The standards follow 4 themes
The professional standards for teaching assistants (TAs) are non-statutory. They were published in 2016 by unions and other organisations representing support staff.
They set out what TAs might be expected to do under 4 themes:
- Personal and professional conduct
- Knowledge and understanding
- Teaching and learning
- Working with others
See the standards for details of expectations for TAs, in relation to each of the 4 themes (pages 6 to 8).
They help teachers and leaders manage TAs' work
The standards can help you and your governors when recruiting support staff and defining TAs’ job roles.
You can use them to support performance management of TAs if you want to, but you’re free to choose the standards against which you assess your TAs.
They complement the higher-level teaching assistant (HLTA) standards rather than replace them. The HLTA standards are listed by the HLTA National Assessment Partnership.
Read about this in the professional standards (page 9).
The standards shouldn’t be
