Low pay ‘forcing teaching assistants out of UK classrooms’

Three quarters say they feel undervalued and are thinking about quitting, charity warns

Schools will undergo a “crisis of support” without urgent action to improve pay and training for teaching assistants, a charity will warn in a report to be published this week.

The NCFE, an educational charity that also provides qualifications for those in the teaching sector, carried out a snapshot survey of 150 teaching assistants (TAs) across the UK and found that three-quarters had thought about leaving in the past year. Only one in 10 felt it was a well respected and valued role.