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. The recent drive by the government to raise standards and reduce teacher workloads has increased the variety and complexity of tasks carried out by teaching assistants but research indicates that there is considerable variation in the deployment, pay, conditions and training of this body of staff. In this chapter we will explore existing research in which teaching assistants have expressed their views and will also focus on our recent smallscale study of teaching assistants’ perspectives on working with teachers, examining how this relationship can affect the quality of inclusive practice and identifying the implications for your future role.