Generation UK-India Teaching Assistant programme. Host a teaching assistant from the UK

Transcription

1 Generation UK-India Teaching Assistant programme Host a teaching assistant from the UK Contents 1) About Generation UK-India ) Teaching Assistantships ) What does it involve?... 3 What does a teaching assistant do?... 3 Responsibilities of the teaching assistant... 3 When will teaching assistantships take place?... 3 Working hours... 3 What is the role of the host organisation?... 4 Equal opportunities and diversity... 4 Health and safety ) What support will I get from the British Council?... 5 What is the selection process for host organisations?... 6 Eligibility criteria... 6 Quality assessment... 6 How much will it cost?... 6 Recruitment of teaching assistants ) How do I apply? ) Queries... 8 Page 1 of 8 Date issued: 10/11/2014

2 1) About Generation UK-India The British Council, working alongside partners across the UK and India, has developed a new large scale mobility programme, Generation UK-India, starting in This programme aims to support up to 25,000 young people from the UK to gain skills and experience through placements in India over the next 5 years. Our vision is to create a more globally competitive workforce, and strengthen cultural understanding between the two nations. The Indian partners participating in this initiative will benefit from the skills and expertise of the individuals coming from the UK. The programme is aimed at young people and professionals in the UK (over 18) and will be structured initially under the following 3 strands: Teaching Assistants Work placements Cultural Immersion placements 2) Teaching Assistantships The Teaching Assistants strand under the Generation UK-India programme will place undergraduate students and recent graduates from the UK in schools across India for a period of between two and six months. Teaching Assistants will be able to support their host schools in delivering lessons across the curriculum as well as getting involved in co-curricular activities. It will create opportunities for the students of Indian schools to gain international experience and integrate this into their studies. It will also give the institutions the chance to build important links with the UK. We are now in the process of inviting applications from Indian schools who would like to partner with the British Council in the Generation UK-India programme. Please note, whether a school will be assigned a teaching assistant will be subjected to its fulfilling the eligibility and quality criteria as well as availability of suitable candidates. In the first year of the programme we will be working with a limited number of schools to ensure that we support placements of a high quality. The following document gives more information regarding what is involved in hosting a teaching assistant from the UK as well as details on how to apply. Page 2 of 8 Date issued: 10/11/2014

3 3) What does it involve? What does a teaching assistant do? The role of the teaching assistant is to: Work together with a teacher in the school and support the teaching of chosen subjects according to the skills of the assistant and the needs of the school. Develop interactive lesson plans and activities with the teacher to enable students to improve subject knowledge Design and support co-curricular activities such as drama/ sports/ digital/ media/ music Offer additional support to pupils if required Support with international projects including building links with schools and organisations in the UK Each teaching assistant placement should have clear learning outcomes and deliverables for both the teaching assistants involved and the staff and students of the host school. Responsibilities of the teaching assistant Each teaching assistant will be expected to: Sign up to the Generation UK-India code of conduct Attend the pre-departure briefing and read the support documentation Organise and cover the costs of return flights, visa and insurance. Complete and cover the cost of an International Child Protection Check Attend the induction briefing on arrival in India Abide by the rules and regulations of the host organisation Sign a contract with their host school When will teaching assistantships take place? You can request your teaching assistant to start in July or October Assistantships can be for either two or six months. Please request your preferred placement duration and start date in your application form. We will try to meet your preferences as closely as possible taking into account the preferences and skills of the teaching assistants available. Working hours A standard teaching assistantship will involve 20 hours classroom time per week. Preparation time is in addition to this. Page 3 of 8 Date issued: 10/11/2014

