Personal and professional development and the role of the

This chapter sets out to discuss both the current role and professional development of the Teaching Assistant (TA). Over recent history we have seen a vast increase in the number of TAs in schools (Vincett et al 2005). This increase can be attributed to a number of factors including: the National Agreement which will be discussed further in the chapter; the implementation of statutory Planning, Preparation and Assessment (PPA) time for all teaching staff; budget changes in schools; the increase in academic qualifi cations within the sector and routes into teacher training, and the professionalisation of the workforce.