We should be using teaching assistants more effectively to help reduce teacher workload.
There is a critical need for experienced teachers to help steer our education systems out of its current decline. Studies show that experienced teachers produce better academic results. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time to train a new cohort effectively. A bulge in secondary school pupils is upcoming in the next few years, leaving us with less teachers dealing with more pupils. There was a pandemic induced uptick in recruitment, hitting its target for the first time in since 2011-12 during the pandemic (6% above the target for secondary schools). This was due to the stability of the profession during the pandemic appealing to candidates. However, teachers are poised to leave the profession with 44% stating they plan to leave within 5 years. While we have the teachers working, we should try to keep them. In turn these policies will also make the profession more appealing for those thinking about joining, ensuring stronger recruitment in the future.
Can we discern what is making teachers leave? Quite easily in fact, as they are telling us. Teachers are planning to strike due to dissatisfaction with pay and conditions. Does the data support their argument? Well, with regards to pay, they have a mean average salary of £38,982 as of 2021. This would seem like a reasonable salary, but there is variation between locations and experience and certainly does not, as erroneously stated by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, put them in the top 10% of earners in the country by any metric. They are also below the mean average salary of the country at large, but not by much.
Polling suggests it is in fact the conditions that are causing teachers to leave. Workload is overwhelmingly the issue that is motivating most teachers to leave. The fact that a pay increase is not the answer will be music to the ears of any government, as increasing public sector pay is rarely a favourable option. However, would it cost even more to improve their working conditions?
A solution which utilises existing resources more efficiently is needed. One that would disrupt the status quo, without further inflating the education budget. Teaching Assistants (TAs) are deployed through the state education sector, with the latest data from 2021 showing 275,812 are currently employed. Their job is to help the qualified teachers in the classroom – this often manifests in them providing tailored support for children who are struggling. This tends to be children with learning difficulties or behavioural issues.
However, studies suggest that their impact on their charges is limited. Reports suggest that their current common usage as aids providing individualised support to struggling children is ineffective. In some ways, this is unsurprising. The children who need the greatest attention from the teacher are left wanting as they have the full attention of the TA. While their current usage in secondary schools does not lead to improved academic outcomes for pupils, studies show that they could have a positive impact if used to the supplement teachers rather than replace them.
A solution could be found for all the above issues by changing the job description of those 275,812 teaching assistants, and any joining their ranks in the future. TAs could become a more administrative role with their primary function as support for the teacher, not the pupils. They could spend their time developing resources for lessons, assisting with reports, perhaps even helping with marking. This latter would be particularly applicable in subjects outside the humanities, where a simple mark scheme will make the right answers apparent.
But how would this help teacher retention? As mentioned previously, workload is cited as the main factor for a number of teachers leaving the profession. This is significantly reduces the workload, particularly in the less engaging part of the job outside of the classroom. The Education Endowment Foundation found teachers had more time when they delegated routine administrative tasks to TAs. Their primary focus is on the lessons themselves, on spending contact time with the pupils.
While this redefine of the parameters of the teacher’s job is radical, it makes sense when it is put in the context of other professions. In most other white collar professions, senior staff are rarely the first to draft a piece of work; it is often submitted to them for their approval, where they make the necessary changes. When a business leader is giving a presentation, their personal assistant has usually put the slides together for them. In a consultancy, the account lead rarely know finer details of the project. They are briefed by the juniors, and bring forward that knowledge in a polished form. This could be the case for teachers. In few other roles would we accept that the parameters of the position remain the same despite some people being in the role for decades.This change could go a long way to elevate the status of teachers and allow them to focus on what they are best at: teaching.
But what about the TAs themselves? Will their prior role be left wanting? As discussed, their current impact is minimal, but it is possible that through this system the aim of personalised attention for children who are struggling can be achieved. Staff will now have the time to tailor resources to those who have special educational needs; those with behavioural issues can have those issues addressed by a more senior figure, who is better qualified to handle them.
They will inevitably be a portion of existing TAs who do not like this change. Understandably, they may have signed up for the role because they wanted the individual interaction with struggling children. While unfortunate, this role in its revised from may not be for them, and therefore they will leave the profession. However, there will be several others who will take their place – with the role suddenly more familiar to other office environments, many more people have the existing skillset to undertake the job if they are inclined.
Better yet, this policy could be expanded as a way of training new pupils. Teach First and other similar programmes have found success as they give prospective teachers a chance get in the classroom early on and experience the part of teaching that will bring them the most joy. With a move towards technical education and apprenticeships on the agenda from all sides of the political aisle, allowing prospective teachers to train on the job as teaching assistants would be a win for everyone. The TAs get experience in a school and paid while they are learning their craft. School administrations can decide to keep TAs once they are fully qualified as teachers, allowing them to recruit fresh staff that they trust and who understand their school. There is a chance they will be better teachers, as they will benefit from the mentorship of the teachers they work with who will share their craft.
This policy is not too far away from the current political mood. Recently, the Department of Education announced that an apprenticeship scheme will be offered to as a route for trainee teachers to gain a degree. If the apprenticeship draws from the existing role above, then this policy could become a reality in years to come.
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