Teaching assistant teaching class on a regular basis

[alltheworld]

Are there any rules on this?
What would you do?

[wtffgs]

A level 4 can cover PPA and leadership time on a weekly basis. The teacher plans it and the year group HLTA delivers it. It's much better for the kids to have someone they know. However, some schools might use it as a money-saving ruse. Ask questions - it will happen more as schools struggle to recruit.

[shouldwestayorshouldwego]

This often happens. I think it is ok as long as the lesson was planned by the teacher. Some TAs are also former teachers too. How successful it is depends on the TA - generally they are HLTAs (higher level TA). Having said that their current school always has trained teachers in which is great.

[rollonthesummer]

There is a teacher in a y5 class at my school who is off on long-term sick. The class is being covered by a TA.

I think it's appalling but we just have no money for supply.

[wtffgs]

Does the school not have insurance to pay for supply for LT sickness absence rollonsummer?

[OSETmum]

A level 3 or above TA is qualified to take the class if the lesson has been planned by the teacher. It's often better for the children than getting a supply teacher in as the TA knows the class advwat they have been learning previously and you don't always know what you're getting with a supply teacher. WWID? Nothing unless there was a genuine and specific issue.

[Isthatwhatdemonsdo]

Nothing you can do op as long as the TA is a level 3 or above then it's perfectly acceptable.

[Leatherboundanddown]

This has been happening in schools every day since 2007. Maybe not every school but it is commonplace.

[Applesauce29]

Sometimes TAs are given the teaching to do because the school can't sack the incompetent teacher, and the TA is much better at teaching, even if not qualified. (Close relative is a headteacher).

[MrsKCastle]

alltheworld Do you feel that this is a problem? My class is covered by a HLTA once a week and it an excellent thing for the children. I would have absolutely no problems with it happening for my own children. In fact, thinking about it, it does happen in DD2's class. However, it does depend on the TA and the way in which it is done, e.g. is the teacher leaving a suitable lesson, does the TA know the children and have enough time to be familiar with the lesson plan and ask the teacher any questions?

If you have specific concerns, see the teacher and focus on your own child's learning, just as you would with any other concern. If your child isn't making progress or is affected by the behaviour of others (for instance), that is what needs addressing.

[rollonthesummer]

There doesn't seem to be any money for anything at the moment.

I think there's a huge difference between a good hlta covering a class weekly for PPA with lessons carefully planned and well-delivered and a teaching assistant covering a class for weeks on end with no good planning.

[MaryField]

One question you might like to ask is whether the TA is supported in class. I expect the teacher herself is usually supported by the TA so it would be unfair for the TA to teach unsupported.

[LemonRedwood]

Get used to it. It's cheap and schools in general have no money.

[LemonRedwood]

Teachers are mostly unsupported. 10 TAs made redundant in my school at the end of last year.

[loveisagirlnameddaisy]

rollon Our school was in the same boat and used insurance to cover the cost of a supply teacher. Who is lesson planning for your Y5s?

[Ditsy4]

Level 3 and above are allowed. HLTAs plan their own lessons unless emergency cover ( planning left) and rarely get support.

[admission]

There is no reason why an experienced TA, especially when they are known to the class, cannot take the lesson, which has been planned by the usual teacher.
However there is a tipping point in terms of how often it is happening when it becomes unacceptable in terms of the pupils getting the very best possible education.
To me this is where it is more than 1 day a week or for an extended period of time (more than say a week). You then have to start asking yourself what is behind the need for the extended use of a TA. Yes all schools are now finding it more difficult financially but the school needs to looking much more carefully at itself. So did the school in setting their budget allow enough for a level of sickness within the teaching staff? Some schools cover that by insurance though this is becoming more difficult because of the fees generally. One school I have worked with recently has been quoted over £75K for insurance cover which is still not very good cover. The reason for this high price is the astonishing amount of sickness in the school staff over a number of years. This therefore suggests that the school is not attending to the issues in the school whether that is the well-being of the staff or just far to many staff having far too long off. There are ways and means for reducing sickness levels which schools should be paying attention to.
If a school has inadequate teachers as suggested by one poster, then again that is for the school to deal with and yes historically it has been very difficult to remove staff but not now, it can be done with the right evidence of incompetence and the willingness of the school and LA (if a maintained school) in a number of weeks.
School finances are tight but I think schools and governing boards now need to recognise that we all have to tighten our belts and live within the funds that are available. That may mean making some difficult decisions but when one poster says their school had to make 10 TAs redundant then one has to ask how did the school suddenly have what is around £200000 less funding, which is what 10TAs cost?

[MaryField]

10 TAs cost £200,000? I'm in the wrong school! You could get 20 TAs for that around here!

[shouldwestayorshouldwego]

Sometimes too the HLTA will be covering subjects which they are genuinely interested in - we had one who was a great artist and also taught RE who probably knew more about art and different techniques, and also knew quite a lot of RE so was better suited teaching those areas than the class teacher who had less interest in art or RE. Likewise with HLTAs fluent in another language over a primary teacher who scraped a GCSE in Spanish being asked to teach French. Sometimes it just makes more sense to make use of the specialist skill set available. I would be less happy with a TA regularly teaching say English and Maths unless they had specific skills in these areas because a teacher's training is likely to be the most useful factor in teaching these subjects.

[admission]

Well it rather depends on the grade of TA you are employing. Around here, not anywhere near London, a TA1 which is the bottom grade would be costing with all the add ons like NI approximately £17,500 whereas a TA3 who would be expected to be able to take a class would be on approximately £24,500 at the top of their grade.
Maryfield if you are only being paid £10K then I would have to question whether the school is paying against the nationally agreed grading scheme or not.