While there is by necessity some form of structured hierarchy in any organisation, the issue is rather whether that hierarchy/status aids or hinders the coherence and effectiveness of communication within the school. A specific issue for some schools, is that of the relationship between teachers and teacher assistants/support staff. Frequently, meetings are held separately, which naturally does not aid communication or sharing and pooling of ideas; obviously there is a contract issue here, where meetings held outside the school day are also outside the contractual hours of teacher assistants/support staff. The issue of status per se can affect many people within the school; for example, while doing workshops with Contract Services we were often told that kitchen staff and cleaning staff sometimes felt as if they were invisible.

In some schools, management organise meetings where all staff can be present and are encouraged to contribute to the agenda. Support staff and teacher assistants are paid pro rata for their attendance. Discussions with teacher assistants and with support staff gave us the recommendations that they should be invited to attend certain meetings, or that there should be a representative attending every staff meeting.