The EDTA project was a response to the DISS project conclusion that a fundamental reassessment is required of the way TAs are used. It was a collaborative study involving ten schools.    CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FINAL REPORT   The EDTA project was structured using the Wider Pedagogical Role (WPR) model: a coherent and empirically grounded explanatory model devised in the DISS project, which gave the study a strong degree of veracity and a clear rationale for action.   The aim was to develop and evaluate alternative strategies to the three main components of the WPR model: TA preparedness, deployment and practice.   Over the school year, schools achieved marked and productive changes to the ways in which TAs were deployed in classrooms and prepared prior to lessons. TAs’ interactions with pupils were also examined and improved in ways that supported learning more effectively.   ACCOMPANYING HANDBOOK OUT NOW -   Maximising the impact of teaching assistants: guidance for school leaders and teachers