Supporting Success: Making Effective Use of Teaching Assistants to Help All Pupils Thrive

The

states that teachers must learn how to... Provide opportunity for all pupils to experience success, by making effective use of teaching assistants.

One of the most powerful ambitions in education is to ensure that every pupil has the opportunity to experience success. For this to be more than just an aspiration, teachers must deliberately plan and scaffold learning opportunities that respond to the diverse needs of their classes. Among the most under-utilised yet potentially transformative tools in achieving this aim is the effective deployment of Teaching Assistants (TAs).

TAs represent a vital workforce in UK classrooms, especially in supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), those with lower prior attainment, or those who may be disadvantaged by circumstance. Yet research shows that TAs are often used in ways that are well-intentioned but ineffective (Blatchford et al., 2009). To truly ensure that all pupils can experience success, teachers must learn how to integrate TAs purposefully into their planning and classroom practice.

The Current Picture: Quantity Over Quality?

In many schools, TAs are present in a wide range of lessons, especially in primary settings and Key Stage 3. They are often assigned to support pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs), and their presence is commonly associated with pastoral care and individualised attention. While this can provide emotional and logistical support, we must ask a critical question: Does this lead to improved learning outcomes?

Research from the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) project, led by Peter Blatchford and colleagues (2009), found that pupils who received the most support from TAs made less academic progress than their peers, particularly when TAs were used as a substitute for teacher interaction. The issue, however, was not the presence of TAs, but how they were being used.

What Effective TA Use Looks Like

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has done considerable work in identifying the features of effective TA deployment. Their Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants guidance report (EEF, 2015) outlines several key recommendations:

1. TAs should not be used as an informal substitute for teachers.

2. TAs should be trained to deliver high-quality structured interventions.

3. Teachers should plan collaboratively with TAs and direct their work during lessons.

These principles help ensure that TAs enhance, rather than replace, effective classroom teaching. When properly integrated into lesson planning, TAs can play a significant role in enabling all pupils—not just those with the greatest need—to succeed.

A Shared Understanding of Learning Goals

The first step in effective TA use is clarity. TAs must understand what the pupils are expected to learn and how the teacher intends to get them there. This means that TAs need access to lesson plans, curriculum overviews, and—ideally—opportunities to co-plan or at least meet with the teacher ahead of time.

When TAs are "parachuted in" with no understanding of the lesson’s objectives or pedagogical rationale, they are far more likely to fall back on over-scaffolding or doing the work for the pupil—unintentionally creating dependency and reducing opportunities for success (Webster & Blatchford, 2013).

By contrast, when TAs are aligned with the learning goals, they can provide scaffolding that supports independence and confidence. They can also give valuable feedback to the teacher about pupil progress and misconceptions, contributing to a more responsive classroom.

Fostering Independence, Not Dependence

One of the most common (and often well-meaning) mistakes is for TAs to offer constant, uninterrupted support to specific pupils—especially those with SEND. While this might seem helpful on the surface, it can actually hinder pupils from developing the skills and resilience needed to succeed independently.

The EEF stresses the importance of TAs using “least help first” strategies, where the focus is on prompting and guiding rather than telling or completing tasks. This approach promotes metacognition—pupils thinking about their own thinking—which is a key factor in long-term academic success (EEF, 2018).

Examples of supportive, independence-building strategies include:

• Using open-ended questions to encourage problem-solving.

• Offering choices or cues rather than direct answers.

• Encouraging pupils to check their work and reflect on their strategies.

TAs, when trained and supported to use these strategies, can play a central role in enabling all learners to experience success on their own terms.

Structuring Effective Interventions

While in-class support is important, structured interventions delivered outside of the main lesson can also significantly enhance pupil progress—if designed and implemented effectively. The EEF’s guidance indicates that well-trained TAs can deliver short, structured interventions that lead to moderate to high impact, especially in literacy and numeracy (EEF, 2015).

Key features of successful interventions include:

• Being evidence-informed and aligned with classroom content.

• Running regularly and consistently over a defined period.

• Including opportunities to transfer learning back into class.

• Being monitored and assessed for effectiveness.

This is where a collaborative relationship between teacher and TA becomes essential. TAs need time, training, and feedback to deliver interventions with fidelity. Teachers must also ensure that pupils aren’t being withdrawn from lessons where new, important content is being taught, thereby avoiding inadvertent exclusion.

Professional Development and Role Clarity

For TAs to truly contribute to pupil success, their professional development must be taken seriously. Far too often, TAs are excluded from training days or staff CPD simply because they are not “teaching staff”. This sends an implicit message that their role is peripheral, when in fact, TAs can be a cornerstone of inclusive and high-impact teaching.

Schools that invest in training TAs in questioning techniques, metacognitive strategies, subject knowledge, and behaviour support often report higher levels of pupil engagement and attainment (Webster et al., 2011). Likewise, having clearly defined expectations for what TAs should—and should not—do during lessons helps ensure consistency and effectiveness.

Some schools are now adopting “TA toolkits” or shared protocols that help standardise best practice across departments. For example, some departments use a three-tier framework for TA support:

1. Wave 1 – In-class prompting: focusing on clarifying teacher instruction.

2. Wave 2 – Pre-teaching vocabulary or concepts: ensuring pupils are ready for new learning.

3. Wave 3 – Targeted intervention: addressing gaps in knowledge or skills.

The Teacher’s Responsibility

Crucially, effective use of TAs does not remove responsibility from the teacher. All pupils are the teacher’s responsibility, regardless of whether a TA is present. This means maintaining direct contact with all learners, checking for understanding, and using TA observations and feedback as part of formative assessment.

Teachers must also reflect on how they communicate instructions and expectations to TAs during lessons. Quick pre-lesson briefings, shared digital planning documents, or post-lesson reflections can make a significant difference to coherence and impact.

Conclusion: Co-Teaching, Not Shadowing

When teachers and teaching assistants work in partnership—with shared goals, mutual respect, and strategic planning—the result can be transformational. Pupils benefit from increased support, deeper learning, and the chance to experience genuine academic success.

However, this outcome doesn’t happen by accident. It requires intentionality, communication, and investment. Teachers must learn how to plan for TAs, not around them—and in doing so, embrace the potential of a truly collaborative classroom.

As schools strive to close attainment gaps and raise outcomes for all pupils, making effective use of teaching assistants is not a peripheral issue—it is central to the mission of inclusive, impactful education.

References

• Blatchford, P., Russell, A., & Webster, R. (2009). Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) Project. Institute of Education, University of London.

• Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). (2015). Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants.

• Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). (2018). Metacognition and Self-Regulated Learning.

• Webster, R., & Blatchford, P. (2013). Making a Statement: A Study of the Work and Roles of Teaching Assistants Supporting Pupils with Statements of Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Primary Schools.

• Webster, R., Blatchford, P., & Russell, A. (2011). Challenging and Changing How Schools Use Teaching Assistants: Findings from the Effective Deployment of Teaching Assistants (EDTA) Project.