Three quarters of primary school headteachers are cutting teaching assistant (TAs) numbers, a survey has found.
The cuts are despite TAs' increasingly influential role supporting the rising number of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in schools.
Over the last five years demand for SEND support has increased by a fifth, according to latest government figures.
The survey found that seven in 10 headteachers across all schools say cuts to TA numbers have increased over the last year, as part of a swathe of savings schools are making.
