Schools to decide TA roles in new tutoring schemes

TAs could be involved in intensive tutoring for children lagging behind with reading and maths.

Teachers are to be trained to work intensively on a one-to-one basis to boost children's literacy and numeracy skills, and teaching assistants could be trained by the teachers to support the programme, says the government.

A third programme of intensive support was announced last week, aimed at children who need help with writing.

"Every child a writer" follows "Every child a reader" and "Every child counts" which will be targeted on six and seven year olds children lagging behind with reading and maths. An extra £144 million will be available over the next three years for the reading and maths programmes.

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, said: “ I want all children to master the skills they need to succeed at secondary school, which means that every child should leave primary school able to read and write and do maths.

“However, some children need extra help early on so that they don’t lose heart and get left behind by their classmates.”

Teachers will get the government-funded training, but they could in turn train TAs to do less intensive work to support the programme, said a spokeswoman for the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The decision on teaching assistants' role will be left to schools.