Help in the Classroom

First Published in 1999. The aim of this book is to help schools to make better use of the resources of learning support assistants. It begins by examining the work of assistants who are employed to support the learning of children seen as having special educational needs. It outlines the major issues that I have found to be important with regard to the assistants' management, support and training. A key feature of this is the need for much of their staff development opportunities to be sited in school in order for training to be relevant, i.e. to meet the contextual needs of the assistants as they work as part of the overall provision to support the learning of a wide range of children and students.