Considering a career change to being a teaching assistant

[Eileen101]

I'm becoming demotivated in my current career and have a perhaps idealistic vision of a career change to be a teaching assistant. I have thoughts that I'd much rather be doing things like listening to children read, helping groups of kids, sorting reading books, etc etc. In my vision (possibly completely naively) it's fairly low stress, fun and gives the warm fuzzy feeling of having a job that genuinely helps people.

I'm aware that this is probably not true.

If you're a teaching assistant, can you give me a warts and all account of your role? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Is it as stressful as being a teacher?
I'm aware the pay is low, particularly as I would not have education related qualifications.

Wow this admittedly is a reason we avoided school nurseries (not the norm here) and opted for a preschool ! It was far more free flowing and play based - not strict lessons/playtime. "Registration " was finding their name and putting it on the wall when they came in - also much higher staff ratio as it was all nursery workers rather than "Teacher and TA" so lots more adults! I think once its in a school the atmosphere is quite different.

@OutlookStalking it's a wow here too. Not like anything that happens in Scottish school nurseries. Of course numbers and sounds are subtly added in to play based activities but no actual teaching or intervention. We have senior early years officers, early years officers, early years practitioners, all qualifies and registered for early years. People of TA level (sometimes ta sometimes early years assistant) are just that. Assistants with no real responsibility

I love my job in my Reception classes but it's very full-on.

Part of my role includes providing 1:1 support for children with a high level of SN. Tasks include nappy-changing, providing interventions for SALT and OT, and dealing with challenging behaviours. I also keep the families updated on their child's day and let the teacher know about any particular issues or incidents.

The children I work with are often non-verbal, so may often express their frustration through lashing out. I get kicked, punched, bitten and slapped on a daily basis. It's my job to help the child to calm down and work with the families, SENCO and teacher to try new strategies to reduce the child's stress levels.

My role also includes working with the rest of the class. I do intervention work to help children catch up with their maths and literacy work. I take small groups out to read together and ensure that they understand what they're reading. Some children need interventions for their fine motor and/or gross motor skills. Others need help with social skills.

TAs at my school are usually also first-aiders, so there's a lot of grazed knees and bumped heads to deal with - as well as all the admin that has to be done whenever a child hurts themselves. If they've been hurt by another child, that workload is doubled.

I'm also there to listen to children when they want to talk about things that have happened at school or at home. These will be mostly positive things but there are also some heartbreaking disclosures made that have to be followed up and passed on to the safeguarding lead.

I also spend time recording observations of what the children have learned and achieved. I absolutely love listening to their ideas about things they've seen and done in class. It's also amazing to look back and see how far they've come since September. Some of my loudest chatterboxes are children who used to barely whisper to me when they first started school.

My job involves being on my feet all day and outside in all weathers. I absolutely love it though. There's a lot of laughter - as well as sometimes struggling to keep a straight face when faced with some particularly amusing mischief!

I don't think it's as stressful as the teacher's job. I don't have their level of responsibility or the endless meetings to discuss whatever the latest school initiative or scheme happens to be. They may get paid more but I don't think it's enough for what they actually do.

Highly competitive, low paid and low value. Constant crap about how you have to justify every penny of your measly pay and be more enthusiastic by teachers on 4 times as much as you, or slt on 8 times who can sit wasting time threatening TAs. Having to be measured according to professional standards for the same or less than cleaners get. I know loads who leave asap because of the amount you are asked to do on such low wages while having to listen to the teachers whine. The only reason anyone does it is to enable looking after their own kids, in which case they have no choice, or if they’re a middle class brat with mummy and daddy in teaching who have been given a pet job for experience and know they will be accepted into the corrupt cosy little social club that is teaching in due time. Which are you?

Secondary TA here, used to be a teacher. Actually went for an interview somewhere else today as am trying to get out of education now.
Pros:
Absolutely adore the children, they are amazing.
Holidays.
My boss the SENCO is a good person (but is massively overworkedwhich has a knock on).
Cons:
The pay is abysmal.
We get 30 mins per day for lunch, no other breaks and it's full on with SEN kids all the other time, I also do two hour long after school clubs a week.
It's emotionally exhausting working with very complex needs every day.
Everyone in education is stressed out and knackered, we've all been treated terribly during the pandemic.
You have no power to enact change for the children you love.
No respect from anyone, I don't feel like I'm treated like a human let alone an experienced member of staff who knows her children and what's best for them.
The environment itself: cold, draughty, peeling paint, one toilet for fifty staff. At the interview today I was given tea in a warm comfortable building and sat on a comfy chair, felt like I was on holiday.

Having said that if it paid better I would stay because I love my kids so much, it's just too much to be exhausted AND poor.

TA for 16 years here... and leaving at Easter
Slightly different as I'm a TA in a Special School (though previously did mainstream) SS are paid slightly more (we call it danger money!)

