UCL research reveals high level of SEN teaching carried out by teaching assistants

Research from the UCL Institute of Education shows that as they approach their GCSEs, a “significant proportion” of teaching for pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) is done by teaching assistants.

The Special Educational Needs in Secondary Education (SENSE) study looked at the educational experiences of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in primary schools. The study tracked 60 pupils with Statements and Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs)

The findings call into question the overall effectiveness of provision and quality of the educational experiences available to pupils with Statements/EHCPs in mainstream settings.

The report states: “Teaching assistants (TAs) were central to strategies for educating pupils with Statements/EHCPs, with school staff and parents indicating that pupils would be unable to ‘cope’ in a mainstream setting without it. We were unable to find evidence of an effective and theoretically-grounded pedagogy for pupils with SEND in the instructional approaches used by either teachers or TAs. Furthermore, we found that staff were often not adequately trained in teaching pupils with SEND.

“We found gaps in teachers’ and TAs’ knowledge concerning meeting the needs of pupils with Statements, and the acquisition of skills and knowledge relating to SEND. Some new teachers can be ‘overwhelmed’ or ‘don’t know how to start’ with SEND, raising concerns over whether initial teacher education coverage and in-service professional learning is sufficient.”