Explained: Support staff can recognise and share their value by journaling
Support staff can recognise and share their value by journaling is examined in this 2026 education briefing, which sets out the central development, the practical context for schools and the questions leaders may need to consider.
What happened?
Too often, learning support staff are viewed as supporting actors in their own schools. Their work becomes defined by lists of tasks, usually dictated by someone else, rather than as an expression of their own expertise.
Key details from the report
- Under these circumstances, professional identity is rendered invisible, or worse, non-existent.
- Yet having a sense of one’s own professional identity is important, because it guides decision-making and strengthens confidence.
- I’d like to suggest one potential simple and effective solution: journaling.
- Through reflecting on the subtle interventions they enact daily and their approaches to problem-solving, support staff can make their skills visible and articulate the real impact they have on pupils’ learning.
Why this matters for schools
The issue is relevant to school leaders because policy announcements, funding decisions and regulatory changes rarely operate in isolation. Their effects can reach staffing, budgets, curriculum planning, pupil support and communication with families. Leaders should distinguish confirmed requirements from proposals, check the implementation timetable and identify which decisions need action now.
For classroom and SEND teams, the practical question is how the development affects access, inclusion and day-to-day provision. Schools may wish to review existing plans, clarify responsibilities and make sure staff receive information in a form they can use. Where national details remain incomplete, recording assumptions and revisiting them as guidance changes can reduce avoidable confusion.
Questions for leaders and governing boards
- What has been formally confirmed, and what remains under consultation or development?
- Which pupils, staff or services are most likely to be affected?
- Are there financial, workforce, safeguarding or SEND implications that require early planning?
- What evidence or updated guidance should be monitored next?
- How will the school communicate any resulting change clearly to staff and families?