4 In general teaching assistants should have Saturday and Sunday free. If the school does require the assistant to work on a Saturday this should be agreed in advance with the assistant and the school should give the assistant leave on the following Monday. What is the role of the host organisation? Sign a hosting agreement with the British Council Attend the online host school briefing Attend the face to face induction meeting at the start of the teaching assistants contract and collect them from Mumbai or Delhi. Ensure a contract is signed as close to the Teaching Assistants start date as possible. The British Council will provide a draft Ensure Teaching Assistants are familiar with the role of the assistant as sent out in the Teaching Assistant handbook (This will be available in April 2015). Put together a work programme with the Teaching Assistant and agree this with them. Offer the Teaching Assistant an observation period on arrival in the school. This should be for a minimum of one week. Ensure the Teaching Assistant is allowed all Indian public holidays and school holidays as leave. Provide the Teaching Assistant with a health and safety briefing Ensure the Teaching Assistant is provided with a mentor teacher Provide the Teaching Assistant with safe and secure accommodation Provide welfare support and pastoral care to Teaching Assistants escalating to the British Council in India where necessary Ensure that the Teaching Assistant is paid the appropriate stipend by 5 of each month (see how much will it cost section for more details). Equal opportunities and diversity We require that clients, customers, partners and suppliers are aware of our Equal Opportunities and Diversity Policy ( and operate consistently with it. Host organisations must acknowledge that the British Council is subject to UK legislation on the subject of equal opportunities and diversity, and should be aware of these conditions. Health and safety Placements must be safe and well managed and the British Council will undertake a risk assessment for each teaching assistant placement. Each host organisation must abide by recognised health and safety good practice and must be able to provide assurance that staff are suitably trained and able to carry out their health and safety responsibilities competently, while the facilities must be safe and suitable. The programme participants must be provided with adequate information, supervision and information to ensure their own safety. The British Council will undertake audits to ensure compliance. Page 4 of 8 Date issued: 10/11/2014

5 The geographical location of teaching assistant placements must be one that is safe for foreign nationals. Each school is responsible for organising accommodation for their teaching assistants. Appropriate accommodation should be sourced. Appropriate is defined as the following: a) safe the accommodation must be maintained to a high standard following recognised health and safety standards. Recognised fire safety management must be in place including smoke detectors, alarms and emergency exits. Electrical and gas supply and equipment must be in safe and working order, maintained to suitable standards. b) secure the access door to the accommodation should be lockable with a viewing/peephole device or a safety chain/wishbone latch in place. The location of the accommodation should be in safe area for international visitors, which is well lit at night and easily accessible to the location of the participants placements. Ideally accommodation should have CCTV and/or a receptionist in place 24 hours. c) hygienic - accommodation should be regularly cleaned to maintain a high standard of hygiene and should not have any vermin or insect infestations. d) furnished and equipped - accommodation should have a bed, storage facilities, cooling/heating equipment as necessary, power supply and lighting, access to separate washing and bathing facilities including WCs with a seat and a lid and hot and cold running water 24 hours. There should also be access to safe, hygienic and modern cooking facilities. e) Single rooms are preferred but sharing rooms with the same sex is acceptable if necessary and agreed. Sub-standard student hostel accommodation is not acceptable. 4) What support will I get from the British Council? The British Council will: Manage the recruitment and selection of Teaching Assistants. Highlight information relating to health / medical / accessibility needs and criminal records as appropriate. Advise applicants on and carry out criminal records checks (ICPC) prior to teaching assistants departing the UK. Provide suitable and sufficient pre-departure information to all Teaching Assistants going to India so they are fully aware of their roles and responsibilities. Brief the hosting schools, ensuring that they fully understand the programme conditions and roles and responsibilities. Ensure all Teaching Assistants are offered an airport pick up and receive an induction briefing on arrival in India. Provide welfare support and pastoral care to Teaching Assistants in India through a dedicate student helpdesk and through briefing documents. Page 5 of 8 Date issued: 10/11/2014