My role does involve hearing reading now and again but not very often as most of our pupils have severe learning disabiltiies.
However..I can gastrostomy feed, deal with seizures, manage challenging behaviour, do physio, swim with the kids, do personal care multiple times a day, as well as usual maths, english, theme work etc.
Personally I have found special school TA-ing way more fun and interesting and of course we have small classes (8 pupils) and 3 TAs.
I can reccommend it!
I'm leaving because I need holiday flexibility (as my son lives in Oz) and I am burned out of two years of pandemic schooling/no fun and no funds, so am moving into adult care.
The pay is shockingly bad, the but the relationships you build with the kids can be amazing...as long as you can cope with being bitten/hit/kicked/spat at etc now and again!

Veryvery...just curious what did you interview for? And good luck .

I'm two years into TA work at an independent primary. First job after a long time travelling/ then as SAHM. The hours suit me and family life but pay is low , it's very busy and full on p, there's very little progression, and the stress level is quite high.

Expect to do a bit of everything everything: displays, mounting work, photocopying,cutting, laminating, making props for assemblies/ shows, reading groups, one to one or small group work with those needing a bit extra help, circulating in class offering general help to students, prepping for and tidying up after arts and crafts, playground duty, lunch hall supervision, accompanying class on trips, to swimming and outdoor learning sessions, support for those with extra needs ( which might be educational support, emotional support or physical support), dealing with minor injuries/ illness/ upset, dealing with toilet accidents.

It doesn't half help with your daily step count though and the kids and other staff are lovely on the whole, it can be very rewarding working with children, and I love having school holidays free with my own kids.

Its a less than minimum wage job (paid 44 weeks year)
GCSE English and maths is typically all that is required and not always that

Very much depends on the school. No stressful SLT learning walks, bollockings or extra hours where I work and the children are mostly lovely. The pay is shite but its pretty low stress I'd say, unless you are working with a very difficult 1:1 child (difficult because the school environment isn't suited to them I mean). We also haven't had many applicants for recent jobs and the calibre of applicants where I used to work was poor - I think it's an MN myth that TA jobs are highly sought in all parts of the country.

I was a TA in secondary. The behaviour of the students is appalling but you become desensitised to it. They are rude and disrespectful and have zero appreciation for education. I had one student tell me he was going to stab me. “Banter” apparently.
The workload is high especially after lockdowns as the amount of kids needing extra intervention is insane. I had to plan all interventions and deliver them with zero teacher support and manage the behaviour of up to 4 students all with ehcps requiring 1-to-1 TAs but because it was intervention session they didn’t have the support - just me and them.
You will be expected to cover when the class teacher is absent but a teacher has a TA to support but you will have no one.
You may have to work at home in the evenings cutting and making resources but you will not be paid extra for this.
Ah the pay - it is dreadful. You’d get more stacking shelves at Aldi. Yet you will be limited to only taking holidays during expensive peak times. So penalised for your shitty pay.

You will be expected to have professional behaviour outside work as well - sounds standard enough until your standing in a communal gym changing room and realising you can’t get changes there incase parents or students turn up. And definitely no swearing down the pub or getting too drunk watching the World Cup final.

Now on the whole I loved my time in school, no two days were ever the same, the relationships you build up with your students are unforgettable, but I left at Christmas and won’t ever go back. The pay is not worth the workload unfortunately

Every one of our (primary) TAs also works in the before and after school provision, and does a dinner duty to make ends meet.

I've worked long enough as a teacher to watch TAs be a luxury, who helped with displays/readers/small groups and the like. Now they are leaned on. A lot. They run interventions. Have 1-2-1 roles supporting learning or behaviour. And the majority (unless they choose to stay on a lower pay point) end up being put upon to cover classes when people are absent. Or on a course. Or to cover regular teacher PPA.

I value my TAs and think it's a crying shame they are paid a third of what I am. They are usually grateful for the general lack of additional responsiblity for a whole class/parents' evenings and reports etc. But it doesn't make it a low stress job.

It is definitely not low stress, ive done 6years in primary and so far 2 un secondary different types of stresses in both, I do love my job but it often feels like there are not enough hours in the day, you are expected to go above and beyond all the time, and definitely at primary school I never felt like I had time to do everything I needed. Where I live most ta jobs are 15hrs a week so around £500 a month 1:1 jobs are often more hours anything up to 30 all around 1k a month take home pay.
It is an amazing job but please don't go into it with Rose tinted glasses, go and volunteer in a few schools first and see if you like it.

It's not stress free but it is an amazing job. The children make sure that every day is different. If you have a good working relationship with your teacher it's even better. You never work more than 8 weeks without a holiday 😀 I never did breakfast or after school club but know lots of TA's do.

Think it depends on the school, my TAs turn up at 9 and leave at 330. They don't do any work at home either.

I’m a TA at a SEN primary and it is exhausting but I do love it. Before I had kids I had an office job and I was so bored and stressed I’d snack all day, whereas there’s no time to be bored now! It is absolutely exhausting and full on but not really stressful - or at least the stresses are very immediate and don’t hang over you in the same way as deadlines do - it’s dealt with and done.

Since September I have been trained in makaton and other communication methods, dealing with epilepsy and allergies, hoisting and manual handling, so although there is no career progression I am learning. (Long term plan is to retrain as an OT or SLT but that’s quite far off.)

