1) How would you build and maintain an effective relationship with:

Children

To ensure you build an effective relationship with Children you must gain their respect and be able to get along with them. This can be achieved by listening to them and seeing the positives in what they do , praising them, showing them good manners, being assertive without being aggressive (as you do not scare them or trigger an aggressive reaction), recognizing if you make a mistake and letting them know this, celebrate their individual differences, be an example to them by showing them how to be punctual ,truthful and honest.

To maintain this relationship with children it is very important that you still show a position of authority within the classroom so they know that you can tell them if they have done something wrong. As well as this it is crucial that you do not show favoritism towards any children, you should listen and be a guide but never favorite one particular child.

As a teaching assistant you have to realize that children are taught by many things through out their life like external factors and as a teaching assistant they learn from you. They will reflect certain behaviors so it is so important to be the best example you can be to have a strong relationship with them. If a child has at one point behaved so badly and it was memorable it is important to understand that it was that moment that affected you and not the child personally. You should never hold a grudge against the child as they will not understand and this will have a negative impact on your relationship.

Young people

To ensure you build a positive relationship with young people you must show them that you are in a position of authority but you are there to listen to them and assist them with the skills they are learning. You must be able to gain their respect as this will in turn make a great relationship .Like with children it is important not to show favoritism and to understand that if young person is being badly behaved it is not personal and that you should not hold a grudge.

Adults

They key to maintain an effective relationship with adults, is to ensure that you communicate effective. As adults you must have a mutual respect for each other and ensure that you are respectful and supportive of each other’s decisions. It is important not to undermine each other and to be the best example you can be so the students can see/replicate this.

Just like with children it is important to have regular contact and share important information for the children’s safety. It should be remembered if you have encountered an incident with them in a negative way that you do not hold a grudge and it was in that moment and that time and should not be carried on.

2) What are the barriers that could affect the building of relationships?

Children/young people

There can be many barriers that will affect building relationships with children and young people. For some children it may be behavioral disorders and this can affect the way in which they learn and build relationships. For some children/young people building relationships can be hard as the way in which they interpret certain behaviors is impaired. Children and young people with behavioral disorders should be given extra time to adapt and as a assistant we should understand that they can be extremely sensitive and some methods which we would usually use would be ineffective.

Another barrier is if a child/young person has impairment as this can also affect the way they communicate and receive communication. As communication is a key part to building relationships this can be a barrier. The three impairments are hearing, visual and physical.

Hearing is a crucial part of language development. By having a hearing impairment it can delay communication skills this in turn can cause lack of academic achievement and relationship problems which can led to poor self esteem. Visual impairments can severely