Research School Network: Classroom Choreography Complementary Teacher and Teaching Assistant roles to enable all pupils to access high-quality teaching

Thinking back to the beginning of my teaching career, so much of my attention was placed on what I was doing as the teacher. Where would I stand? What resources would I need and when would I hand them out? As my expertise grew, I became less focused on myself and actions I would take, and I began to focus on the pupils, their barriers and how I could elicit evidence of learning to inform next steps teaching. If I am honest, navigating the relationship between different adults working in the same classroom was an aspect of the role that I felt unprepared for as a Newly Qualified Teacher. It was hard enough thinking about my own role in the classroom, let alone taking on responsibility for deploying others and in some cases those that had many more years of classroom experience than I did. Over time, I was able to develop my classroom choreography to develop a repertoire of approaches that aimed to ensure all pupils accessed high quality teaching; that isn’t to suggest that I, and subsequently we, got it right all the time.

The introduction of the first TA Guidance Report was an important development in providing teachers with access to robust evidence to support more effective TA deployment. It continues to be one of the top six most regularly downloaded guidance reports even ten years after initial publication. The latest edition of the guidance report published in March 2025 feels particularly pertinent at a time when there are increasing number of pupils with SEND. In addition, TAs and leaders believe the roles and responsibilities of TAs have increased significantly in recent years with a greater variety of tasks to support teaching and learning (DfE, 2024). Within the context of TA recruitment and retention, and financial pressures we want to ensure we are united around what effective deployment looks like.

So what does the evidence tell us about effective deployment of Teaching Assistants to enable all pupils to access high quality teaching?

A key principle is that TAs should supplement — not replace — the teacher. Those pupils who struggle most should spend at least as much time with the teacher as other pupils, if not more. We should move away from assigning TAs to specific pupils for long periods of time as this can unintentionally hinder high quality teaching. Instead, teachers must be supported by leaders to retain responsibility for the learning of all pupils in their classroom, particularly low-prior-attaining pupils and pupils with SEND.

When deployed effectively, the roles of the teacher and TA are coordinated, like partners on the dance floor they complement rather than compete with each other. This requires a strategic approach to classroom organisation that prioritises teamwork and ongoing communication between the teacher and TA. Just like all elements of effective practice, this is’t something that we can leave to chance particularly when supporting our most disadvantaged pupils to make good progress. Leaders need to work with teachers and TAs to establish a shared understanding around the clear and complementary roles that will give all pupils access to high quality teaching, including monitoring and supporting their progress.

The evidence doesn’t provide us with magic bullets but when harnessed to support professional development of teachers and TAs it can provide us with the knowledge and skills to ensure that we all feel confident in our classroom choreography.