Celebrating teaching assistants and everything they do
All I Do
Teaching Assistants deliver a wealth of value for children, young people and schools. Despite this, they often don’t receive the recognition their role deserves. We want to raise awareness of the impact Teaching Assistants are having every single day.
Teaching Assistants make up over a quarter of the workforce in schools, including up to 35% of the primary workforce. As a specialist role, they support some of the most vulnerable children and young people.
Despite this, 88% of primary teachers and 81% of secondary teachers* say they don’t have all the help they need to support students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
Because of increasing pressure on budgets, 66% of school leaders also say they will need to consider making Teaching Assistants redundant or reducing their hours.**
That’s why we’re on a mission to champion everything Teaching Assistants do and the difference they make to so many.
We’re also focused on supporting Teaching Assistants directly and helping them to develop their skills by improving access to specialised development and training opportunities.
Whether you’re a Teaching Assistant now, interested in becoming one, or just want to learn more, you’ll find a range of content below to support you on that journey. You can also share your own thoughts and experiences by using #AlliDo
*Source: TeacherTapp
**Source: National Association of Head Teachers Poll
The role of Teaching Assistants
We often hear misconceptions about Teaching Assistants. Our campaign sets out to prove that many of those perceptions are just not true. Watch our campaign videos and discover the great work they do.
Read our new report on Teaching Assistants
Download nowTeaching Assistants provide outstanding support and guidance to children and young people across the nation, enabling them to be the best they can be, now and in the future.
We’re there for every student in the class, not just those who are struggling. Every student has the right to learn, so every student gets the help they need. We’re responsible for the children as much as the teachers are.
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of primary teachers say they don’t have the help they need to support SEND students *
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of school leaders also say they will need to consider making Teaching Assistants redundant or reducing their hours
Catch up on our roundtable: Are school funding pressures putting the government’s SEND Review proposals at risk?
In this roundtable, we brought together a range of different perspectives to debate if school funding pressures are putting the government’s SEND review proposals at risk. As part of our All I Do campaign to raise the profile of Teaching Assistants, our panel of experts included a parent of a child with SEND and a School Leader, as well as specialists from within local government, higher education, and NCFE.
Whether you work on education or not, this insightful session shines a light on current challenges within our schools when it comes to supporting some of the most vulnerable children. Catch up now.
Resources for Teaching Assistants
We’ve made it our mission to open up access to professional development for Teaching Assistants, to support you with the growing responsibilities in your role.
Through our membership network CACHE Alumni, our careers toolkit and our CPD qualifications, we provide a range of resources for you to continue to grow. Many of these resources are free, to reflect our belief that everyone should have access to the tools they need to advance.
- CACHE Alumni – Join an award-winning network of over 20,000 education and care professionals for free and access articles from sector specialists, podcasts, e-learning and a careers advice service. You can also join communities and take advantage of a member’s benefits scheme.
- Education and childcare careers toolkit – Our recently relaunched toolkit offers a range of rich and engaging support materials on everything from CPD, to career pathway maps, to conversations with specialists, all in the form of webinars, podcasts, articles and guides. It also hosts content on topics including sustainability, mental health and wellbeing. It’s mobile-friendly, easy to navigate and best of all, completely free to use.
- CPD qualifications – Our qualifications range from entry level to level 5 and support Teaching Assistants to develop their knowledge and skills.
- CPD guide for Teaching Assistants – We’ve put together this essential guide for Teaching Assistants with hints and tips on maximising development opportunities.
- Future workforce - We've developed the technical qualification for the Education and Childcare T Level which includes an occupational specialism in Assisting Teaching.
Share your story
We want to hear from more Teaching Assistants about all you do. Share your story by using #AlliDo 
It would be great if more recognition could be given to Teaching Assistants alongside appropriate training to support their role. However, I know some TAs would not take on more additional roles as the pay certainly doesn’t reflect the work they do. Many just can't afford to stay in the job they love.