Nursery World - Well assisted

Further to the news story 'Teaching assistants need personal touch' (30 May), we would like to point out that the importance of teaching assistants' roles in improving the quality of teaching in the classroom is being underestimated. According to the Institute of Education's research mentioned in the story, teaching assistants' personal qualities are more important than training.

According to the Institute of Education's research mentioned in the story, teaching assistants' personal qualities are more important than training.

We believe strongly that personal qualities cannot be disassociated from training when seriously evaluating the effectiveness of the support they give to children's learning.

Of course, we need classroom assistants who are flexible, calm and friendly with children. But it must be combined with training that provides new knowledge and teaching methods, as well as new ways of behaviour management in order to achieve desirable qualifications required in a dynamic learning process. Assistants are at the centre of the Government's inclusive policy as they provide crucial support and challenging responsibilities to children who have special needs or behavioural or learning difficulties or those from refugee or asylum seekers' families.

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