The work of learning support assistants in mainstream schools: Implications for educational psychologists

In recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of learning support assistants (LSAs) working in mainstream schools, mainly with pupils who have special educational needs. The implications of this for the development of effective practice is referred to in the Green Paper Excellence for All Children: Meeting Special Educational Needs (DfEE, 1997) and in the follow-up document Meeting Special Educational Needs: A Programme of Action (DfEE, 1998a). Furthermore the Green Paper Teachers Meeting the Challenge of Change (DfEE, 1998b) signals the projected increase in the numbers of classroom assistants who will provide general support in mainstream schools that is not restricted solely to pupils with special educational needs. These developments raise a number of questions related to effective practice in the management, role and training of LSAs particularly in mainstream schools. This article reports on some of the main findings of a DfEE funded study (Farrell, Balshaw & Polat, 1999), carried out at the University of Manchester, that set out to explore these issues. It concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the work of educational psychologists.