ABSTRACT
All staff gave their verbal consent for their views and evidence to be used within the research project and the public domain. Children’s views echoed the ethos within school that teaching assistants (TAs) were there to work ‘just with them’. In contrast, during a staff meeting, one TA questioned why TAs were dealing with behaviour instead of the school trying to find root causes. The intervention timetable and organisation of TAs has been proved to be more effective and have a greater impact on children’s learning since the completion of this action research project. Gradually, staff attitudes are changing towards accepting different methods of support and academic progress is improving due to targeted interventions with TAs matched to their skill sets. Most importantly, children are happier with the arrangements offering them targeted support and their own independence.
