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.

There's a grey army out there, it needs a different mindset. First of all you need a pop up event, empty shop, town hall. Then you advertise on social media asking folks to come on down. You provide, tea, biscuits create an application form suited to your school requirements. Those forms are for the head and governor's, teaching staff to peruse. The wannabe volunteers are then interviews, vetted for suitability of placement within the school. Then enhanced CRB's.

It does take time

And people in education don’t either ffs. Do people really still believe this?

They generally get the equivalent of about 5 weeks paid annual leave, but the unpaid weeks are divided over the annual salary so there’s an income every month

Work within the premises caring for and entertaining . Sit with them if they're doing educational courses, think computers, cooking, arts and crafts. Escort them on days out, push wheelchairs when needed, take them for toilet breaks, help them with their food. Drive the minibuses.

So your hospital volunteers are pretty much doing all the things that volunteers in school are already doing? Which in most cases doesn't require any specific training and which is not going to cause any harm if the recipients get a varying level of input into their course or entertainment depending on the quality of the volunteer from one day to the next. It's rather different to replacing a SN TA with a well-meaning volunteer. And how often exactly are your volunteers volunteering? A day a week? More/less? And presumably you don't forbid them to take holidays except at specific times or miss their own family obligations, hospital appointments etc because they are pushing someone's wheelchair?

There's a grey army out there

They generally don't want to come into schools because of the lack of covid measures. That was a real issue with exam invigilators last summer, who are normally retired people. The government had to weaken exam regulations to make up for the lack of staff.

My daughter in yr.1 Primary has had a the class TA teaching her class since mid September. No other adult has been supporting the class. Scandal!

@Meadowbreeze that was for the tax cut for people earning the highest band wasn't it, and cost wise not a huge amount? And never actually happened.
In order to fund our public services properly the vast majority need to pay more tax whether that's from income, higher CGT, IHT etc.

You won't get that as a TA either!

You get paid how ever many hours a week (usually 18-32) for 40 weeks of the year.

You then get paid for the normal amount of holidays. (28 days).

This pay which is usually about 44.6 weeks of the year is then split into 12 equal monthly payments.

I've been a writer/scribe volunteer for many years GCSE and A-level. We get training.

There's a grey army out there, it needs a different mindset. First of all you need a pop up event, empty shop, town hall. Then you advertise on social media asking folks to come on down. You provide, tea, biscuits create an application form suited to your school requirements. Those forms are for the head and governor's, teaching staff to peruse. The wannabe volunteers are then interviews, vetted for suitability of placement within the school.

I AM part of the grey army - and I volunteer. Do I want to volunteer full-time or even, say, three days a week - definitely not! Also I am going to ask again if schools can't get people to do these jobs for a salary, do you think tea and biscuits is going to get them (or anyone else) to do it for free?!

Kind of agree with this. The teaching assistants I have come across struggle with basic spelling and grammar.

Volunteers do get training. Do you think the RNLI send out boatman without

Oh my God. Read my post. Will a retiree come into school to be kicked, hit, have things thrown at them and clean shit off walls? Really???
A TA job is not popping a few pieces of work on the wall, rearranging bookshelves and doing a bit of light listening to readers, you know?!

Anyone with a single functioning hand can be a scribe in an exam, that doesn’t mean they’re at all suited or capable of being a TA. How is your BSL for example?

Indeed. Because it's a skill. I'm very surprised you don't get paid for it though.

@justasking111 I think it’s you who are wilfully missing the point.

@noblegiraffe it's needs to be spread though because there aren't enough of those 45% tax payers.

There's a grey army out there, it needs a different mindset. First of all you need a pop up event, empty shop, town hall. Then you advertise on social media asking folks to come on down. You provide, tea, biscuits create an application form suited to your school requirements. Those forms are for the head and governor's, teaching staff to peruse. The wannabe volunteers are then interviews, vetted for suitability of placement within the school.

As if.

@justasking111 Surely you're messing with us? You can't be this ignorant. A volunteer cannot replace a TA. It's nothing like the kind of tasks you're describing. You have a very high chance of getting hurt daily. It's not a job for the grey army.

Sure, but the idea that there isn't an appetite to pay more taxes to get better funded public services is generally spread by a party who want to cut taxes.

You'll note that the announcement that taxes would be cut was made separately to the one that there would be public spending cuts to pay for it. They know that won't be popular.

Our volunteers work with brain damaged adults as well. They get training for this. It can get hairy.

I think some of you have zero understanding of how charities work to be honest.

So do you think that volunteers should be replacing nurses? We can't get enough nurses either. They want to strike for better pay, perhaps we should just get people to do the job for free?

Look, take it from the people who actually have experience in the sector and know what they're talking about: it wouldn't work.

@justasking111 I've been a finance manager for a youth charity and I can guarantee you it doesn't stay afloat with volunteers. You're absolutely deluded and clearly haven't spent a day in a school for a very long time.

I'm not my DS works in a special needs school secondary. Staff turnover is high and those staff are aware how difficult it is.

Why doesn't your DS phone you up and ask you to take over a class when staff are absent then?