HLTA stands for Higher Level Teaching Assistant. So, L4 HLTA course is just an abbreviation for Level 4 Higher Level Teaching Assistants course.

1. Higher Level Teaching Assistant
2. Classroom Assistant

Yes, on successful completion of this HLTA course, you will be able to get the HLTA Status since this Level 4 qualification is designed in line with the 33 HLTA Standards important for HLTA Status.

Witness testimonies are classed as “supporting” evidence and provide additional information in the form of a statement of authentication from an occupationally competent individual who verifies all relevant details of a learner’s workplace activities and validates that the learner can conduct a skill or task. In some instances, the course requires the learner to demonstrate certain skills such as “Positive working relationships” or “motivate and support children and young people’s positive behaviour”, all of which are very difficult to prove using documentary evidence alone. Hence, an expert witness is tasked with providing a written record of learner’s performance at the workplace, precisely describing the activity undertaken against targeted assessment criteria confirming if these have been followed in the work setting. Witness testimonies are compulsory in certain units and this will be clearly stated in the relevant Assignment Guide. Moreover, it is to be noted that you will need to write a reflective account as well along with providing the witness testimony.

A reflective account is the supporting written evidence/ learner’s statement that indicates how the learner performed/performs the activity testified by the workplace supervisor, what went well and what did not, what you learnt and what you should have done. You also mention what strategies you will adapt for improvement. Please note that there is no separate document for writing a reflective account. Reflective account/learner’s statement is given in the same Submission Cover Sheet (Assessment Brief document).

Firstly, a witness statement is a source of evidence and does not confirm the achievement of assessment criteria or confer an assessment decision. For that purpose, the assessor needs to:

1. consider all the information in the witness statement
2. note the relevant professional skills of the witness to make a judgement of performance
3. review the supporting written evidence/ reflective account when making an assessment decision
4. be convinced that the evidence presented in the witness statement is valid, sufficient and authentic

Moreover, if the supervisor has not witnessed you performing some of the targeted assessment criteria in your undertaken activities, the assessor will have to conduct an observation directly observing your activity to confirm the fulfillment of the remaining assessment criteria.