Working Effectively With Children

Working with children can be very rewarding but also very difficult. If working with children is something that you do in your career – most teachers or teaching assistants will work with young people rather than adults – then you need to perfect the skill of doing so effectively. This isn’t easy because all children are different and respond differently to teaching methods.

To work effectively with children, some important steps to take are:

• Listening. Children need to feel supported and listened to in order to thrive and excel academically.
• Giving options. Provide a variety of learning tools and options. Children learn in different ways and at different speeds.
• Make lessons interactive. Engage with children and test their understanding during lessons in the classroom.
• Be organised. Teaching requires excellent organisation skills in order to keep on top of classes and their learning effectively.
• Take advice. Listen to other members of staff, learn from them and get their feedback on pupils.