Case Study

Arjan is in Year 7, and he has not settled well to his new school.  He has struggled to make friends, can be disruptive in lessons and often irritates other students in the class.  He has low standardised CATS scores - Verbal 87, Quantitative 89, and his Non Verbal is average at 101.  Arjan tends to be more disruptive in lessons where he may be asked to contribute orally to the lesson. He is often late for school and by the end of the week his appearance is unkempt. He rarely does his homework and communication with home is difficult as his mum is defensive.He particularly likes art lessons, enjoys football and rugby, and would love to have a dog. You have been assigned as the teaching assistant to his class, and he is one of your two key children.

1. How would you develop your relationship with Arjan?
2. How would you support his subject teachers?
3. Would you have contact with his mum, and if so how would you go about this?
4. Why is quick intervention important in this situation?

It is rare that there is just one way to respond to a scenario or situation, so do not consider that the responses you have to the above scenario will be judged as right or wrong. Share your scenario with a work colleague or friend and ask them to tell you whether they think you have responded appropriately. Ask them to challenge your response if necessary. You do not need to submit this task for assessment unless asked to do so by your assessor.