Introduction
Teaching and learning support assistants are a highly effective and valuable way of supporting pupils both in the classroom and through interventions. To positively impact a pupil’s progress, deploying teaching assistants must be part of a whole school strategic plan. Teachers must retain responsibility for their pupils - teaching assistants should supplement and enhance the work of the teacher and not replace it. The role of the teaching assistant has also changed and developed in recent years. They now not only support pupils in their lessons but also run a variety of interventions. These can range from interventions to support learning (reading, numeracy, phonics, etc) to those that support social, emotional and mental health (emotional literacy support, zones of emotional regulation, education-based school avoidance, speech-language and communication, etc). For this collaborative work to be successful, all staff must be trained to a high standard.
In this blog, we are going to explore the Education Endowment Foundation’s new guidance on the deployment of teaching assistants. (Released 26/03/2025)
Recommendation 1 - Deploy TAs in ways that enable all pupils to access high-quality teaching
Teaching assistants should not have sole responsibility for the pupils they are working with. In-line with the SEND Code of Practice, teachers should retain responsibility for all their pupils and, according to the EEF, ‘pupils who struggle most should spend at least as much time with the teacher as other pupils, if not more.’
Quality first teaching should be the primary way pupils will attain and make progress. The EEF recommends that ‘schools should move away from assigning TAs to specific pupils for long periods.’ Instead, schools should ensure a collaborative approach from the teacher and teaching assistant, where pupils receive high-quality teaching and additional support, which is regularly monitored. We must avoid the teaching assistant spending time in the lesson ‘learning alongside the pupil’. Leaders need to consider how teachers and teaching assistants can spend time together before learning takes place. Other ideas recommended by the EEF include:
- The teaching assistant supervising peer reading fluency practice, or other activities where pupils learn from each other in the classroom.
- The teaching assistant pre-teaching concepts, vocabulary, or skills before these are taught in the classroom in order to prepare pupils for learning.
- The teacher dividing pupils in the classroom into two group so the TA can supervise one group through a learning task prepared by the teacher while the teacher works with the other.
Recommendation 2 - Deploy TAs to scaffold learning and to develop pupils’ independence
We have all heard and potentially used the term ‘Velcro TA’, where the teaching assistant not only remains with the same pupil but focuses on task completion rather than supporting the pupil to develop the skills required to understand, learn, and retain the content and apply the knowledge. Through high-quality CPD, teaching assistants can develop the required scaffolding skills to help pupils. The EEF describes scaffolding as ‘giving pupils the skills and tools to help themselves in situations when they do not know what to do. Through scaffolding, pupils can be supported to engage in learning in an increasingly independent manner, allowing them to better access high-quality teaching.’ As a pupil becomes increasingly independent, a cognitive strategy can be removed. Scaffolding will be personalised to the pupil, but it is important that the teacher provides the pupil with the ‘right level of challenge.’ Scaffolding will include correcting, modelling, clueing, prompting and self-scaffolding. Correcting requires the most input from the teaching assistant and self-scaffolding is the highest level of independence.
Recommendation 3 - Deploy TAs to deliver well chosen, evidence based, structured interventions where appropriate
The new guidance from the EEF states, ‘The evidence shows that TAs can support pupils effectively through structured interventions. However, these need to be carefully considered, monitored, and linked to the classroom to ensure positive outcomes for pupils.’ Leaders must ensure that evidence-based structured interventions are used to support pupil progress. Once again, leaders need to be confident that an intervention away from the classroom is going to have the desired impact and that it is used to supplement the high-quality teaching in the classroom and not replace it. Interventions need to be ‘targeted and relevant.’ Once an intervention has been selected, planned and delivered leaders need to make sure they are monitored for impact. The EEF suggests that monitoring can have a two-fold approach;
- Monitor progress towards learning objectives to build an evidence base of what works in your school
- Monitor intervention delivery
Recommendation 4 - Prepare and train staff around effective TA deployment
To help implement the first three recommendations it is vital that all staff are given the necessary training and skills to work together in a complementary manner. The EEF recommends ‘all school staff should be clear about the purpose of the TA role and what it involves. This is essential if teachers and TAs are to be able to work together in complementary ways, as detailed in recommendations one, two, and three.’ There must be a consistent approach about how teaching assistants can effectively support pupils. When considering CPD, the EEF recommends ideas such as:
- Training teachers in curriculum adaptation, how to use different strategies or interventions, and developing their understanding of pupil needs.
- Teachers receiving the right professional development to feel confident and competent in working alongside TAs.
- Empowering teachers to understand that effective teaching for pupils with SEND is effective teaching for all, and that such teaching is firmly based on strategies that will either already be in the repertoire of every mainstream schoolteacher or which can be relatively easily added to it.
- If a specific strategy, such as scaffolding, is being used, TAs should be trained to fully understand the principles of the approach and the techniques required to apply it.
When leaders provide high-quality, personalised CPD for their teacher assistants, it shows them that they are valued and an important part of the school community.
Recommendation 5 - Engage all staff in the process of implementing effective TA deployment
The EEF states, ‘evidence suggests that the likelihood of effective TA deployment practices being embedded is increased if leaders take steps to facilitate their implementation.’ The EEF recommends:
- ‘Embedding a wider school culture focused on high quality teaching and inclusion.’
- ‘Engaging the school community in effective TA deployment’
Leaders need to carefully plan and explicitly explain the teaching assistant’s role and responsibilities. There should be clear expectations, which are communicated to everyone and, as the EEF explains, protect the teaching assistant from role creep (the gradual expansion of their roles and responsibilities).
Finally, there should be a clear line management structure for a school’s teaching assistants, which includes a strong performance management structure.
Helping Your Staff Support Pupils with SEND
Here at Juniper Education, we can support your leaders and teachers through a variety of courses and packages, which, in turn, will support pupils with SEND in a mainstream school.
You can explore our wide range of courses here.
