Role
Teaching assistants are often used to take small groups of children out of a class that need extra support in an area, such as literacy or numeracy. This can also include work with children with special educational needs (SEN), which the teacher cannot always accommodate in a normal class.
They are also mostly responsible for listening to children read, and reporting back to the teacher if any issues arise. Helping teachers prepare for lessons by photocopying resources, or putting out equipment at the start of a lesson is another main role of the teaching assistant, and one which is becoming increasingly common, due to the National Workforce Agreement (see below).
Teaching assistants are not qualified teachers, and as such, are led and guided by teachers. The DfES (Department for Education and Skills) stated in the Consultation of 2002 that:
- Most teaching requires the expertise and skills of a qualified teacher; but some teaching activity can be undertaken by suitably trained staff without QTS, provided they are working within a clear system of leadership and supervision provided by a qualified teacher. Qualified teachers must have overall responsibility for effective teaching and learning. --DfES, 2002, p.5
The occupation is constantly changing and evolving with the rest of the education workforce in the country. Teaching assistants are being given more and more roles within schools, and it remains to be seen how this "remodelling of the workforce" will alter the occupation.
Read more about this topic: Teaching Assistant (United Kingdom)
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