They say that you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone. This is certainly true for teaching assistants.

After 27 years in the classroom, I have found a reduction in TAs in my secondary school a real cause for concern.

One of my teaching groups is made up of 26 pupils, 17 of whom are on the SEND register, are identified as vulnerable to underachievement or have low English literacy and comprehension skills.

Previously, classes with this dynamic would have contained a maximum of 14 pupils and would have been supported by one or two TAs. However, with government funding cuts and reduced finances due to a falling roll, pupil-to-staff ratios have increased. The number of classes in each year group has decreased and, as a result, pupil numbers in classes have risen.

And all the while, TA numbers have been going down.

With no TA support, I have been struggling to keep lower-ability pupils engaged because the level of support needed is so high. With this high volume of need, identifying who requires assistance the most is also an issue, as there are so many of them requiring support.

Inevitably, I am so preoccupied with high-need pupils that I neglect those who are more able when they need assistance or extension materials. Waiting quietly, they do not cause behavioural issues but are unoccupied. I cannot physically circulate the room effectively enough to provide them with the support they need.

I feel frustrated, slightly out of control and dissatisfied with pupils’ engagement, the amount of work they are completing and the resulting behavioural issues.

‘We have to protect TA support’

I have asked for support or a reduction of pupil numbers, but I am told there is no budget to facilitate support, and that moving pupils would overload other teaching groups.

I’m not sure what else to try. I already give students simple, broken-down instructions, and write them on the board so that pupils can progress at their own rate. I ask students questions so that their answers can inform other students when they reiterate those instructions. I use diagrams, show examples and give alternative explanations. But nothing is working. There are always 15 pupils completing the tasks, while 11 students (positioned strategically around the room, for the purposes of behaviour management) cannot even start their task.

As soon as I help one student, another child will need my help, and so on. Meanwhile, as a result of having to wait, some children will start messing about. One or two might be out of their places; some individuals will sit chatting and others will do nothing. I reprimand their silliness and instruct them to return to their seats. I stop the class again and reiterate the instructions.

But a little while later, one of the same students is out of his place again, and throwing things at other pupils. I have had to call on our behaviour support team more times this year than in any other.

With three other groups with a similar dynamic and just one hour of TA support, once a fortnight, with one of those classes, something has to change. But the only thing that can change is me. I, therefore, have to change my pedagogy, to ensure pupil comprehension and engagement and to reduce my own stress levels. The alternative is to leave teaching. 

If we want more of our experienced teachers to remain in the profession until retirement age, we have to protect TA support. It is a vital resource, one which many teachers - and pupils - would be lost without.

The writer is a head of year at a secondary school in the South of England

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