The disadvantage of some SEN children in mainstream schooling was prominent in last week’s TES (24 February). “What keeps me awake at night” laments that the most needy children generally access learning through a teaching assistant (TA). The TESpro special report (“How to unlock the potential of TAs”) focuses on research that finds little correlation between SEN progress and TAs. Another report highlights the issue of bullying.

Since a TA’s presence appears to be ineffective or even detrimental to the learning of SEN children, perhaps a fundamental reappraisal of the TA’s role is required?

Susan Bolingbroke, Watlington, Oxfordshire.