TAs/HLTAs

Teaching assistants (TAs) and higher level teaching assistants (HLTAs) are now seen to be crucial to most schools. However, perceptions of these roles were very different 20 years ago and since then they have changed considerably. When Help in the Classroom (Balshaw, 1991) was written, it was one of only a very few books on the subject at that time. Since then, the role has been given greater recognition – TAs are rightly no longer treated as a ‘Mum’s army’, as they were once labelled. The second edition of Help in the Classroom, published in 1999, attempted to echo the new Government’s wish to treat TAs in a more professional way by providing development strategies that involved TAs and teachers working together to develop their practice. The profile of the profession was further recognised in 2005 when the higher level teaching assistant (HLTA) role was established as a senior status of TA.

Broadly, ‘TAs and HLTAs’ (hereafter referred to as TAs/HLTAs) are staff in school who have a teaching and learning focus and work in a classroom. However, their role is varied and sometimes not clear. Problems with the role of TAs in school are set out in the following document:

	DCSF: Raising Standards and Tackling Workload

The role of HLTAs is set out in the standards that they are expected to meet, which can be found at:

	TDA: HLTA professional standards

TAs’/HLTAs’ roles continue to evolve, leading to a need for up-to-date guidance for them. The Good Practice Guide is designed to help TAs/HLTAs to develop their expertise further and ultimately provide better learning experiences for the pupils whom they support.