In any classroom, the teacher’s role is clear: deliver lessons according to curriculum requirements and help children learn to the best of their ability. But the remit of the teaching assistant (TA) can be wide and extremely varied – from one-to-one pastoral support through to working with groups.
Because of this, the relationship between the TA and the teacher is a unique alchemical mix of personalities, skills and interests. But what are the most effective ways to work together? And where does it sometimes go wrong?
The effect that TAs have in the classroom has often been contested, with some reports questioning their impact on pupil progress and results. However, recent studies have been far more positive. The key to success, it seems, is for TAs and teachers to developing a good working partnership.
Following new research in February, the Education Endowment Foundation said: “When they are well trained and used in structured settings with high-quality support and training, teaching assistants can make a noticeable positive impact on pupil learning.”
Behind-the-scenes efforts are critical to success, says TA Liz Byrne, who works at a primary school in Oxfordshire. “It has to be about communication,” she explains. “You need to find time for it, and it happens in the working day and also, sometimes, in the evening.” TAs are not typically paid for work outside the time spent in class so this often “relies on goodwill”, says Byrne.
Finding the balance
At St Mary’s Primary in East Barnet, the school identified the the challenges faced by TAs and has now systematically addressed them with guidelines on “roles and expectations”. Allowing TAs the opportunity to understand the teacher’s thinking and goals in advance of lessons is critical, says Maria Constantinou, the school’s inclusion lead. Participation in planning, so that TAs have the opportunity to fully grasp the aims of a lesson, is now standard practice at the school.
Another key issue is how TAs should use their time in the classroom. Are they most effective when supporting the most needy children, or does this set-up prevent these pupils from getting enough attention from the class teacher?
“I don’t believe either is true,” says Lacey Flook, a teacher at Bridge Learning Campus in Bristol. “There should be a balance.”
Flook says she doesn’t place her TA solely with the most needy pupils: “We rotate through all the groups so that every child – from gifted and talented to SEN – has time with the teacher and the TA.
She identifies those who may benefit from additional one-to-one time with the TA and offers guidance. “I suggest a few strategies on my plan, as well as indicating what the child needs to achieve,” she explains. “My TA then supports them as necessary, using their own judgment.”
“There is no measure of neediness,” points out TA Jacqui MacKenzie, who works alongside Flook. “Everyone needs attention at different times and for different reasons. I’m careful about not missing out the quiet children and not rewarding the higher-ability children enough, because it is much easier to focus attention and behaviour strategies on the noisy and lower-ability children.”
Flook says: “Some TAs thrive working with lower-ability children, while others may struggle – and the same is true of working with children of higher ability.”
The key, then, is to develop the kind of working relationship that empowers TAs. Each will have skills and a style of working that is individual to them, and their interests and ambitions will vary just as much. Some will be happy to follow the teacher’s lead, while others will be eager to volunteer their own suggestions.
“The most confident teachers are really good if you say you’ve got an idea,” says Flook. “The relationship can then become more like team teaching.”
In the room
The practice of having TAs take small groups of pupils out of lessons to administer “catch-up” interventions is now less popular. In Constantinou’s school, it has almost stopped entirely. TAs are still trained in how to run interventions, she says, but this element of their job has been reduced to an absolute minimum, to maximise their time with pupils in class.
TA Lolly Hill, who works at Whitton Primary School in Ipswich, says her pupils’ ability to learn is enhanced by the emotional support she is able to give them.
“On the pastoral side, I think we’re probably better placed because teachers are so busy,” she says. “It’s easier for children to voice their worries to us. It’s not so much that we’re more approachable, but perhaps we’re more available.”
Conversely, a TA who doesn’t get to know the children is far less likely to be effective in the classroom, MacKenzie says. “If a child likes you, they will want to impress you with what they can achieve.”
But one of the most crucial skills a TA can have is an ability able to look on the bright side, she adds. “A TA who doesn’t have a sense of humour will find the school day a very long one,” she says. “It can be hard work. But it can also be great fun and it’s very rewarding if you are genuinely pleased when students do well and you can laugh alongside them in the playground.”
