Ian Austin – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Education

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Ian Austin on 2016-10-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department has taken to manage the levels of stress experienced by school support staff.

Nick Gibb

When well deployed and supported, teaching assistants can make a valuable contribution to the education of our children. They are entitled to a suitable work-life balance and it is regrettable if they are experiencing excessive stress in their work.

Responsibility for managing teaching assistants and other support staff rests at local level. Head teachers best understand the needs of their schools and the support staff who work within them.

The Education Endowment Foundation’s (EEF) guidance report; “Making Best Use Of Teaching Assistants”, offers the latest evidence and makes a number of recommendations to help schools make best use of their teaching assistants. The EEF report is available at: https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/uploads/pdf/TA_Guidance_Report_Interactive.pdf.

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