As a teaching assistant, you make a real difference to children and young people, every day of your working life. Recognising the importance of the teaching assistant’s role, schools and the government have been investing in the HLTA programme to encourage the development of teaching assistants.

“School support staff already make a vital contribution to pupils’ learning and achievement. Higher Level Teaching Assistant (HLTA) status is aimed at reinforcing and improving their skills, allowing senior support staff working in the classroom to make an even more valuable contribution to improving standards in schools.”  
Training and Development Agency for Schools
(www.tda.gov.uk)

The HLTA status was also a direct result of the national agreement on raising standards and tackling workload. The HLTA programme acknowledges the important contribution that support staff make to supporting learning and recognises it in a formal way. The HLTA status is aimed at reinforcing and improving the skills of experienced support staff in all types of schools.

Some schools have particular roles and pay in place for TAs associated with gaining the HLTA status, whilst in others this is not yet the case. However, once HLTA status is awarded it stays with you wherever you choose to work.