Effective staff deployment

Teachers ensure that learning in interventions is consistent with, and extends, work inside the classroom and that learners understand the links between them, through making explicit connections.

Our staff are clear in how Teaching Assistants can and should be effectively deployed to support and improve the learning and attainment of children and young people.

Teaching Assistants prioritise helping learners to develop ownership of tasks rather than task completion. • Teaching Assistants aim to give learners the least amount of help first and allow sufficient wait time, so learners can respond to a question or attempt the stage of a task independently. • Teaching Assistants intervene appropriately, through adaptations to learning and tasks, when pupils demonstrate they are unable to proceed, gradually releasing responsibility over to the learner as their understanding and confidence develop.

Teachers and Teaching Assistants have sufficient time to access training and work collaboratively to enable the necessary lesson preparation and feedback (e.g. concepts, facts, information being taught, skills to be learned, applied, practised or extended, intended learning outcomes, expected/required feedback).

Teaching Assistants receive high quality support and training to deliver targeted interventions in one to-one or small group settings.

Teaching Assistants use evidence-based interventions, that have structured, supporting resources and lesson plans, with clear objectives. • Intervention sessions are brief (20–50mins), occur regularly (3–5 times per week) and are maintained over a sustained period (8–20 weeks). • Careful timetabling is in place to enable consistent delivery • Assessments are used to identify appropriate learners, guide areas for focus and track learner progress.

Our teachers try to ensure Teaching Assistants are not deployed to provide informal instructional teaching. Where Teaching Assistants are deployed to provide a direct instructional role, they add value to the work of the teacher but do not replace them, as the needs of all pupils are addressed, first and foremost, through high quality classroom teaching.