In a conference suite filled with primary teaching assistants, the NCETM Specialist Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics (SKTM) Programme is taking place. Participants are busily discussing additive reasoning and how using both knowledge of number facts and relationships between the numbers supports efficient calculation. They move on to discuss different subtraction structures and how they can be represented. Assessment is next, and the group explore how understanding the maths children will need to know to solve a problem can help them to identify which children will need support.

These teaching assistants have come from primary schools across their region to participate in a year-long programme of professional development, the Specialist Knowledge for Teaching Mathematics (SKTM) Programme for Teaching Assistants. It is led and delivered by Great North Maths Hub, and the same programme is taking place for TAs in Maths Hubs across England.

What the research tells us

Teaching assistants are a vital resource and now make up nearly a quarter of the workforce in primary schools. But whilst research shows that TAs can have a positive impact on pupil motivation and self-esteem, in the largest and most detailed study (DISS Project, 2012), analysis actually showed a negative impact, with pupils receiving the most support from teaching assistants making the least progress. Many teaching assistants have received little or no subject specific or pedagogical training and report feeling unprepared for their roles in class. The SKTM programme for TAs is designed to address this gap in CPD.

Professional development for support staff

The teaching assistants engaged in the SKTM programme are supported by their headteachers, who recognise that investing in professional development for their support staff is a high-impact way to improve outcomes for pupils. In the coffee break, the TAs share their experiences of how the SKTM has increased their confidence. One teaching assistant from Annfield Plain Primary explains how a better understanding of mathematical structures enabled her to identify and correct a child’s place value misconception. Her colleague shares how she was able to support a child who was struggling to subitise: “I had no idea what any of those words meant before I started this”. 

“This programme has opened my eyes,” Paula Tate, a Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) at Grange Park Primary in Sunderland, tells me. “Maths has always been a challenge for me, but I understand it so much better. I have the confidence now to slow down and do things differently, and I know what resources I can use”.

CPD led by passionate expert practitioners

Victoria Barnes is leading the session for Great North Maths Hub. She has worked with several NCETM Work Groups and with specialists on the Professional Development Lead Programme.

“Headteachers increasingly recognise the importance of utilising our teaching assistants effectively. However, I still go into classrooms to observe maths lessons and, too often, TAs are working or sitting with ‘low attaining’ groups and children with SEND. What is the impact on learning of the TA in that lesson? Having improved subject knowledge enables TAs to make their own assessments of the children they’re working with; to observe as the teacher is teaching – which children may require additional support or further examples, different representations, clarification of language and so on?

"Effectively-designed professional development makes TAs feel valued and supports them to have more meaningful and impactful roles in school. They know what representations will expose mathematical structure best to support and deepen children’s understanding. They can use their initiative more and require less direction from teacher.”

Towards the end of the day’s session, the group are discussing mathematical language and are developing an understanding of how easy it is to embed misconceptions. These are the kinds of conversations which can be awkward for teachers to have with support staff in a rushed exchange. Here, there is time and space to learn about the different terms, their etymological roots, and the opportunity to use the language in context. 

These teaching assistants will return to their schools with greater confidence, enhanced subject knowledge, and a pedagogical understanding that will enable them to be proactive in the classroom, ensuring that they are able to make a real impact on pupil progress. They will also feel valued as the vital resource they are.