Judith Howes is a teaching assistant with a difference. Not only was she one of the first to gain higher level teaching assistant status (HLTAs), but was also Teaching Assistant of the Year for 2004. Appearances on TV and in national and local newspapers have followed, but Judith remains very down-to-earth. For her the best part of winning the award, apart from meeting such luminaries as Lord Puttnam, was the prize money given to her school, which was used to buy valuable IT equipment.
Judith works at Hardwick Primary School in the middle of a significantly disadvantaged estate in Stockton-on-Tees.Over a third of the 213 children at the school are on the special educational needs register and half are entitled to free school meals. As Headteacher Ruth Pickering acknowledges, "Hardwick is a challenging place to live and a challenging place to work."
Judith has been there for nearly 13 years. A former policewoman, she left the force when she had her children. Gradually she got involved in schools as a 'helping mum' and then was offered work on a literacy project before becoming an assistant.
There have been some big changes to her role over the years. "To begin with, less than half my time was spent supporting teaching and learning and now this is the major part of my work," says Judith.
Shortly after winning her award, Judith heard that her local education action zone (EAZ) was looking for volunteers for the pilot HLTA assessment programme. It seemed appropriate for her to get involved, and she was keen to find out what was being asked of higher level assistants.
