Headteacher Update Podcast: Effective use of teaching assistants in the classroom

This episode looks at the effective deployment of our teaching assistants in the primary school classroom, offering advice for whole-school practice and individual teaching and lessons. We ask how teaching assistants can enhance pupils' outcomes and support inclusion and how teachers and teaching assistants can communicate and work together effectively. We discuss school systems and structures that can support their effective deployment. And we discuss the training and development that must be in place for our teaching assistants. We consider how teaching assistants should and – vitally – should not be deployed, both in the classroom and when leading interventions. We look at the role of school leaders in establishing the appropriate systems, structures and working practices that ensure consistent and effective deployment. We also consider the merits of the DfE-funded Teaching Assistant Deployment Review Guide and consider other useful resources, including the Teaching Assistant Standards, the EEF teaching assistant research evidence and the MITA (maximising the impact of teaching of assistants) project. And amid a cost of living crisis when many other jobs offer better remuneration, we discuss the recruitment and retention of teaching assistants.