Introduction

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes a school-based audit for self-evaluation: approaches, techniques and factors to consider when making an in-house assessment of teaching assistants (TA), Effective Deployment of Teaching Assistants (EDTA) and preparation, and provision for pupils with learning needs. This sets out guidance to help primary and secondary schools with the management and deployment of TAs, following huge rise in support staff over recent years. Although there have been a number of practical guides on the use of TAs, this is different because it is based on results from Maximizing the Impact of Teaching Assistants (MITA) programme of research and development, studied in detail the impact of TAs on pupils and teachers. The chapter also primarily directed at head teachers and principals, in both primary and secondary schools, who make strategic decisions about best ways to deploy TAs.