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Teaching assistants: role and responsibilities

Understand the regulations around teaching assistant (TA) roles and responsibilities, including 'specified work'. Learn about deploying TAs effectively and download our model job description and person specification for a TA, to adapt to your school's needs.

Last reviewed on 30 January 2024
School types: All•School phases: All•Ref: 5638
Contents
  1. What work can TAs do?
  2. What responsibilities can TAs take on?
  3. Can TAs cover lessons?
  4. How to deploy TAs effectively
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What work can TAs do?

Maintained schools

Teaching assistants (TAs) are "persons who may carry out specified work under supervision" in schools under the Education (Specified Work) (England) Regulations 2012. This means they can:

  • Plan and prepare lessons and courses for pupils
  • Deliver lessons to pupils
  • Assess and report on pupils’ development, progress and attainment

But they can only do this ‘specified work’ as long as they meet the following conditions, set out in the schedule to the regulations (paragraph 6):

  • They carry out the work in order to assist or support a qualified teacher or nominated teacher
  • They are subject to the direction and supervision of a qualified or nominated teacher as part of arrangements made by the headteacher
  • The headteacher is satisfied that they have the required skills, experience and expertise to carry out the specified work 

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