Latest news with #teachingassistant
Daily Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Matilda's parents thought she was just tired from nursery - in fact she had cancer and there were tell-tale signs they missed
At just three years old Matilda Turner was a bundle of energy and, like most children her age, 'always on the go', her mother Hannah recalls. 'She loved playing in the park with her sister, and she was so excited to go to nursery and see her friends,' adds the teaching assistant, 31.
The Sun
09-08-2025
- Business
- The Sun
I'm worried about a clash of interests between jobs but I need the money – please help!
APPRENTICE star and West Ham United vice-chair Karren Brady answers your careers questions. Here, Karren gives her expert career advice to a reader who has been left to present a stressful project alone after her colleague took a last minute holiday. Q: I work part-time as a teaching assistant in a primary school, and I recently asked if I could increase my hours to full-time. I need the extra money, but I've been told there isn't the budget to do this currently. So, I've been thinking about working as a self-employed childminder on the days I'm not contracted at school, but I'm worried the senior leadership team might be annoyed if I approach parents with details of my childminding, in case they think it's out of order or a clash of interests. I don't know how else I would find potential clients, though. Please help! Kia, via email A) It's fantastic you're taking the initiative to boost your income – it sounds like becoming a self-employed childminder could be a great fit for you, especially with your experience. Since your employer can't offer you more hours at the moment, it's absolutely fair for you to explore other options. However, before you do anything else, I would check the school's policy on outside work or speak discreetly with your line manager. A quick, honest conversation can help clarify boundaries and prevent misunderstandings. Apprentice star Karren Brady terrified after burglar launched FOUR raids on £6m home in 16 hours taking designer gear If promoting your services directly to parents at the school feels tricky, try alternative routes, such as Facebook groups, childcare platforms, community centres or word-of-mouth through neighbours and friends, as these can be effective. Childminders need to ensure they are registered with Ofsted and you will need to declare any self-employed income to HMRC, so do make sure you keep accurate records. With your skills, you're in a strong position – just be sure to keep your school role and any private work as separate as you can. Best of luck with your new venture!
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
Woman's breasts balloon to 26 POUNDS in just months... and what doctors found was shocking
A young woman says she can't wait to get married after having surgery to reduce her gigantic 26lb breasts. Thaynara Marcondes, 22, and from Brazil, initially feared to have cancer before she was diagnosed with gigantomastia, a rare condition only recorded 300 times in medical literature, where the breasts grow rapidly and uncontrollably in size. The teaching assistants' breasts were of normal size until the start of last year, but then they started swelling by an extra 1.6lbs each every 30 days. Within a few months, her breasts weighed so heavily on her petite 132lb frame that Marcondes was suffering from constant back, shoulder and neck pain that became so bad she needed a wheelchair. In late October, she was referred for a $7,200 10-hour breast reduction surgery where doctors removed a whopping 22lbs from her breasts. Marcondes is thrilled with the results, but said that as a result of the surgery she has lost feeling in her nipples and the area around them and will not be able to breastfeed. Her breasts are being monitored in case they start to grow rapidly again, with doctors saying that if this is the case she may need to have a double-mastectomy, or breast removal. Speaking about the results to CNN Brazil in Portuguese that has been translated to English, she said: 'I'm super happy. I look in the mirror and think, 'Wow, I look beautiful.' 'Sometimes I even cry looking at myself because I still can't believe I did it.' 'I'm so glad I had the surgery. Now I just want to live my life more comfortably and without the strange looks.' She also joked with reporters that she's now ready to start dating and get married, although her relationship status has not been revealed. Her aunt was the first person to notice her breasts were growing rapidly in February last year, telling Marcondes to get them checked. But the teaching assistant ignored her, and only became worried about her breasts when she noticed other people staring at them and pointing. In one instance, she also got held up at a grocery store where staff accused her of shoplifting and hiding the goods underneath her breasts. Revealing the impact the larger breasts had on her life, she said she was afflicted by constant back, shoulder and neck pain because of their size. At one point, she even said her back locked up and left her struggling to move, leaving surgeons to suggest that she use a wheelchair. It also became difficult to do basic household chores like sweep or cook because her breasts would quickly trigger backpain, or even to do things like tie up her shoe laces. Revealing how the breasts impacted her life, Marcondes said on social media: 'It really bothers me. It is hard to cut my toenails, put on my sneakers. I can't run, I stopped going to the gym because of my back. She added to local news station G1: 'I couldn't even wear a bra anymore. I put all my clothes in a bag because they didn't fit me anymore. One day, I tried on eight shirts and none of them fit. I ended up freaking out. 