Key findings from the Education Endowment Foundation’s report, The Deployment of Teaching Assistants.
Teaching assistants (including learning support assistants, classroom assistants and higher level teaching assistants) are incredibly valuable paraprofessionals in educational settings. However, there are many challenges within the role, some of which are mentioned in this previous R.I.S.E. article from Hannah Harris. In celebration of TAs’ work whilst acknowledging, “the challenging reality that schools and colleges who value inclusion face: that supporting TAs to have maximum impact is often complex, involving a range of people and actions,” 1 the EEF has released a report that gives guidance in best deploying TAs, overcoming obstacles and ‘unleashing the full potential of this workforce’. 1
About the report
The report focuses on how effective management of TAs can support pupil outcomes. It is aimed at school and senior leaders but also notes other staff who may find this report helpful, such as Special Educational Needs Coordinators (SENCos), teachers, school governors, middle leaders, parents, policymakers and, of course, TAs themselves. It is important to mention that the report focuses on TAs in primary and secondary schools. However, the guidance can still be helpful in other settings but recommendations may need to be adapted to better suit these.
The EEF did release previous guidance on this topic but this updated report includes a ‘new review of evidence’ and was formed in ‘consultation with an expert advisory panel.’ The evidence includes information from 52 studies with research questions on the themes:
- How leaders can mange and support TAs
- How teachers and TAs can work to support pupils (including pupils with SEND)
- Which practices are effective in supporting these pupils 1
Key findings
The report identified five areas of recommendations for effective practices and implementation:
- Deploy TAs in ways that enable all pupils to access high-quality teaching: “TAs should supplement – not replace – the teacher. This means that pupils who struggle most should spend at least as much time with the teacher as other pupils, if not more.”
- Deploy TAs to scaffold learning and to develop pupils’ independence: “Leaders should ensure TAs are prepared to engage in scaffolding practices that support pupils’ learning and ability to learn independently. Supporting pupil independence should be a key consideration of TA deployment.”
- Deploy TAs to deliver well-chosen, evidence-based, structured interventions where appropriate: “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.”
- Prepare and train staff around effective TA deployment: “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.”
- Engage all staff in the process of implementing effective TA deployment: “Effective TA deployment is complex and dependent on a range of factors. School leaders should focus on implementation as they look to embed effective practices.” 1
The guidance goes into depth with action points, how the recommendations look in practice (with examples from schools), common challenges and how to overcome them, things to avoid and encourage, and questions that can help guide processes. For example, there is a list of dos and don’ts for interventions – ‘Do: Make links to the learning taking place in the classroom.’ ‘Don’t: Deliver interventions in isolation.’ etc. 1 There is also a list of helpful resources and support to help schools in implementing the guidance.
Summary
The report has welcome guidance on effective practices and implementation for TAs and it’s great to see how the EEF is clearly valuing the contributions TAs bring to teaching and learning. I would be interested to see if this report is developed further to give adapted recommendations for settings such as special schools, alternative provision and early years, to help ensure that this evidence-based research can best benefit these too.
Additionally, the report mentioned how topics such as ‘TA pay and working conditions are beyond the scope of the report’; it would be great to see these explored in some separate research.
Have you read the report?
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References
- Education Employment Foundation (2025) ‘Deployment of Teaching Assistants: Guidance Report’. Available at: https://d2tic4wvo1iusb.cloudfront.net/production/eef-guidance-reports/deployment-of-teaching-assistants/deployment_of_teaching_assistants_-_guidance_report.pdf (Accessed: 07 April 2025)