6 Ensure, in the event of a Teaching Assistant withdrawing from the programme, that everyone involved is notified and coordinate a replacement where possible. Provide Indian schools with terms of reference/agreement clarifying the roles and responsibilities of hosting a Teaching Assistant. What is the selection process for host organisations? To apply for a teaching assistant you must first check that you meet the following eligibility criteria: Eligibility criteria Host schools must have been established within 3 years of filling this application form Host schools must be affiliated to a recognised educational board. For schools up to primary classes only, it should be registered as a society/trust/company (under Section 25(1)(a) of the Companies Act 1956 or as amended Host schools must have a student teacher ratio lower than 40:1 Host Schools must meet the minimum requirements for health and safety standards in relation to the school itself and the food and accommodation provided for the teaching assistant. The British Council will send a monitoring team to undertake a risk assessment your school and your application will be rejected if you do not meet the requirements. Quality assessment Please take time to complete the application form carefully. Certain sections of the form will be assessed for quality purposes. In these sections we are looking to see that the host school: 1) Provides clear and justified reasons for wishing to host an assistant and sets out clearly the curricular and extra-curricular activities to be carried out by the teaching assistants. 2) Proposes realistic and reasonable activities that are compatible with the targeted students' age group, with the profile of the institution and the expected profile of the assistants. 3) Explains clearly how the assistantship will be monitored and, if applicable, how the assistant's workload will be managed if the assistant is shared with other institutions. We will also take into account your international experience and the support you offer your pupils in terms of academic and co-curricular activities. How much will it cost? Page 6 of 8 Date issued: 10/11/2014

7 Host schools must also be able to cover the following costs: 1. Along with your application form, you need to send a draft / cheque of Rs favouring British Council Division and payable at New Delhi to Arijit Ghosh, 17 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi The application fee is a one-time payment per application year to be made to British Council and is non-refundable. This placement fee covers the cost of managing your application as well as contributing to the cost of recruiting, training and supporting suitable candidates from the UK 2. For the duration of the teaching assistantship, you will be required to pay a consolidated monthly stipend to the teaching assistant as per his/her qualification and experience. The stipend amounts which have been fixed for the teaching assistants are: Experienced teachers (at least 1 year experience in teaching) Rs Newly qualified teachers or post graduate degree holders Rs Fresh graduates Rs Undergraduate students Rs In addition to the monthly stipend, the school needs to organise accommodation and 3 meals per day for the teaching assistants. Any local travel expenses which the assistant might undertake, due to work, should be borne by the school. Please note that as this is the first year of the programme we are asking that every successful school hosts 2 teaching assistants. Only one placement fee will be required per application. Recruitment of teaching assistants The teaching assistants will also undergo a stringent quality assessment by the British Council including an online application form, face to face interviews and a criminal records check. We will look for candidates who demonstrate an interest in teaching, evidence of having worked with children, experience of having adapted to new environments and a motivation to undertake a teaching assistantship and gain experience in India. Page 7 of 8 Date issued: 10/11/2014

8 5) How do I apply? To apply for a teaching assistant you need to follow these steps: Step 1: Read this information document Step 2: Fill out the online application form. You can access the form here: The form will take up to an hour to complete as certain sections are quality assessed. You are able to begin completing the form and then save it and come back later. To save and come back later select the link Save Answers and Resume Later as highlighted above. You will then receive the following message with a unique link. Please copy the link below and save it in a safe place. You can use this from any computer anytime within the next 30 days to resume answering questions on the form. Without the link, the data you have entered cannot be retrieved and you will have to start filling out the form at the beginning. You can also request for this link to be ed to you. Step 3: Once you have completed the form and are happy with what you have written submit the application form. Once you have submitted the form you will not be able to change your application. Step 4: Pay your placement fee to the British Council by sending a draft / cheque of Rs favouring British Council Division and payable at New Delhi to Arijit Ghosh, 17 Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi The application fee is a one-time payment per application year to be made to British Council and is non-refundable. 6) Queries If you have any questions related to applying to host a teaching assistant please contact enquiries.generationukindia@britishcouncil.org Page 8 of 8 Date issued: 10/11/2014