The Chartered College of Teaching and the National Association for Special Educational Needs (nasen) are delighted to announce a roundtable discussion with Professor Dame Alison Peacock and Annamarie Hassall MBE.

Teaching assistants (TAs) play a significant role in the teaching profession, supporting SEND and also influence pupil outcomes.  Join us, as we bring together TAs from various settings and highlight support systems, and resources that may be used to enhance both professional and personal development.

Panelists will include Alex Grady (Head of Education and Whole School SEND, nasen), Aimee Durning MBE (Director of Inclusion & Community, The University of Cambridge Primary School) and Beth Greville-Giddings (Learning and Development Lead, Raleigh Education Trust).

Participants will have an opportunity to participate in a live discussion and raise questions.

This event is open to all and will be of particular value to teaching support staff.

Associate membership of the Chartered College of Teaching is specifically designed for Teaching Assistants and those supporting teaching and learning in the classroom. Find out more about the benefits of Associate membership.

Find out more about free nasen membership.

Our Presenters

Professor Dame Alison Peacock DBE DL DLitt, Chief Executive Officer, Chartered College of Teaching – Professor Dame Alison Peacock, Chief Executive of the Chartered College of Teaching, a Professional Body that seeks to raise teacher status through celebrating, supporting and connecting teachers to provide expert teaching and leadership. Prior to joining the Chartered College, Dame Alison was Executive Headteacher of The Wroxham School in Hertfordshire. Her career to date has spanned Primary, Secondary and advisory roles. She is an Honorary Fellow of Queens College Cambridge and UCL, a Visiting Professor of both the University of Hertfordshire and Glyndŵr University and a trustee for Big Change. Her research is published in a series of books about Learning without Limits offering an alternative approach to inclusive school improvement.

Annamarie Hassall MBE is the Chief Executive of nasen with responsibility for strategic direction and operational delivery across the full breadth of nasen’s activity. She is the main point of contact for the board of trustees and has a close working relationship with the Department for Education (DfE). Annamarie also has overall responsibility for external relations and business development.

Alex Grady – I have worked in education for more than 25 years, teaching children and young people with SEND and leading on teacher professional development. I started as a primary class teacher and then became a SENCO. I ran a dyslexia centre, been teacher-in-charge of a language resource base for children with Specific Language Impairment and supported Looked After Children and their carers. I was an SEN advisor for a Learning Support Team in a local authority and was Reading Recovery Teacher Leader. My last role prior to nasen was teaching in and leading the outreach service for a special school federation, and I was an SEN governor for ten years, with four years as Chair. I worked as an Education Officer for nasen for four years and am currently Head of Whole School SEND, leading on our DfE-funded Universal SEND Services programme and our EEF trial of the Whole School SEND Review, as well as Head of Education, leading nasen’s education team. This involves delivering SEND Reviews, consultancy and CPD, as well as the strategic leadership of the team.

Beth Greville-Giddings is Learning and Development Lead for the Raleigh Education Trust, and Teaching Assistant, Art Lead and Research Lead at Westbury Academy (7-16 SEMH) in Nottingham. She is a Teacher Development Trust Associate in CPD Leadership and an ELE for Derby Research School. Beth has written and presented widely on professional development and has supported the development of Education Journal Clubs internationally.

Aimee Durning MBE Director of Inclusion and Community. After several years of working as a parent volunteer, Aimee was employed as a Teaching Assistant in 2007. Aimee’s educational career blossomed when she joined the first University primary school in the country. During 2018, Aimee established the University of Cambridge Primary School’s Teaching Assistant Forum, which provided professional development sessions for Teaching assistants in the local area. Aimee won Classroom Assistant of the Year 2019 at the annual TES Awards and was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List 2021 for her work with Teaching Assistants, Reading for Pleasure and children with special educational needs. Aimee, along with Dr James Biddulph, recently launched the UK’s first Teaching Assistant Network Hub. Aimee is currently in her 5th year of study, with the Open University, for a degree in Primary Education. 

Learn more about the Chartered College of Teaching

Bitesize CPD – Supporting students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). This collection is part of a series of bitesize CPD units to support teaching assistants (TAs) with their professional learning journey. These units offer insights into best practice in supporting children and young people, building on the latest evidence base. They are designed to develop knowledge around a range of topics relevant to TAs.

Early Career Hub – The Early Career Hub is our one-stop shop for trainee teachers, early career teachers, and those involved in supporting, coaching and mentoring those new to the profession.

Early Childhood Hub – The Early Childhood Hub hosts content by, and for, early childhood education practitioners, with a focus on pedagogy and practice in early childhood education.

Research Hub – The Research Hub hosts summaries of academic and practitioner research as well as reports that Chartered College of Teaching members have contributed to. You can also find a list of opportunities to participate in external research projects and access a range of tools to support you in your research engagement journey.

Video Hub – The Video Hub hosts short classroom practice videos, filmed in a variety of settings, and recorded interviews with a range of teachers, leaders and educators. Members will also find, and be able to access, ‘on demand’ recordings of our previous webcasts and events.

Impact is the termly journal of the Chartered College of Teaching. It connects research findings to classroom practice, with a focus on the interests and voices of teachers and educators. It supports the teaching community by promoting discussion around evidence within the classroom, and enabling teachers to share and reflect on their own use of research.

Learning Hub – The Learning Hub is your home for professional learning and development. You will find links to bitesize CPD units and details of other available courses.

Chartered Teacher Status is a professional accreditation that recognises the knowledge, skills and behaviours of highly accomplished teachers and school leaders, offering a career pathway that is focused on developing and recognising high-quality teaching and leadership practice. As a professional accreditation, Chartered Status builds on individual practice, priorities and interests and can be undertaken at your own pace, up to three years.

Fellowship (FCCT) was established to recognise the commitment and achievements of teachers and school leaders. It is a formal mark of their achievements, skills and expertise as a teaching professional. Nominate a colleague for Fellowship today.

The Chartered College of Teaching & Teacher Tapp Podcast – A collaboration between Teacher Tapp and the Chartered College of Teaching in which we look at hot off the press data on various topics concerning teaching, learning, and teacher development and ask teachers to comment on the findings by reflecting on their own experiences.