Research School Network: Developing Effective Leadership of Teaching Assistants (DELTA) Exclusive to Bristol Head Teachers, CoGs and CEOs

Headteachers are asked to attend the launch of the Bristol DELTA programme on June 11^th2021 and are welcome to bring the school’s Chair of Governors to create shared understanding of the journey your school will be going on. If you know which member of SLT (with responsibility for teaching and learning and/​or TA deployment) will be attending the full programme, please invite them to the June 11^th launch. 

Through a collaborative approach to evidence use across the City, participating schools will mobilise findings, insights and recommendations from ten years of EEF guidance on how to generate the most impact from the City’s 2150+ Teaching Assistants. Combining both high-impact practices for training & deploying Teaching Assistants and processes for effective implementation, school leaders will explore, prepare and deliver a context-specific TA strategy for their setting.


Now more than ever, schools are looking to identify a small number of high-leverage priorities to implement as ​‘best bets’ for improving pupil outcomes. To support this effort, Bristol City Council have partnered with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and West Somerset Research School to work alongside Bristol schools in Developing the Effective Leadership of Teaching Assistants in order to utilise this phenomenal resource across the City. In doing so, schools will establish a process for co-developing a long-term sustainable eco-system of evidence-informed school improvement for Bristol to take forward into the future.

• A nine module programme of carefully spaced professional learning, starting in June 2021 running to July 2022.
• Deep exploration of the evidence on TA deployment and Effective Implementation in Schools, focusing on clear actionable recommendations with input from international experts in the field.
• Tackling head-on common implementation ​‘Pinch Points’ for embedding new TA deployment practices in your school.
• Self-directed learning throughout the programme that is designed to close the ​‘knowing-doing gap’ in your own context.
• National and local exemplification from school leaders who have applied the evidence in real-world settings, sharing their implementation journey and insights into the process of change.
• Facilitated Peer Learning Group (PLG) sessions following each training input to reflect on, discuss and consolidate new knowledge and intersession implementation tasks.
• Ongoing Implementation support, including enhanced support for schools serving the most deprived communities in Bristol (more information to follow).