Setting the Stage

Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants with the EEF’s 2025 Guidance

Teaching assistants (TAs) are one of the most significant investments schools make in their staffing budgets. In England alone, there are over 250,000 TAs working across classrooms—playing a vital role in supporting pupils’ learning, wellbeing, and inclusion. The challenge? Ensuring that investment translates into real impact for pupils, especially those who need the most support.

But as the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) highlights in its 2025 updated Guidance Report on the Deployment of Teaching Assistants, how TAs are deployed is just as important as who they are. With the right structures, training, and clarity of purpose, TAs can make a significant and positive impact on pupil outcomes. This latest version builds on a decade of research and practical insight from schools.

Teaching assistants (TAs) are a vital part of the cast in every school. Whether supporting learning, behaviour, or wellbeing, they are often working behind the scenes to ensure pupils can succeed.  But like any well-run production, impact doesn’t come from improvisation—it comes from clarity, direction, and collaboration.

The Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) 2025 Guidance Report on the Deployment of Teaching Assistants helps schools script a more intentional approach, grounded in evidence and designed to give TAs the role they need to shine.

Metaphor: The School as a Stage – TAs as Key Cast Members

Imagine your school as a theatre production. The teacher is the lead actor, delivering the core performance. TAs are the supporting cast and crew—working closely alongside the lead to make the whole show run smoothly.

However, in many schools, TAs are asked to improvise without a script, or they work offstage, disconnected from the main performance. The EEF guidance calls for something better: a well-rehearsed, unified team, where every role is purposeful and everyone understands the story being told.

The Five Key Recommendations

The EEF’s 2025 guidance draws on over a decade of research into what makes TA deployment most effective. Here are the five recommendations at the heart of the report:

1. Deploy Teaching Assistants to Ensure All Pupils Can Access High-Quality Teaching

• TAs should enhance, not replace, the teacher’s role.
• Pupils needing extra support should still spend ample time with the teacher.
• Teachers must retain overall responsibility for every pupil’s progress.

All pupils deserve front-row access to great teaching. TAs help them stay engaged—not sidelined.

2. Use TAs to Scaffold Learning and Build Independence

• Support should scaffold, not spoon-feed.
• Pupils should attempt tasks first, with TAs stepping in when needed.
• Scaffolds should be gradually removed as confidence builds.

 TAs coach from the wings—not deliver the lines. Their goal is to help pupils perform confidently independently.

3. Deploy TAs to Deliver Structured, Evidence-Based Interventions

• Choose interventions that are proven and purposeful.
• Monitor whether progress justifies time away from class.
• Make sure intervention learning links back to classroom content.

An intervention shouldn’t be a separate act—it should be part of the main storyline.

4. Prepare and Train Staff for Effective TA Deployment

• All staff need professional development on working together effectively.
• Teachers and TAs must share a clear understanding of roles and how to collaborate.
• Build in time for joint planning and reflection.

Rehearsals matter—without shared preparation, even great actors can trip onstage.

5. Engage the Whole School in Implementing Effective TA Deployment

• TA deployment should be a strategic priority, not an afterthought.
• Consider your school’s context, needs, and resources before changing practices.
• Implementation takes time—involve all staff and phase change carefully.

Successful productions are team efforts. When everyone understands the playbook, the performance improves.

Why It Matters

When used well, TAs can have a positive impact on learning—particularly for disadvantaged pupils or pupils with lower prior attainment or additional needs. But impact depends on intentional deployment, not just goodwill or availability.

The EEF’s Teaching and Learning Toolkit shows that structured, well-implemented TA support—particularly in small-group interventions and classroom scaffolding—can improve pupil outcomes by up to four additional months of progress.

But this only happens when:

• TAs are part of the learning strategy,
• Staff collaborate meaningfully,
• And every adult understands their role in the performance.

Final Curtain: Every Role Matters

TAs are not just extras—they are vital cast members. When schools invest in clarity, coordination, and evidence-informed decisions, TAs move from being supporting roles to scene-stealers—making learning more accessible, more inclusive, and more effective.

So ask yourself:

• Is your TA deployment scripted or improvised?
• Are all staff rehearsing the same strategy?
• Do your pupils see a unified cast supporting their learning?

When the whole team works from the same script, the performance doesn’t just run smoothly—it soars.

References

• Education Endowment Foundation (2025). Deployment of Teaching Assistants: Guidance Report
• Education Endowment Foundation (2024). Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation
• Education Endowment Foundation: Teaching and Learning Toolkit – Teaching Assistant Interventions

The author

Nicola Arkinstall

Nikki is an experienced school leader and the Director of Staffordshire Research School. When Nikki is not working she loves to spend time with her husband, children, friends and family. She is also a governor at her daughter’s primary school. She loves travelling, reading, listening to podcasts, watching Netflix series and swimming.

https://www.edugifts.co.uk/blog