Teachers that are now ta's

[Imsosorryalan]

How are you finding it in reality? Great or frustrating? I'm thinking of resigning my teaching post in July after many years of teaching on MPS and applying for ta positions purely due to the fact that I now spend more time on paperwork than in the classroom and have no time for my young family when I get home. I think I'm done.

But apart from the pay cut, I was a parent helper for a bit and it was really hard biting my tongue sometimes when the class teacher didn't explain something properly! It made me wonder if I'd be suited as a ta?

[WinterFire]

I really wanted to do this, but I earned more in 3 days than I woul have full time, so I felt the workload balanced out.

[LuvMyBoyz]

I'm a SENCO and I have never found an ex teacher even gets through a TA interview. A TA has a different skill set and demeanour.

[midnightmoomoo]

I went back as a TA after years at home em with the kids and I really enjoy it. No planning, marking, meetings etc but you still get to make a difference and impact the children's learning. However, it is frustrating when you know you could do a better job than the teacher, but I think to myself I don't get paid to deal with x and the fact I walk out of school at 3.15 and get to forget about it until I walk back in the next day cancels out any day to day frustration. The pay is terrible though, I earned more in 1996 when I was an nqt than I do now on 23 hours as a TA.

[Somemumsodd]

At our school 50 percent of TAs are ex teachers !!

[meandjulio]

Maybe have a test month where you live on the salary? After two terms of me working as a TA we were absolutely on our uppers.

[CremeEggThief]

Hmm, I did this recently, on a temporary contract, and the school took advantage and basically used me as a teacher. The only thing I wasn't doing was planning. As a result, I have decided to go back into supply teaching.

[Caronaim]

I have just made the switch. It is fantastic. It feels like being permanently on holiday. You basically get to do all the great bits of teaching ( ie, actual teaching) without any of the work load, paperwork, and general pressure and grief.

Obviously, the pay is less, but doing the calculations, I am now taking home more per hour than I was teaching, especially teaching part time. ( part time teachers basically just end up being full time teachers on less pay, in my experience)

it wasn't easy to get a job though, as there were dozens of ex teachers going for each post, I just applied to every single vacancy I found until I got lucky.

Some schools only consider graduates with teaching experience for TA roles, I find.

I wouldn't say I ever bite my tongue" at all, more I look at exhausted, struggling teachers and think thank God that isn't me

[Hulababy]

I was a secondary school computing teacher. i am now a HLTA in an infant school and, on the whole, I love it. It took me a while to return to working in a school and I did do some volunteer work in DD's primary school beforehand.

I have fun. I teach computing to 4-7 year olds and get so much freedom to teach the new curriculum in the way that fits the school and the children best. I don't have the same level of paperwork and although I am really busy - both in and out of school - I am doing what I love.

But the pay is rubbish!