Teaching assistants quitting schools for supermarkets because of 'joke wages'

[noblegiraffe]

Finally getting some mainstream press attention:

www.theguardian.com/education/2022/oct/09/teaching-assistants-quitting-schools-for-supermarkets-because-of-joke-wages

The article is very clear that schools cannot afford to pay higher wages for support staff. The DfE comment at the bottom says it is up to schools to improve support staff pay.

The education sector is falling apart. Teacher redundancies mean bigger class sizes. Fewer teaching assistants means zero in-class support unless your child has an EHCP. Recruitment issues mean that even if your child has an EHCP, they might not be able to hire anyone to support them.

The way provision for the most vulnerable students has been eroded over the last decade of school underfunding is devastating.

they scam people in to thinking that more of the money that they donate goes towards the charity, where as in reality a minimal percentage goes towards the actual work whilst the top dogs skim the actual funds for themselves.

@ByeByeMr and @BrendaHope

Yes I've heard of this also.

It's so sad isn't it.

I work as a 1-1 TA in a mainstream primary with a child who should 100% be in a specialist setting. My hourly rate is £9.57.

Its an absolute joke. I can only do it because dh is a high earner. And although I love my job in many ways, I am only here because me working school hours works for us right now.

My experience was secondary but before I left there was a massive swing from mums bring appointed TAs to generally young women.
SLT thought this was great as they wouldn’t have to deal with them missing work for sick children or leaving to pick them up on time and push long hours on them. What happened was employing lots of inexperienced staff with no support and training. Inevitably they would do something ‘wrong’ usually involving a child with behavioural issues who really should be dealt with someone senior, it would 100% not be their fault, they would get shouted at, and then they would leave. Then the cycle would start again. I remember one leaving to work in a pub as it was more money and less grief.

Are TAs better paid in local authority schools. I left working for the council after job evaluation happened or were they excluded from that?

Yes, I'd agree with the push towards employing young women- but it often leads to higher staff turnover, as they do the job for a year or two and then move on, sometimes to get a degree, sometimes to train to teach, sometimes to do something completely different.

I'm not sure being a secondary TA really suits in terms of working hours that fit around having a primary school child, though.

And I definitely agree that schools want more for less, now- but that's partly due to having no money.

But being a TA is both a difficult and skilled job, and it's valuable to society, so it ought to be paid a decent wage.

My worry is that my DC’s school actively states in its permanent ad for TAs -
no experience required! Two minutes later and these people are left in charge of a class when the teacher goes off sick. Yes, they’ll be DBS checked but that’s about it. A
pulse is probably the only other requirement. The quality of provision is appalling. Complaints to the head about (a) no proper teacher and (b) dubious practice by an inexperienced TA fall on deaf ears. One even tried to unilaterally change the uniform policy herself and ended up bullying the poorer children about a part of their uniform that to date had never been an issue. Nasty woman. Still works there, despite numerous complaints.

Yes. That's why I said Exec Heads fair enough.

But in school Heads/DHTs/AHTs don't get anywhere near that! And as for phase leaders/subject leads...in primary you're lucky if you get a tlr even if your leading ks2 + English + maths!

TAs actually have to be able to teach small groups of children maths and English whilst also having the skills to manage classroom behaviour alongside the teacher or in the their absence if they have to nip out. How would a random volunteer be able to do this? TAs are experienced and trained. Some are ex teachers and some are studying to become teachers in their spare time. You can't just get Joe Bloggs off the street to be a TA!!!!

TAs get paid only for the weeks they work, but it is spread out and given to them across 12 months.

Not all TAs are particularly experienced. But I am amazed anyone does it for the level of pay unless it is a precursor to getting onto a teaching degree.

This is so true.

£10.50 and hour
6 hours a day
Half an hour unpaid lunch

Ok, I think I've cracked it this time.

Realign the school year to run 23 weeks but longer hours each day so contact time is broadly similar. Stagger primary and secondary so one set is off while the other is learning, this allows support staff to work for 46 weeks of the year. This would increase support staff net pay and essentially double the work force.

Realign the school year to run 23 weeks but longer hours each day so contact time is broadly similar

School would need to be from 8am til 6:30pm. I’m sure that would be fine.

Course it would! Would stop all the teacher bashing about lazy teachers finishing at 3pm. Who needs sleep eh?

A tenner an hour for a job where you’re second in command and do no planning or marking sounds quite reasonable. In the FE sector that’s what they’re paying the actual teachers with postgrad qualifications who have planning and marking to do as well. Now there is a sector which is haemorrhaging staff!

