Case study: TA to Teacher: An Alternative Route into Teaching

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to sketch out a case study of the BA (Hons) in Primary Education, delivered by Anspear and the University of Buckingham, as an ongoing alternative route into teaching aimed at addressing some aspects of the recruitment and retention crisis in the schools sector in England. While the policy response to the crisis has revolved around secondary school teachers, this elides the scale of the challenge facing primary education along with the recruitment, retention and development of teaching assistants. This article outlines the rationale for developing an undergraduate degree specifically for teaching assistants working in primary settings, the core principles of the degree programme, and how we have used established science of learning and learning design principles in order to develop digital learning content for the degree.