3.3 The evolving role of the teacher

The impact of the expanding contribution of teaching assistants and other support staff on the teacher’s role has generally been recognised as being positive. It is worth acknowledging, however, that many teachers have had to make adjustments to their practice in order to work with teaching assistants as team colleagues. While many are able to make this adjustment, we do sometimes hear of teachers who find it hard to work well with another adult in a classroom context.

Figure 5 Adults working as a team to support pupils’ learning.

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This is a photograph of a teacher sitting on a chair in the corner of a classroom talking to a group of ten young children sitting on the floor in a circular arrangement in front of her. Another adult is sitting directly behind two of the children. A number of displays are on the wall behind the teacher, including numbers, words and a large collage of Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall.

Figure 5 Adults working as a team to support pupils’ learning.

Most teachers, if not all, would agree that teaching assistants and other support staff bring considerable benefits to the classroom and to school life more widely. However, while there is talk of these additional adults reducing teachers’ workloads, the reality is not so straightforward. If teachers are to benefit from the experience and expertise that these colleagues can bring to the partnership, they need to find time to discuss and share ideas on teaching and the curriculum. This is not unlike the role that teachers take on in their supervision of students on teaching practice, where co-planning, co-teaching and feedback form much of the early stages of their training.