Wait till schools figure out they can class their staff as self employed like colleges and universities do, thus relieving them from sick pay and maternity leave and pensions.

@Asparagoose

You’ve fallen down the ‘whataboutery’ rabbit hole. Comparison with another professional setting who has it worse and therefore this is “quite reasonable”. It’s not. You know that.

Most TAs will have to do marking (mostly done during lessons where possible these days so children get immediate and more effective feedback.) Many will also usually have to plan what they will do with their intervention groups etc, they just don't normally get paid for doing so. I think the worst but is the hours that it is expected you work but are not paid for, which add up to a lot of unpaid hours. I do it because I love working with the children and feeling I am making a difference to them. I don't know if I will always be able to afford to do so though.

I would rather contribute specifically to my children’s school (and do, via a monthly direct debit to the PTA as well as volunteering at fund-raising events, and yes this is on top of a busy professional job, helping my kids with their homework (to a PP who said parents don’t bother) and looking after my youngest) as I can see where the money is going and how much difference it makes. Higher taxes just seem to disappear and no money actually makes its way to where it’s needed on the ground.

I teach solo almost of the time and do my own planning and marking. I also communicate in two languages in most classes as I have a mixture of students some of whom use BSL I'm not paid more than my contact hours. I also deal with their medical needs and teach too many subjects to list.

I am a former teacher. I stopped because I struggle to hear even with hearing aids. I am at my limit right now.

Also, why are children who hit, punch, bite and chase people with scissors in mainstream school? I don’t blame TAs for quitting if this is what they are expected to deal with on a daily basis (for what is on any measure a low salary). Surely these children should be in specialist provision where they can be given the support they need? That is where funding needs to be directed, then volunteers can come into mainstream school for the nice to haves like cooking lessons and hearing everyone read more often.

Also, why are children who hit, punch, bite and chase people with scissors in mainstream school? I don’t blame TAs for quitting if this is what they are expected to deal with on a daily basis (for what is on any measure a low salary). Surely these children should be in specialist provision where they can be given the support they need?

The reason why we are losing TAs is because they have been moved from supporting the whole class, to providing 1:1 support for children with complex needs, some regularly displaying the behaviours listed above.
Why are they in mainstream? I think there are 2 reasons. Firstly, there is no real alternative, specialist settings are hard to get, and parents are sold a message that inclusion works (often it does, but for some it is not the best setting).
There is also a culture that the adults are responsible for making sure these children are not triggered, and a feeling that the school/adults are to blame when these children do become disregulated. The cost to support these children often outweighs the funding schools are receiving (even with additional EHCP funding). This is not the fault of the children/ parents / school. The system is over stretched and everyone is losing out.

I'm surprised because my perception was that term time school hours jobs of any type are like gold dust! And while this doesn't excuse paying poorly, I'd imagine quite a lot of people would be better off overall being a poorly paid TA but having no childcare costs than they would doing something better paid but having to shell out for childcare. I've got friends who've become TAs on that basis.

Anyway, it's all very well wanting more money for schools, but in that case we probably shouldn't have crashed the economy via lockdown.

The majority of children start out in mainstream school, even if they move to a special school or a school with specialist support later on. There are not that many special schools left, and so there may also not be a suitable school with a reasonable commute available.

This is the way education works, and it has done so for some time. Reopening more special schools would be expensive, so it won't happen any time soon, even if it might be the right option for some students.

In the meantime, schools will continue to need to recruit TAs to support these children, and if they don't it will negatively impact every child at the school.

It's also all very well to say that you'd prefer to support your child's school directly, but schools can't rely on this funding to pay wages, in case it disappears. And some schools don't serve communities where the parents have that level of income.

I was a 1:1 TA, and now a class TA.

I'll add that I spend an exceptional amount of time acting as an unofficial 1:1 to help one child in the class (awaiting diagnosis). If I didn't do that the rest of the class would be disrupted constantly and the child in question would learn nothing too.

It is a steep learning curve being a TA. You need to know what motivates all the very different children in your class, be able to take over at the drop of a hat, mark work, give feedback, work with small groups etc. I do all that then am a dinner lady too, so a 15 minute break then back to it. It helps top the wage up.

Most of my TA colleagues are very experienced, and been doing to job for decades. Anyone younger or without experience leaves very quickly because the money isn't great. A few are ex teachers.

Without exception the only reason they can continue is because they have other income streams or due to age they no longer have mortgages to pay. We also are struggling to recruit.

I heard the CEO of the trust moaning about the cost of living... And I bit my tongue. The teachers however are lovely.

I love working with children, but this will be my last year, I can't afford it any longer. I could earn more at Tesco, but something different I think.