LOGIN/Sign up
The teaching profession is a very promising career field. It comes with a good reputation as well as income. However, with significant responsibilities comes a lot of rules and regulations. Teaching assistants are sometimes monitored and supervised to judge their performance and perform a type of auditing. This is when witness statements come in. This article will teach you more about witness statements and how to write a witness statement for teaching assistant. So, without further ado, let’s get started!
What is a Witness Statement?
A witness statement is used as a piece of evidence in civil or criminal court, and it could be by a police office or a member of the legal justice system. Therefore, witnesses are asked to be as precise and descriptive as possible in their statements. This includes:
- Stating times.
- Description of surroundings and conditions, for example, time of the day.
- Description of someone’s facial and physical appearance.
- Words or phrases said by the suspected person.
- If any other person was present at that place.
Moreover, a witness statement should contain the witness’ own words because they will be called up at the court and asked to clarify it. Also, they need to be written or recorded as soon as an incident occurs to ensure that the information is fresh.
Furthermore, all witness statements should include the following:
- Case name and case number.
- Full name and address of the witness.
- Put the witness’s evidence in numbered paragraphs.
- Have the terms and conditions box ticked.
- Signed and dated by the witness.
However, if any witness gives a false statement or provides false evidence, the court will take the necessary actions per UK law. This is because by doing so, they will be misleading the court and wasting their valuable time.
How to Write a Witness Statement for Teaching Assistant?
Since we now know what witness statements are, let us understand how to write a witness statement for teaching assistant. To start with, in this case, witnesses are people who can comment on the teaching assistant’s work ethics, performance, way of teaching and several other activities. It is important because the teaching assistants are in the education sector, and through them, many other people are learning things. Thus, it is essential to monitor their competence level and record them legally.
They can be an assessor who is responsible for monitoring the teachers. This is because they are very competent professionals when it comes to describing the activity and the performance level of a teaching assistant. Or, it can be someone who is very skilled in the subject field and therefore watches the ones teaching it. They generally notice if the proper guidelines are being followed and whether the adequate teaching standard is met.
But, with competence or knowledge in the subject, they should only comment on performance where they feel confident to do so. And they should always seek agreement with the assessor. Therefore, this means that an assessor is the most skilled person here to judge a teaching assistant’s capability.
So, how to write a witness statement for teaching assistant? A witness statement records the observation of a learner formally. Therefore, it needs to be written very precisely. It includes describing what the learner is doing concerning the grading or the assessment criteria. Moreover, the witness can also comment on a teaching assistant’s activity on a particular performance. If they notice any unusual behaviour, they would note it down too.
Writing Process
To write a written statement, one should mention the following things on top:
- Teaching Assistant’s Name
- Qualification of the learner
- Unit or subject number (if applicable)
- Unit or Subject details
Then, in the next segment, the witness should describe what activities the learner has noticed. And they need to be very specific in this. They need to put down the exact and most precise information to describe a particular activity. So, for example, if they notice that the learner is negligent towards a specific student, they need to fill in the exact details of why they feel so.
But, on the other hand, with every positive or negative comment, they need to provide some form of evidence. Therefore, there is no room for any errors or false statements. This is also known as the “grading criteria” segment. Here the assessor or the witness needs to use examples and all sorts of evidence.
Next, they need to explain how the activity aligns with the assessment and grading criteria requirements. This includes how and where the activity took place. The situation description and the learner’s body language and physical appearance when it took place, etc. Finally, the witness and the assessor need to put their name and details after all of these. They need to specify their educational qualifications as well. Also, the assessor and the witness’s signature are mandatory, with the correct date and time included in the report.
Important Facts
Some essential guidelines need to be followed to write an error-free witness statement. These include:
- A clear description of the situation.
- Not mandatory for the witness to write it themselves. The assessor can do it too.
- The assessor has the right to record it after a discussion with the witness to confirm accuracy.
- The teaching assistant/learner should not write it by themselves.
- The witness can not be someone related to the TA/learner.
- It cannot be used for other purposes.
However, there are also some criteria s that need to be satisfied after it has been written.
- The assessor will audit the statement to judge whether the evidence and the information provided are legitimate and meet the grading/assessment criteria.
- If the witness is not the assessor, the assessors must contact the witness to determine if the witness statement is authentic. And, the assessor’s interpretation of the witness statement is precise.
Conclusion
Teaching assistants have a vital role in our society. They are responsible for helping students of all types. Therefore, there should be no room for mistakes. The primary purpose of a writing statement is to ensure that they follow all rules and guidelines f the profession.
So, if you are in this profession or aspiring to be, then how to write a witness statement for teaching assistant would give you a brief idea of the legal side linked to this profession. And, if you want to enhance your skill set further, you can enrol in our Teaching Assistant Complete Course. This course will teach you all the nooks and corners of this profession and help you excel.
Further Resources
- 10 Great Reasons to Become a Teaching Assistant in 2023
- How To Prepare For Teaching Assistant job
- Teaching Assistant Interview Questions: How To Prepare For?
- How to Become a Teaching Assistant with no Experience in the UK
- Why is CPD Important for Teaching Assistants?
- How to Write a Sample Letter of Introduction for Teaching Assistant?
