New partnerships for learning: Teachers and teaching assistants working together in schools the way forward

Abstract

This paper describes a three-year research partnership between Roehampton University in London and VT Four S Ltd, providers of school support services in Surrey, a county in the south east of England. The project, named ‘New Partnerships for Learning’ (NPfL), was centered on the delivery of a professional development programme to equip teachers with the skills needed to work in partnership with teaching assistants. The research aimed to explore the opinions of teachers as to the personal skills, attributes and training required to enhance a changing professional relationship. It posed the question: ‘What are the issues to address in enabling teachers to work in effective partnership with teaching assistants?’ The findings include the different experiences of teachers working with teaching assistants across the primary and secondary phases. It reports on variable training opportunities; variations in needs, aspirations, roles and responsibilities of teaching assistants; unevenness of resourcing and remuneration; and tensions between leadership and partnership practice.