Nursery World - Assistants valued by class teachers

Scotland's deputy minister for education, Nicol Stephen, hailed the success of the classroom assistant initiative following the publication of a Scottish Executive evaluation of the scheme just before Christmas. Mr Stephen said, 'The research shows that this initiative lets teachers do more of what they do best - teach. It is encouraging that the study found that there was a belief among a majority of headteachers and teachers that classroom assistants have had an indirect impact on pupils' attainment.

Mr Stephen said, 'The research shows that this initiative lets teachers do more of what they do best - teach. It is encouraging that the study found that there was a belief among a majority of headteachers and teachers that classroom assistants have had an indirect impact on pupils' attainment.

They allow teachers to spend more time on teaching and planning, which will ultimately improve the quality of lessons our children receive.'

The Executive had provided funding for up to 5,000 classroom assistants to be recruited in primary schools by 2002 to provide support for learning and undertake administrative support under the direction of classroom teachers.

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