Teaching Assistants - much too important to lose

School budgets squeezed from all sides

2010-12-15T13:30:00.000Z

The government has been accused of misleading the public over school funding.
A higher than expected rise in inflation means the real level of per-pupil funding will fall, not rise, as Chancellor George Osborne promised in his Spending Review.
It has also emerged that the £430 per year Pupil Premium is to be taken out of the existing pot, and won't be additional money, and the money saved by axing school sports partnerships will not be redistributed to schools.
Learning Support News

"No TAs means no inclusion," says headteachers' leader

2010-07-12T18:40:00.000+01:00

Read Mick Brookes, general secretary of the National Association of Head Teachers, on the vital contribution TAs make to schools.

What would happen if there were no teaching assistants in your school, or your children's school?

2010-07-11T14:32:00.007+01:00

The petition is growing fast. Please invite your friends and colleagues to sign it too, and pass the word to parents and even pupils.

Your comments paint a vivid picture of how absurd and damaging and it would be to target budget cuts on TA jobs. We've now moved the comments from the petition form straight onto this page so please add your message to Michael Gove by clicking on the "COMMENTS" link below this post. Don't forget to say what your role is (teaching assistant, teacher, parent, governor etc.). Thanks!

Campaign off the starting blocks

2010-07-09T10:40:00.000+01:00

The petition has got off to a good start, with powerful comments from TAs and others about the dire consequences for pupils if teaching assistant jobs are targeted in the public spending cuts.

We've also got a Facebook page, so if you're on Facebook pay us a visit. And don't forget to keep track of the latest news on Learning Support's newsblog.