Working with Teaching Assistants
Week 1 – The Evidence Around Teaching Assistants
Teaching Assistants can make a significant contribution to pupils’ learning, but research shows that impact depends on how their support is planned and deployed. Effective practice is not simply about providing more adult help, but ensuring that support complements high-quality teaching and develops pupil independence. In this session, we’ll explore the evidence around effective TA deployment and consider how teachers and TAs can work together to maximise the impact of classroom support.
Week 2 – Preparing TAs Before Lessons
Teaching Assistants are best placed to support learning when they understand what pupils are learning, the key knowledge or vocabulary involved and where barriers may arise. Preparation does not need to mean lengthy additional meetings; small, purposeful exchanges can make support far more effective. In this session, we’ll explore practical ways teachers and TAs can share essential information before lessons, enabling TAs to provide focused support that reinforces teaching, maintains challenge and promotes independence.
Week 3 – Supporting Without Over-Supporting
Effective support gives pupils what they need to access learning while still allowing them to think, struggle and succeed for themselves. When adults step in too quickly or provide too much help, pupils can unintentionally become dependent on that support. In this session, we’ll explore how TAs can use prompts, questions and carefully chosen scaffolds, recognising when to step in and when to step back to build confidence, resilience and independence.
Week 4 – Developing Independent Learners
Developing independence means helping pupils build the confidence, strategies and resilience to manage their learning with less adult support over time. This requires adults to create opportunities for pupils to think, make decisions, solve problems and learn from mistakes rather than simply completing tasks successfully. In this session, we’ll explore practical ways teachers and TAs can encourage independence, gradually reduce scaffolding and help pupils take greater ownership of their learning.
Week 5 – Teacher and TA partnerships
Strong teacher and TA partnerships are built on clear communication, shared expectations and a collective responsibility for every pupil’s learning. When teachers and TAs understand each other’s roles and work together purposefully, classroom support becomes more consistent, focused and effective. In this session, we’ll explore practical ways to strengthen teacher–TA collaboration, share information efficiently and ensure that support remains closely connected to high-quality teaching and pupil independence.
Week 6 – Reflecting on Deployment
Effective TA deployment is not simply about where support is allocated, but whether that support is making a meaningful difference to pupils’ learning, participation and independence. Regular reflection helps teams identify what is working well and where small changes could strengthen impact. In this final session, we’ll consider how teachers, TAs and leaders can reflect on current deployment, evaluate its impact and identify practical next steps for using support as effectively as possible.