Redefining the role: empowering Teaching Assistants for impact

At Trinity Primary Academy, we’ve always believed that great schools are built on great people. Over the years, we’ve poured energy into developing our teachers, codifying what excellence looks like in the classroom, and embedding strategies that maximise impact. Yet, amidst this focus, more recently we came to a realisation that some of the greatest potential for transformation lay in another important resource - our teaching assistants (TAs).

Our TAs are an integral part of our school, bringing commitment, care, and deep connections with our pupils. But for all their contributions, we recognised an opportunity to empower them further. This wasn’t just about tweaking roles or providing more training; it was about reimagining what it means to be a TA in a school that is committed to excellence. 

Could we redefine their contribution in ways that unlocked untapped potential—not just for our students but for the TAs themselves? We believed the answer was yes.

Historically, TAs have been a cornerstone of our recruitment pipeline. Many of our teachers began their careers in these roles, and we’ve cultivated clear pathways for those aspiring to make the leap into teaching. While this has been a strength, it has also been a divide. TAs who wanted to become teachers had structured routes for progression, but those who wished to stay in their roles lacked equivalent opportunities for growth. Their development felt static, their potential unfulfilled. 

We began with a question: how do we elevate the role of TAs, not as adjuncts to teachers but as contributors to learning outcomes? To answer this, we first attempted to understand the current state of our school. Through staff surveys and observations, we explored the culture, practices, and mindsets shaping TA contributions. 

What we found was striking. Some TAs brought years of experience and instinctively scaffolded independence for pupils, while others, newer to the role, lacked confidence and clarity. Crucially, we uncovered a pattern: in their eagerness to help, many TAs were inadvertently creating dependency. They were stepping in too quickly, solving problems rather than guiding pupils to solve them independently. This wasn’t a failure of effort but of approach—a well-intentioned instinct that, inadvertently, limited pupils’ growth.

To tackle this, we turned to research. The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and the Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants (MITA) project offered evidence-based frameworks that could reshape our thinking. Armed with these insights, we set out to define excellence in TA practice. What does it look like when TAs are at their best? How can we codify this vision and embed it in day-to-day practice?

Our first step was cultural. We hosted honest conversations between teachers and TAs, surfacing misconceptions about roles and responsibilities. We introduced strategies to realign their focus on promoting pupil independence. A scaffolding pyramid, shared by our educational psychologist, became a practical tool for guiding support without taking over. Task management boards empowered pupils to take ownership of their learning, reducing their reliance on adult intervention.

Professional development soon followed. We reframed CPD for TAs, not as an occasional add-on but as a structured pathway for growth. Drawing on MITA’s four high-impact strategies, we conducted observations to establish individual baselines—not to evaluate but to inform and inspire. Our CPD sessions celebrated existing best practices while introducing tools for reflection and growth. TAs were given clear targets linked to their professional growth conversations, ensuring alignment with our school and trust vision.

The results were transformative. By the end of the autumn term, the shift in culture was palpable. TAs were no longer passive participants in their development; they were driving it. Professional growth conversations evolved from being leader-led to TA-led, with staff identifying their strengths, outlining next steps, and articulating their professional needs. 

The impact extended beyond the classroom. TAs have begun volunteering to lead extracurricular clubs at the school, a tangible sign of their growing confidence and investment in the school’s mission. The collaborative culture we’d created among teachers is starting to take root among TAs, too. They are now seeking opportunities to observe and learn from one another, building a network of shared practice and mutual support within the school.

Our work is far from done. Excellence is not a destination but a habit—a continuous journey of reflection, learning, and adaptation. As we look ahead, our vision is to establish mentorship structures for TAs akin to those for teachers, ensuring every member of our team has a pathway for growth. And by codifying our practices into a development framework, we’ve created a shared language for excellence that will guide us in the coming years.

This journey has been a revelation. It has reminded us that when we invest thoughtfully in our people, the ripple effects will soon follow. We’ve seen it in the independence of our pupils, the confidence of our TAs, and the strength of our staffing community. Most of all, we’ve seen it in the culture of shared purpose that now defines our school—a culture that proves, time and again, that when we raise expectations, we elevate everyone.