Every day is different, the kids are great and I’m lucky to have great colleagues who work together well as a team. And once I clock off at 3.30pm I’m outta there and don’t think about work until the next day. Though I am emotionally and physically drained.

When you have school aged children, having school holidays off is a MASSIVE perk. I would struggle now with a job that wasn’t term time only.

Ha ha ha - “low stress”. The overall opinion is that it’s an easy job where you’d spend all your time with children doing important stuff.

Unfortunately the school backward hierarchy and the terrible conditions mean you won’t do anything meaningful at all and you’ll feel more demoralised than you do now.

I am an LSA and have worked in infant and secondary

Pros

• school hols
• earlish finish time so can still spend evenings with my kids

-can be really rewarding -some kids are delightful

Cons

• lots of additional responsibilities - I cover the class, set targets, plan and run interventions, etc. It's not just reading and display boards
• lots of behaviour management
• some kids are not delightful
• underpaid and overworked
• not enough time to pee or have a cuppa!

I’m a TA in a primary, having previously been a solicitor. Compared to that TA is low stress and low working hours but crappy awful pay for what we do. Like others have said, it’s a ridiculous wage for what we actually do.

I work about 30 minutes each day more than I am paid for. I am the only class TA and I have 5 kids in my class on IEP so there’s lots of interventions. I take small group maths and English (usually the lowest ability kids) and also lead a daily phonics class of 10, for which I don’t get planning time so have to wing it.
I mark for my teacher, label up each book each day with the learning objective (on stickers) do displays, do playground duty, I’m the designated first aider for the phase so get all the fun stuff to deal with. Last year we had a child with continence issues and because I was the only one not physically sick dealing with it I spent all last year on poo duty (usually three times a day) without so much as a thank you! I’m in KS1 but not nursery.

So while the job is low stress in that I don’t work long hours it’s hard work while you are there. I often feel under appreciated by the teachers - most were surprised when they discovered my professional background as many see being a TA as a job for people with few qualifications.

I wouldn't do it. Rubbish pay for level of responsibility end up working longer hours than paid. My sil was a ta she was expected to run an after school club 4-6pm once a week for no extra money. My bf is a ta she says they spend a lot of time trying to keep Sen kids coping. Last week she got bit on her boob, I remember her once have a huge bruise on her leg because a child kicked her and she once went to hospital because she thought someone had fractured her hand. Plus if you have your own kids you have to put them in wrap around care and can never attend their concerts/sports days. It's like working full time but for half the pay.

Also bizarrely very difficult to get into. (Although it has a high turnover so lots of jobs advertised) I did a stint of lunch time supervisor a few years ago with a view to possibly go down ta route. Job was awful I was attacked several times ( I had two severe Sen kids) no staff around to support. I left in 8 month and never looked back. But the way in if you don't have previous experience is generally through lunchtime cover or volunteering.

I was a TA for 2 terms. It was the most tiring job I have ever done as I was a 1:1 for a child who needed absolute minute to minute work. The pay was so poor I ended up trying to do Saturday care work just to make ends meet and I just couldn't cope with that in the end. Holidays are great but I couldn't afford to do anything!

However, there were moments in that job that were probably among the best of a job ever. I remember doing maths games in the playground and the kid I mainly worked with and his friend giggling and joining in and it was fab. I worried about him all the time, he was an amazing child but school was so stressful for him (he's doing A levels this year and is doing really well).

Expect to do a bit of everything everything: displays, mounting work, photocopying,cutting, laminating, making props for assemblies/ shows, reading groups, one to one or small group work with those needing a bit extra help, circulating in class offering general help to students, prepping for and tidying up after arts and crafts, playground duty, lunch hall supervision, accompanying class on trips, to swimming and outdoor learning sessions, support for those with extra needs

Well that is what I expected going I. To the job. It's far from the case though. We've had a new photocopier since October and in yet to touch it. I sometimes try to start little jobs for the teacher but they go unfinished. The teachers in our school have to do all that themselves. If I try to help the dc who ask my in class because the teacher can't help 30 dc at once, my 1:1 will invariably make a dash for the door and escape. I get 10 minutes a day without the dc so I do have to do things at home or I'd struggle to get through the day with nothing for the dc I work with. I've spent my own money on resources on more than one occasion too. We do not get a lot of applications for posts and only half who are offered jobs actually turn up and the recruitment process is so slow - we are always chronically understaffed so even the 1:1 s who need cover don't have it let alone people being spare to do the general tasks

Lovely job.
It IS low stress generally. Obviously there are moments like when you rock up after Christmas to be told the schools are locked down, teachers are working from home, here's the register and there's your class of key worker kids and sometimes challenging behaviour.

You can do various courses, but even HLTAs only get paid extra when they have to take a class where I work. Eg just above minimum most of the time, despite the extra training.

The money is absolutely terrible but the holidays are great, plenty of time to do a second job if needed. I'm at this point. I love the job, the children and staff I work with are fabulous, but with the cost of living increases I'm not sure to carry on after my 1:1 child leaves.