'I started going out on the street, and people were staring and pointing. Once, I went to the grocery store and people even started to think I was stealing products and hiding them in my breasts. Then I got worried.' Gigantomastia is a very rare condition, and is defined as when the breasts exceed a weight of 5.5lbs (2.5kg). It isn't clear what causes the complication, but it's thought to be linked to hormonal changes and some fertility treatments. It wasn't clear what caused Marcondes' condition. The young woman was initially signed up for surgery with Brazil's public health service. But amid a lengthy wait and mounting pain in her body, she started fundraising to get breast reduction surgery privately. She crowdfunded for the RS$40,000 (USD$7,200) procedure online and via a local media channel that appealed for donations. Marcondes revealed her case to raise awareness about the condition, and support other women who may be suffering from the complication. The Cleveland Clinic says online that the condition can be 'physically and emotionally devastating', and recommends those suffering from it seek help from surgeons. Doctors commonly treat gynacomastia using breast reduction surgery or medications to halt tissue growth in the breasts. But in cases where the tissue keeps growing, they may also recommend a mastectomy — or breast removal — to treat the condition. For Marcondes, she isn't certain whether her breasts will again surge in size, and is continuing to monitor them on the advice of doctors.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- BBC News
Former teaching assistant from Skegness jailed for sex offences
A former teaching assistant has been jailed for sex offences against a teenage Bath of Parliament Close, Skegness, pleaded guilty to two counts of engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15 and two counts of non-penetrative sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and also admitted to inciting a girl aged between 13 and 15 to engage in sexual 42, was sentenced to five years and three months in prison at Lincoln Crown Court on Monday. A woman told Lincolnshire Police last year what Bath did to her when she was a pupil between 2005 and Con Lisa Willard praised the woman who came forward for her bravery and "immense courage". She said: "The man who abused them was in a position of trust as a teaching assistant, he had a duty to protect and nurture the children in his care."Instead, he exploited that authority in the most appalling way."Bath was also handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, will be on the sex offenders register for life and has been barred from working with children and vulnerable adults. Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Click here to download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and here to download the BBC News app from Google Play for Android devices.
Malay Mail
13-06-2025
- Malay Mail
France mourns as teen charged with killing teaching assistant, minute of silence observed nationwide
LILLE, June 13 — A 14-year-old schoolboy was charged with the murder of a teaching assistant stabbed to death earlier this week, prosecutors said yesterday, as schools across France held a minute of silence. The secondary school pupil was arrested Tuesday after allegedly stabbing to death a school monitor—a 31-year-old mother of a young boy—during a bag search in the eastern town of Nogent. Quentin G. was charged with the 'murder of a person in a position of authority', which under French law is an aggravating circumstance, and was ordered to be held in custody. He has also been named as a person of interest in the assault of a gendarme during his arrest shortly after the fatal stabbing, said prosecutors in the eastern city of Dijon. This latest school attack has caused widespread shock in France, with President Emmanuel Macron denouncing what he said was a rise in violence. Prosecutors say the pupil had wanted to attack 'any' monitor after being reprimanded a few days earlier for kissing his girlfriend. Regional prosecutor Denis Devallois told reporters on Wednesday that the teenager acknowledged 'being the perpetrator' of the deadly stabbing and that he 'intended to kill'. As a minor, the suspect faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison instead of life imprisonment. A minute's silence Schools across France observed a minute of silence at midday in memory of the victim, identified by authorities only as Melanie. France has seen several attacks on teachers and pupils in recent years by schoolchildren. Macron denounced the violence during a cabinet meeting on Thursday, said the government spokeswoman. 'He spoke of a rise, a disinhibition around violence in our country, for which solutions will clearly need to be found,' Sophie Primas said, quoting the French leader. In March, police began carrying out random searches for concealed weapons in and around schools. Classes resumed on Thursday at the site of the killing, the Francoise Dolto school. The first students arrived shortly after 8:00 am in complete silence, escorted by a member of school staff, an AFP journalist saw. 'It's going to be strange not seeing the monitor anymore,' said Jade, 15. 'I told my daughters to go to the counselling room to talk,' said Daniele Quentin, 52, mother of three children enrolled at the school. 'It's going to be hard for the girls, who really liked her,' she said, referring to the victim. 'No regret' A former hairdresser, the victim had retrained and worked at the school since September. She was a mother of a four-year-old boy and a councillor in a village near Nogent. Her family called for a silent march to be held in Nogent today. The suspect told investigators 'there was perhaps a link with the fact he was told off by a monitor on Friday, June 6, as he was kissing his girlfriend on school grounds', Devallois said, adding she was not the one killed. 'He stated that he had, as early as the next day, Saturday, mulled over a plan to kill a monitor,' the prosecutor added. 'He grabbed the largest knife in his home to, in his words, 'cause the most damage'.' The teenager did not appear to suffer from any 'mental disorder', but appeared 'detached' and expressed 'no regret' for the killing, Devallois said. In the wake of the attack, authorities promised measures to tackle knife crime among children. Macron said on Tuesday he was proposing banning social media for children under 15. Greece has spearheaded a proposal backed by France and Spain for the European Union to limit children's use of online platforms. Macron said France would go ahead with a unilateral ban if no progress was made on an EU-wide measure. — AFP
