Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants in Portsmouth and Gosport Schools: Final Summary Report

This project was developed to evaluate the impact of training delivered to both teachers and teaching assistants in a range of Portsmouth and Gosport Schools. The project was influenced by the Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants (MITA) project, originally designed by University College London (UCL). As noted on their website “utilised by over 1000 schools, the Research Schools Network and developed with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF)” (MITA, 2024). Dr Rob Webster and Dr Sophie Hall were originally involved in the evaluation. When they left the University of Portsmouth in 2024, Dr Nikki Fairchild and Anisa Sultana undertook the final stages of the project. This programme is described in the following books: Maximising the Impact of Teaching Assistants in Primary Schools: A Practical Guide for School Leaders by Rob Webster, Paula Bosanquet, Sally Franklin & Matthew Parker. This book was based on research involving teachers and teaching assistants, and detailed how to design a whole school plan to improve teaching assistant deployment, practice, and preparedness to recognise the difference teaching assistants make to the classroom and the school. The second edition of the book focused teaching assistant pupil interaction. It explored the ways teaching assistants develop pupils’ independence and ownership of learning.