides phone counselling and support services for teachers and other staff.
School support professionals are vital members of the teaching team. Often working behind the scenes, they play a major role in the students’ educational experience.
Education Support Professionals
From the time students step onto campus until they leave at the end of the day, education support professionals keep schools running. They provide essential services like food, bus transportation and maintenance. They assist classroom teachers and help children with special needs. They live in the communities they serve and volunteer their time to the school districts.
ESPs often have touchpoints with every student in the school—from a quick exchange with a custodian to an IEP meeting with a paraprofessional. These interactions influence and fulfill the unique needs of each student.
ESPs are vital to the success of our children and their future. They deserve respect, fair pay and protection from layoffs and privatization.
Education Support Staff
Education support staff are often overlooked, but their work makes schools run. These are the people who drive the buses, clean the buildings and serve meals, as well as those who help students learn. They make up more than 40 percent of the total school workforce.
They also provide essential administrative support. They might conduct classroom observations and take notes to improve teaching techniques or provide general office duties such as filing, sorting mail and clerical work. They might even support students by providing youth development resources and facilitating group training for families, teachers and professionals.
They also help with special needs cases by assisting families with identifying additional needs and facilitating warm referrals to community, government and social service agencies for assistance. They also perform important clerical and administrative duties such as maintaining assigned case load, data tracking, reporting and quality assurance reviews. They may also assist with administrative responsibilities related to grant funding.
Education Support Services
Children and teenagers with chronic health conditions can become disengaged from school activities and learning when they are unwell, limiting their ability to reach their full potential. Education support services aim to prevent this by helping them to stay in school, or return to school during periods of wellness.
Education support professionals help students with classroom instruction, education counseling, and a variety of other duties. They also conduct classroom observations and make notes to improve teaching techniques. Many schools require their education supporters to have a bachelor’s degree in business, counseling, or a related field of study.
NJEA has a long and successful record of safeguarding and advancing the careers and interests of educational support professionals. ESPs are critical members of the K-12 and Higher-ed public education workforce and they deserve the respect, job security and benefits that their union has earned them. Click the links below to learn more about these and other important issues for ESPs nationwide.
Education Support Participants
Students participating in education support programs are given access to educational facilities to receive academic, vocational training, and/or home tuition. Generally, these participants have learning problems and/or social participation problems, which impact their daily life. The education support program is designed to help them overcome these obstacles by providing them with the necessary tools and education.
To improve student outcomes, schools should implement systems that allow teachers and education support staff to work collaboratively. They should also promote productive and inclusive partnerships between teaching staff, education support workers, parents/carers, Koorie Engagement Support Officers, student support services and allied health professionals. These partnerships can increase the impact of the education support program on the wellbeing, educational and community engagement outcomes of all students. For more information, refer to the Education Support Guidelines. These guidelines can help principals and school leadership teams evaluate their current practices. They can then identify and prioritise broad areas for improvement, within the context of their school strategic plan (SSP).