Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants have left the profession in the last year; and what estimate her Department has made of the cost to schools of this turnover.

Teaching assistants play a vital role in children’s education in schools across the country.

The school workforce census shows that the full-time equivalent (FTE) of teaching assistants has increased each year since 2019/20, rising to 288,800 in 2024/25. This is an increase of 5,900 since 2023/24.

A December 2024 departmental survey entitled ‘School and college voice’ found that a large majority of leaders (82%) reported recruiting teaching assistants or learning support staff since January 2024. However, these roles were commonly reported as the hardest to fill.