everything curriculum | February 2021


Emma Collier Teaching Assistant Product Manager at Twinkl


Oliver Wright Sector Manager for Senior Leadership and Product Owner of Leader’s Digest at Twinkl


Teaching assistants have been called the hearts of classrooms and the backbones of schools. Oliver and Emma explore how teaching assistants are helping school leaders to keep our children safe and educated.


Our school leaders live with constant change. It’s part of the job and most are talented plate–spinners. Recently though, many have been spinning multiple tea sets, not just individual plates! In March 2020, as the media first reported that schools were closed, all school staff were working twice as hard, providing education and care for children in school and online. Despite short notice and changing guidance, school leaders managed growing responsibilities, high accountability and falling staffing levels.


As vulnerable employees were asked to shield, and others needed to self–isolate sporadically, leaders were left to weigh up the risks of safely integrating external supply teachers to cover staff absence. It’s hardly surprising then that so many opted, when possible, to rely on the dedication, skills and goodwill of hard–working internal support staff instead.


Creating staff rotas to cover everything from extended school opening hours for key worker families, to fulfilling new time–consuming safety and hygiene duties, as well as providing remote safeguarding with regular welfare calls to families, was a near impossible task for leaders to manage at short notice. All this while trying to balance the extra workload for teachers who were planning and delivering remote learning for children at home at the same time as safe provision in school! The reliance on support staff was growing and headteachers were already having to ask those who could, to take on additional responsibilities, work extra hours and even through their holidays, to help keep schools open.


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