TAs on study tour

Ten teaching assistants from Devon have returned from an international study visit to Austria.

The Higher Level Teaching Assistants visited several schools, attended a number of briefings and lectures and met with counterparts from Viennese schools during their five-day stay.

Mark Freeman from Devon County Council's curriculum services organisation, led the party. He said: "This is the first time such a visit has taken place which has been specifically designed for teaching assistants and reflects the high levels of responsibility now undertaken by such support staff in Devon schools."

Chris Gibson, from St George's C of E Infants, Northam said: "It was fantastic to find out how different schools work and it provided a rare chance to reflect on practice and organisation in our own schools.

"In some respects we've realised how much we take for granted in this country, such as the quality and the level of resources. However we were given real food for thought about the UK's approach to modern foreign language teaching when we saw the way in which the teaching of English was embedded in the everyday lessons of Austrian schools. The standard of the children's English put our faltering German to shame."