The remodelling of the Children's Workforce has increased the important role of the non-teaching members of the establishment. We have worked in the Primary, Secondary and Tertiary phases of education to enhance the skills already evident in the above Para-Professionals.
We acknowledge Para-Professionals as "Any individual with some kind of knowledge and training who performs important service delivery activities to remove barriers to learning, achievement or participation, and who works as part of a disciplinary team within one or across a range of educational settings". Our work in this area has included the integration of Behaviour Managers and Lunchtime Supervisors into a single "Lunchtime Team", the delivery of specific training packaged designed to enable participants to develop their skills as mentors and coaches, be better prepared to deal with challenging situations including the use of appropriately assertive behaviour, helpful body language and supportive verbal messages.
