A programme to improve TA effectiveness

From my very first days in teaching back in the 1980s, I was interested in those pupils labelled as “challenging”. Supporting them in their learning and gradually switching them on to the idea that they can be a success is hugely rewarding. I joined Future Leaders in 2012 and it was this interest in supporting the students who many give up on that inspired my Impact Initiative, which focused on increasing the effectiveness of teaching assistants (TAs).

The scrutiny of TAs has become a national issue. Research by the Sutton Trust has shown that TAs are one of the most expensive interventions, but can be one of the least effective. Further research from the Institute of Education shows that where TAs were deployed without training or used ineffectively they could actually cause students to regress. Yet this is only one side of the story, the same research also shows that “the quality and the nature of TAs’ deployment are critical components in contributing to improved student attainment”.