Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of the potential impact of teaching assistants on the provision of SEND support within schools.

Teaching assistants (TAs) play a vital role in children’s education, including for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

A departmental survey in 2023, ‘The use of teaching assistants in schools’, found that TAs across all school settings most commonly support pupils with SEND, including those with education, health and care (EHC) plans. Half (50%) spent most of their time delivering interventions for pupils with additional needs.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) has highlighted that research suggests evidence based, structured interventions, delivered by TAs, can have a positive impact on pupil outcomes. The EEF’s guidance report, ‘Deployment of Teaching Assistants’, makes a number of recommendations to help schools make decisions about how to deploy their TAs to ensure they are used effectively.

This government also recognises that the availability of training and career progression opportunities for TAs helps ensure schools have the skilled staff they need to deliver high-quality education.