"Few areas of education can equal the growth rate of that for teaching assistants over the past seven years, doubling to more than 133,000 in England between 1997 to 2004. TAs are vital in the development of inclusive education, yet their status, pay, conditions, qualifications and their relationship with classroom teachers are all of deep concern in the majority of cases. This excellent, practical book is a welcome and much-needed authoritative study of the allimportant relationship between TA and teacher." Mark Vaughan OBE, Founder and Co-Director, Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education "This is an excellent book, founded in action research that enables it to go beyond the "seat-of-the-pants" methodology that informs much material on TA/teacher partnerships." TES This book is for teachers and teaching assistants seeking to improve the ways in which they work together to meet the needs of children in their classes. It outlines the thinking behind the employment of teaching assistants in the classroom and spells out some of the teamworking opportunities and problems that can arise. Drawing on original research, it explores ways in which teachers and teaching assistants can work together to support children's learning and examines different models of working together. This unique book provides: Highly effective models for working together, tried and tested in schools A practical section with activities, hand-outs and photocopiable resources that teachers can use to develop these models in their own schools This is a key text for classroom teachers, teaching assistants, trainee teachers and postgraduate education students, and those studying for foundation degrees for teaching assistants. It is also of use to parents, headteachers, educational psychologists, and other support personnel.