Schools need to take the role of the teaching assistant (TA) more seriously in 2014.

This is the view of Rob Webster, research associate at the Institute of Education, who believes that TAs have an important role to play in alleviating some of the stresses faced by people in teaching jobs.

Writing a blog in the Guardian, he explains that there are now 330,000 TAs in British schools and their value needs to be recognised. It was recently reported the Department of Education was considering a report from the thinktank Reform which suggested reducing the number of TAs could help lower the schools budget.

Mr Webster states that such an action is likely to be detrimental to pupils, teachers and schools and suggests that 2014 should be a year of action in which TAs are embraced, especially as a new code of practice for special education needs students and an increased pupil premium settlement come into effect.

TAs need to be professionalised, he argues, stating: "School leaders need to set out a vision for the role and purpose of TAs in their school, defining the contribution they will make to learning. This means addressing some fundamental questions about what TAs can and should be expected to do, given that they tend not to have the same levels of teaching and subject knowledge as teachers. For school leaders who want to seriously engage with rethinking the TA role, help is at hand."

Other important tasks on the TA agenda are working some time into the school day for teachers to liaise with their assistants and assess the way in which TAs operate, as when implemented properly, they can have a transformative effect.

As somebody looking for a teaching role, what is your experience with TAs? Do they need a bigger role?