What role did teaching assistants play in supporting pupils in low attaining groups?
The use of teaching assistants (TAs) was identified by all of the schools involved in the research as central to supporting the learning of pupils who are attaining well below the average. It was the most frequently used additional resource to support these groups of students. The positive impacts were maximised when TA support was coordinated and well planned. The most effective ways the researchers found TAs being used were: • targeted work by TAs • making TA support for individuals less obvious • spreading TA time across a whole class, and • sharing the teachers’ load – inside and outside the classroom. We give some specific examples of each of these strategies below. Targeted work In one school a teacher took the lowest attaining pupils out of the bottom set class once a week for some specialist tuition. The concepts covered during this time were then followed up by three TAs in the classroom during the rest of the week. TAs themselves often also worked with individual pupils or sm
