I’m a teaching assistant..ask me anything!

[Colouroutsidethelines]

20 years experience working in early years in a primary school. Anything you’d like to know?

You sound like an amazing TA. My daughter is only a toddler so we haven’t had any experience of primary school yet but just reading your thread has opened my eyes so much I honestly had no idea that in a early years class that half would have SEN.
You do a wonderful job in what sounds like very difficult circumstances.

I’m an early years teacher, I work part time. But I would get paid more working in a shop!

I don’t see a similar degradation in behaviour, but we are a forest school nursery attached to a private, progressive primary school in an extremely affluent area (self selecting group and all that - lots of the children I work with have no screens at home: no tv, no iPad etc; perfect diets - which I see because they bring packed lunches).

It’s the dream set of kids and circumstances because their parents are generally pretty earnest. But I am also thinking of leaving because I can’t get paid enough to keep up with the cost of living. I feel like I barely contribute to mine and DH’s money pool.

And I love my job! And I’m really good at it.

It’s so sad, tbh. All my excellent colleagues leave for the same reasons - the pay vs how full on the job is.

This sounds like an amazing place to work! Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Is it true that a greater number of children are starting Reception still in nappies and exorcist the TAs to toilet train them? Never sure if this is an urban myth or a Daily Fail thing. And what do you say to these parents???

*expect

Before this job, I always worked in low income areas. The difference is ridiculous - especially
with SEN. I think it’s because the parents who choose forest school are a very particular demographic. (Not saying forest school is the best or anything - I’ve worked in all sorts - but generally tends to go hand-in-hand with parents who say no / not much screen time, no UPFs, etc.)

I’d echo OP and say to anyone who has an early years child and wondering what to do for the best for them - screens aren’t the devil, but stick to tv and CBeebies and not much (like 30 mins a day); no iPads and healthy food makes SO MUCH difference. The kids who have low screen time are SO great at playing!!

OP, you sound like an amazing TA! I’d love to work with someone like you!

Sadly it’s 100 percent true! We ask them to send them in underpants/knickers and we will change them. Surprisingly we toilet train them within a week or two 🙄

I don’t understand this because I think teachers are paid well? I’m top of the pay-scale and with pension am on about 60k. That is a decent wage!!

I understand the same argument from a TA but not a teacher; yes our pay isn’t amazing but it also isn’t terrible!

I work in nursery, it’s not as much as if I taught reception (which I have for years before). If I worked full time (I don’t), my salary would be something like £35k PA. That’s not a bad salary, but considering how intense and hard the job is, and how many years I trained for, it’s not massive. And my current job is about as cushy as it gets for early years (I work 8am-4:30pm, two groups of children children 9-12; and 12:30-3:30 - though about half stay all day) and it’s STILL a very hard job - dealing with a lot of tears and big feelings and toileting accidents and nappies and - since we’re forest school - we’re outside all day.

I’m not complaining - it’s definitely the thing I signed up for. But when I look at my friends (non teachers) some earn 5x that (not exaggerating) and all say my job sounds harder than theirs. I do get holidays off in theory, but I work holiday camps to top up, so I don’t always take them.

I am too old to work full time in nursery now! So I work part time, but, like I said, I’d earn more if I worked in a shop (because I have!). And I’m debating it again. A children’s bookshop or similar. I don’t know. Might be romanticising the idea!

Anyway - I honestly think teaching is a wonderful job! But the money isn’t amazing compared with how much work it is.

TAs should absolutely be paid more. It’s terrible that they’re not.

So just lazy parenting then, in a nutshell?? Honestly, I'd be mortified. Surely it's a prerequisite of getting your child "school-ready"?!

On a similar theme, and I'm asking because a friend has had experience of this also, are there many parents who are keen for some sort of SEN diagnosis, although you, the teacher etc (all the people who actually know their onions!), know they are perfectly normal and just prone to kicking off sometimes???

Ahh I see; I totally understand what you’re saying about hours v pay.

I have a slightly different view though since I’m at the top of the payscale (>£49k plus pension) and don’t think that’s a bad salary! My husband earns double what I do, with scope for more, but I don’t think I work any harder than him, or put in more hours. I think teaching is cited as badly paid, but once you’re at the top of the pay scale, it’s okay and if you’re in a decent school, by and large the job is a decent one. Of course, TA work is a different species - badly paid and very hard work for the salary with a lot of caveats such as pro rata pay / part time hours being compulsory etc.

Hi my youngest daughter struggles to answer questions or understand the written peace to answer questions. Her teachers are brilliant and great support in class. Anything that I can do please at home to help her. She's good at reading. She is getting help at school. Anything that I can do at home that can help her with her understanding text that she reads and answer questions related to them answers. Thankyou. I know its not related to the topics what am asking but if you can help it be a great help to my daughter thank you.

How old is she?

Yes it does happen. It’s often a case of blaming something external instead of putting in the work to make positive changes such as set boundaries, change diet/ limit devices etc

Shes 8 with the support of staff and TA she has improved alot. But need some tips on how to support her at home with home work. She loves getting on with her home work.
Her eldest sister 11 years old she explaines what she needs to do but never does her home work for her.

To help a child understand text, it's important to engage them actively with the material. Start by previewing the text together, discussing its title, pictures, and any headings or subheadings to set expectations. Encourage the child to ask questions about the content and make predictions about what will happen next. As they read, pause periodically to check for understanding by asking them to summarize sections in their own words or explain key details. Use strategies like re-reading, highlighting important information, or breaking complex sentences into simpler parts. Additionally, help them connect the text to their own experiences or prior knowledge, making the material more relatable. Lastly, provide opportunities for discussion, as talking about the text reinforces comprehension and encourages critical thinking.

How do you feel about TAs having to cover for teachers considering the difference in pay?

I am also a TA in primary 1 and 2 (so reception/y1) this year our primary 1 (43 dc) have 6 still in pull ups or having regular accidents. We have a high level of dc with asn in this year group too. None of these dc are the ones not toilet trained fwiw

Do you acknowledge that some children do just have SEN - mine has very limited screen time, a mostly UPF free diet (supermarket bread is the only one we're really guilty of), pretty healthy boundaries IMO although of course I would say that, and still has SEN with an EHCP and a 1-1. While I don't doubt that you do see children whose needs are attributable to parenting, I do fear that she gets lumped in with "must be poor parenting" by professionals - how do you tell the difference?

Lie to me if you need to 😆

We have several children who do have extreme SEN needs. None verbal etc and it’s very obvious. It’s more the low level poor behaviour and attention I’m talking about.

Don’t get me started 😂 I have my own group that I do ALL of the teaching for. There aren’t the staff to cover though so needs must. It is a very unfair system. I work with a teacher who contributes no fresh ideas and I come up with all of the planning and yet she’s on the highest pay scale.

Thankyou soooo much this is very helpful il do this

Your an amazing support and help excellent TA with amazing experience to support our children il get onto it thankyou again. 🌹❤🌹❤

This isn't on. Are you in a union? The more you do of this type of work the more they put on you.