‘Whoops, I forgot David’: children’s perceptions of the adults who work in their classrooms

Despite their unique perspective and the profound importance of many local and national initiatives to their everyday lives, the views of children are rarely the focus of educational research. This chapter features the voices of children in several English primary schools articulating their idea of the role of teaching assistants. It would appear that the clear distinction between the roles of teachers and teaching assistants conceptualised at the levels of management and policy breaks down somewhat in the context of real classrooms.