• There was not found to be any evidence that children in smaller classes made more progress in mathematics, English or science, even after allowing for the characteristics of pupils in small and large classes.
• Pupils eligible for free school meals were found to make less progress than those not eligible in both literacy and maths during Key Stage 2 (KS2). These pupils were also behind in Key Stage 1 (KS1), and fell still further behind during KS2. Pupils with special educational needs were found to make less progress in both maths and literacy. Girls were found to make more progress in attainment in literacy, whilst conversely boys were found to make more progress in maths.
• There was no evidence that any of the characteristics of teachers, such as their age, level of experience, length of time in the current school had any influence upon pupil attainment in any school subject during Years 4-6.
• Results for KS2 were similar to those for reception and KS1. Class size effects on classroom processes are not singular but multiple. As the size of the class increases, size and/or number of groups increases, and the management of groups, both in terms of size and number, becomes ever more crucial.
• Perhaps the clearest effects of class size were on teaching. Pupils in smaller classes were more likely to be the focus of a teacher’s attention and experience more teaching overall in mathematics, while in larger classes pupils were more likely to be one of the crowd. Many teachers worry that in large classes they cannot meet the needs of all the children in their class. There were a number of suggestions, from the questionnaires and case studies, concerning ways in which class size could affect the quality and effectiveness of teaching. Space and equipment became less available as the number of pupils increases and threaten effective teaching.
• Pupils in larger classes in KS2 were found to have a more passive role in contact with the teacher. Conversely, in smaller classes, pupils were more likely to interact in an active way with teachers, initiating contacts, responding to the teacher and sustaining interaction with them.
• In order to understand the effects of the number of children in a classroom, differences between mixed ability classes and the increasingly common practice of setting classes by ability need to be taken into account. Results showed no differences between classes and sets in terms of academic attainment, and few differences in teacher and pupil behaviour. The majority of TAs are satisfied or very satisfied with their work.

The role and impact of Teaching Assistants (TA) at KS2

• TAs are viewed by teachers as a very welcome feature of classroom life, with positive comments far outweighing negative.
• The TA role in relation to pupils can be seen in two ways: direct, in the sense of interacting directly with pupils, and indirect, in the sense of aiding the teacher. This study found that the TA’s role was predominantly a direct interactive one, for example involving helping pupils with reinforcing teaching points, and in this sense their role is predominantly pedagogical. However, many TAs were not specifically trained for this.
• The main way that the direct role of TAs is exercised is through the support of certain children, in particular, those with Special Educational Needs (SEN), low ability or difficult behaviour. Only rarely did TAs work with children of all abilities, or high ability children.
• This study found little evidence that the presence of TAs, or any characteristic of TAs, such as training or experience, had a measurable statistical effect on pupil attainment in the school class where they were deployed. This is in line with results from the KS1 phase of the project.
• However, results from classroom observations were clear in showing that TAs have an indirect effect on teaching, in the sense that the presence of a TA in the classroom helped maximise pupils’ engagement and ensure teachers focus on teaching. With a TA present, pupils had a more active form of interaction with the teacher and there was more individualised teacher attention. This supported teachers’ views that TAs are effective in supporting them in this indirect way.
• There were a number of concerns about the time TAs had for planning and feedback, the consistency of deployment of TAs, the training of TAs, the status of TAs, and their professional satisfaction.
• More attention needs to be paid to the pedagogical role of TAs.
• Further results on the role of TAs can be seen in a Research Brief published on the DfES website. This can be viewed in PDF format by clicking here. Alternatively, a more detailed description of the results is given in a Research Report, obtained by clicking here.