Supporting the education of pupils with profound intellectual and mulitple disabilities: the views of teaching assistants regarding their own learning and evelopment needs

Learning support assistants or teaching assistants play a vital role in the education of pupils with complex learning disabilities, routinely supporting students on a 1:1 basis without the direct supervision of teachers. Despite the responsibility afforded these classroom support staff, there appear to be few training programmes designed for this specialised role. This qualitative study, by Trudi Martin of the Manchester Institute of Education, was undertaken at a special school in England. The study explored the views of 17 teaching assistants and five teachers regarding the extent to which teaching assistant training equipped them to support pupils with complex learning needs. The findings illustrated that much of the training, including that on the Qualifications and Credit Framework, provided inadequate information and guidance. Without sufficient knowledge to underpin their practice, teaching assistants are impeded in the educational support they can give to pupils, who face significant learning challenges, with a resultant impact on their students’ ability to learn and develop new skills.