The Australian Teaching Assistant Professional Standards (ATAPS) framework offers a powerful tool for teacher aides to map their professional growth. Whether you’re just beginning your career or already thriving in your role, the ATAPS Professional Growth Map is your guide to deepening your impact in the classroom. 

In this blog, we’ll walk through each of the ATAPS focus areas, prompt reflection, and help you identify your strengths and areas for development. Then, we’ll guide you through how to set SMART goals based on your growth map reflections—so your next steps are purposeful, practical, and achievable. 

We were recently at the National Education Summit in Brisbane, where we got to meet some of you - teacher aides, educators, and school leaders! It was interesting to hear the shared common concerns and insights across conversations that highlighted the same message: you have bright, committed teacher aides in your schools who are feeling like they’re left until last when it comes to professional learning.

So - this post is simple: we hear you! We are going to explore these key challenges and give you ideas on what may help.

When we think of "teacher quality," our minds often jump to the classroom teacher. Recent research lists attributes that define great teachers – and we think that this list also describes great teacher aides!