In January 2003, Government Ministers, local authority employers and school workforce unions signed a National Agreement, Raising Standards and Tackling Workload, which paved the way for radical reform of the whole school workforce. In response to school workforce remodelling, the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the TDA (Training and Development Agency for Schools) created a new status for Teaching Assistants and support staff who wished to take on further responsibility and enhance their careers: the Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA). The HLTA status is based on, and assessed against, 31 Professional Standards.
In November 2004, Pye Tait was commissioned by the TDA, to provide research and evaluation support for the Higher Level Teaching Assistant programme.
In supporting the TDA to develop the HLTA programme, Pye Tait has conducted a detailed evaluation of provision in phase one. This review of the initiative was principally designed to assist the TDA in building on aspects of HLTA training and assessment that are seen to ‘work well’ and to identify areas that require improvement. Evidence was collated from candidates taking part in the two main training and assessment routes and four pilot routes.
Feedback was gathered via a telephone survey of almost 300 HLTA candidates; in-depth focus group discussions held across the country with a total of 65 candidates; telephone interviews with a selection of providers; a review of evaluations conducted by HLTA training providers, and an examination of the course materials developed by each provider.
The final report presents examples of good practice in training and delivery along with recommendations for development of the programme. These will inform development of the programme for phase two.