Nursery World - Heads welcome assistants' role

Primary school headteachers in England are backing the drive to enhance the role of teaching assistants, according to a Government survey. But a leading academic warned that heads are 'trading on their goodwill' by obliging assistants to take on greater responsibilities without adequate pay or training. According to the annual survey of headteachers assessing the Government's literacy and numeracy strategies, 98 per cent use teaching assistants in the literacy hour, with 89 per cent saying they make a positive contribution to the quality of teaching.

According to the annual survey of headteachers assessing the Government's literacy and numeracy strategies, 98 per cent use teaching assistants in the literacy hour, with 89 per cent saying they make a positive contribution to the quality of teaching.

The survey by MORI for the Department for Education and Skills showed that 96 per cent of headteachers backed the use of assistants in the daily maths lesson, with 83 per cent saying they contributed to improving the teaching of the subject.

Announcing the survey results last week, education secretary Estelle Morris said 'it demonstrates the value headteachers place on high-quality support staff to help teachers deliver better standards of literacy and numeracy in our schools'.

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