Definition
A teaching assistant is a member of school staff who supports teaching and learning under a qualified teacher's direction. TAs often deliver targeted interventions and may provide 1:1 support for a child with an EHCP, with deployment guided by the EEF's "Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants" guidance (2015, updated 2022).
In context for parents
Key checkpoints
- A TA supports teaching and learning under a qualified teacher's direction.
- Around 270,000 TAs in English schools, roughly one TA for every two qualified teachers (DfE workforce census 2024).
- EEF "Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants" guidance (2015, updated 2022) is the most-cited evidence base.
- TAs improve attainment outcomes when delivering structured, evidence-based interventions in short, regular sessions, not as general classroom support.
- Section F should specify the intervention, deliverer's training, frequency, supervision, and outcome measurement, not just "TA support".
The EEF guidance is the most-cited evidence base on TA deployment in England. Its headline finding: TAs do not, on average, improve attainment outcomes when used to support general classroom activity. The same TAs do improve outcomes when deployed to deliver structured, evidence-based interventions, in short, regular sessions (15–30 minutes), three to five times a week. The implication for SEND provision: the right question is not "how many TA hours?" but "TA delivering which intervention, supervised by whom, with what training?"
Around 270,000 teaching assistants work in English schools, roughly one TA for every two qualified teachers (DfE workforce census 2024). Most TAs work without a relevant SEND qualification; in-school CPD varies widely. The strongest schools train TAs to deliver named programmes (Read Write Inc 1:1, Numicon, Precision Teaching, ELSA, Sounds-Write) and supervise their delivery; the weakest deploy TAs as undefined general support and report "TA support" as the provision.
What parents need to ask in EHCP Section F drafting:
- Who delivers the intervention: the TA's name and qualification.
- What programme is being delivered.
- Frequency and session length.
- Supervision arrangements: who reviews fidelity.
- Outcome measurement. "TA support 25 hours per week" without these details is not enforceable provision.
EHCP Section F provision specifying "TA support" without specifying intervention or supervision often produces a child sitting next to an adult all day with no measurable progress, and tribunals increasingly require Section F to specify the intervention as well as the staffing.
Related terms
The terms parents most often see alongside Teaching Assistant.
1:1 Support
An adult assigned to support one named child for some or all of the school day. Often funded through Section F of an EHCP. Best practice is to fade adult proximity to build the child's independence.
Higher Level Teaching Assistant(HLTA)
An experienced teaching assistant who has gained HLTA status and can cover whole classes and lead specific interventions under a teacher's planning and direction.
Provision Map
A school's record of the SEND interventions and provision in place for individuals, groups, and year groups. Used to plan, monitor, and evidence the impact of support.
Where parents ask about this
Parents usually find this page before an EHCP draft response where TA hours are being negotiated, or after a year where TA support has not produced the gains expected. Searches include "EEF teaching assistant evidence", "EHCP TA hours wording", and "TA-supervised intervention". A Beaakon EP or SENCO can audit how TA support is being deployed for your child, translate the EEF guidance into Section F-grade wording, and advise on whether the TA model is going to deliver progress.
References
The primary legislation, statutory guidance, research, and clinical tools this page draws on.