Contemporary Special Educational Needs/Disabilities (SEND) research has shown that the deployment of in-class teaching assistants has a negative impact on children’s progress and attainment. Children with SEND receiving direct pedagogic instruction from teaching assistants make negative progress, compared to similar pupils who receive less or no support in the classroom (Davies & Henderson, 2020; Sharples et al, 2015).
The study examined the experiences of teaching assistants, teachers and children in a secondary academy as the deployment of teaching assistants changed from predominantly in-class support to delivering targeted SEND interventions alongside the mainstream curriculum.
A qualitative case study recorded the participants’ views (teaching assistants n=7, teachers n=6, children n=4) of the introduction of this alternate method to support children with SEND. A collaborative approach was taken to critique the existing model of provision, with the use of reflective accounts to consider the effectiveness of interventions completed in small groups, pairs and with individuals.
Three major outcomes were identified through this research.
First, this research demonstrated that the children completing interventions outside of the classroom demonstrated greater confidence, preparedness to participate, attentiveness and contributed more in their mainstream lesson.
Second, the school’s knowledge of each individual child’s needs through their participation in the intervention grew in comparison to the previous model, where teaching assistants were deployed in-class. Working with small groups and individuals led to far greater understanding of individual learning styles, and resulted in more comprehensive information being provided to teachers to support the children in their lessons.
Finally, teaching assistants reported that working more autonomously to deliver interventions to a caseload of children, allowed for growth in their professional skillset, created greater ownership in the outcomes for children, and increased their motivation and their feeling of being valued within the school.
The case study suggests that reconceptualising SEND provision and the role that teaching assistants can perform has created more confident learners, invigorated support staff, developed professional skillsets, and contributed towards more effective teaching of children with SEND.
