ABSTRACT
The move towards inclusive education has led to a greater need for additional support in the classroom, resulting in a significant rise in the number of Teaching Assistants in schools. It is evident that together with government-led changes related to supporting pupils with special educational needs constructive communication and reflective practice is needed between teachers and Teaching Assistants. Drawing upon a range of additional data gathered throughout the Deployment and Impact of Support Staff (DISS) project, Webster highlight a number of 'wider factors' that could have affected the relationship between pupils' academic progress and teaching assistant support. Ofsted reports that the quality of teaching is enhanced when teachers provide clear guidance to Teaching Assistants and involve them in planning. The results of a questionnaire survey completed by primary and secondary schools in England and Wales revealed that a major difficulty affecting the working relationships of teachers and Teaching Assistants was lack of time to plan and prepare lessons together.
