HLTAs and The National Workforce Agreement
On 15 January 2003, unions and the DfES signed the National Workforce Agreement, which began a reform of raising school standards and tackling workloads.
This agreement created a "new breed" of teaching assistants: HLTAs (or Higher Level Teaching Assistants). Their role is to support the teacher further by taking some lessons, and being more closely involved in children's learning.
Giving teachers time for planning, preparation and assessment (PPA) was also raised in this agreement. By September 2005, all teachers must be given 10% teaching time away from the classroom to plan, prepare, and assess. Classes will be covered by normal teaching assistants, not just HLTAs, as originally planned. This has led to some concerns being raised.
Read more about this topic: Teaching Assistant (United Kingdom)
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