A new project that is determined to harness the power of teaching assistants has been launched in England.
Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants (MITA) aims to improve how primary schools use their teaching assistants (TAs) to ensure they make a valuable contribution to learning.
The scheme will enable schools in and around the West Midlands, London and Hampshire to work with national leaders of education and to access research about effective staff deployment and continuing professional development for TAs.
The project, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation, is a collaboration between the Institute of Education, the University of East London and the London Leadership Strategy.
Rob Webster, the project’s director, said: “Schools don’t tend to make the best use of TAs in the classroom.
“There are existential threats to TA jobs; schools are facing some difficult decisions about staffing. Our project is emphatically not about staff rationalisation or how to get rid of people, it’s helping school leaders to make better and more informed decisions about their support staff.”
Schools must have submitted an expression of interest form by May 28. To get involved click here.
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