Teachers and TAs

[Pinkfrogs45]

I keep dreaming of being a teacher or a TA. All my teacher friends say to be a TA. Just wondering for any teachers or TAs what would you choose if you were to go into the profession again. There’s the balance work load vs low pay.

Ideally I would like the holidays to fit better around school age children. Which makes me think TA might be better suited.

And before I get the comments I know teachers do planning in the holidays I’m not naive. Although I do have a few teacher friends who don’t as they work late all term time. Guess it depends on person / experience / school / leadership etc.

Has anyone done any TA qualifications without being in a school setting? Wondering if someone could point me in the right direction?

Or is it worth doing a year PGCE and then being a TA? Guess it will give me both options?

Any advice welcome!

If you’re not that bothered about the money, being a TA can be a great job. I was a TA before I did my PGCE and became a teacher and it was honestly the best job I ever had. It also helped that I left at 3.30 to pick up my DC and didn’t give work a second thought until the next day. The only reason I left was to do my PGCE because the money was so rubbish.

Our secondary school is constantly advertising for TAs so you could probably get a job with very little experience. Then you can see how working in a school is for you and whether you want to do the PGCE. Be warned though- teaching is NOT family friendly! It’s a very tough profession at the moment.

If the money isn't a massive issue I would start as a TA and get some experience and a feel for whether you'd want to do teacher training.

@Confusedteacher thank you I will take a look. I have a degree in a STEM subject so I will have a look.

No worries I know it’s not family friendly but it seems slightly better than working till 10pm every night with a lack of holidays. Or I have been told I just need to find another job.

Hence the TA route might be better as I’m getting burn out. I could do with a work life balance reset.

If you want a work/life balance you definitely don’t want to be a teacher 😄. If u can afford it TA is the way to go - and schools are absolutely desperate for them!

Why though? Your motivations confuse me.

If you have a degree in a STEM subject could
you look for a job as a school lab technician?

I love being a teacher but work life balance is a bit hard. During term time it is full on crazy, then a sudden break. The contrast makes is hard - there is no easing into a busy day/ term.

Get into a school and see for yourself if it is for you, as I say I love it.

I'm a teacher and what I have found most difficult is behaviour management, as opposed to planning/marking.

I got my QTS before I was married and had kids though, and was teaching for 4 years before I fell pregnant. If you have kids I think it's very hard to get into teaching, because of the work/life balance.

6 years in i manage it really well even though I have 2 DC. I will happily go to the ends of the Earth to plan perfect lessons for my students, but one thing I cannot tolerate is poor behaviour.

I've moved to a school where lessons are planned centrally (they're shared across the department) and checked over by the HOD to make sure they're up to standard and honestly it works amazingly. The students are also very very well behaved as there is a school wide behaviour policy which is enforced by all staff.

I'm a Science teacher but I also teach Maths when needed. I absolutely love my job. If you have any questions, PM me.

I got a TA job without any relevant qualifications. There was a stipulation in the job advert that you needed to have experience working with children which I had done in a voluntary capacity.
I’m a bit older, so I think my life experience helped me out as well as having common sense. I love the job but the pay is shit.

Oh and being a parent definitely helps, as well as some understanding of SEN.

Secondary or primary?
Do you have any school experience?
What is it that your dreaming of? What do you think you will get out of it? Just so people can understand what is important to you.

I left teaching after 18 years recently. Nothing would entice me back. Ever.

I was a TA before that. Absolutely loved it.

Exactly what I was thinking. Schools are crying out for good people to support Stem.

You could ask me for my motivation rather than assume from a small paragraph.

I originally went to uni to the teacher, I wanted to be a teacher all my childhood but end up not doing a PGCE as I had a super hard final year of uni and decided I wanted to earn some
money for a while rather than another challenging year doing a PGCE. Plus I looked super young for my age.

I have always thought about returning to be a teacher and I think my motivation stems from making a difference feeling like you’re giving back rather than just making money for a corporation. I have also look at roles in the nhs too.

Im very burnt out in the corporate world, my motivation is super low and I don’t find I enjoy what I do

Amazing suggestions, thanks I will have a look now for our local area 🥰

Unfortunately, the feeling of been on a corporate wheel, figures coming first and not making a difference is prevalent in teaching too.

I got a job as a food and textiles technician in a secondary school with no experience or qualifications (well apart from O Level Food and Needlework)

Pay is slightly better than the LSAs but not much, but way lower than teachers...however the teachers in our dept are regularly planning and marking til 9pm at night and doing extra work in the holidays too, so not great work/life balance.

Asking was exactly what I was doing! I didn't assume anything OP. You said you had dreamed of it but then only spoke of worklife balance , so I wondered where the dream was.

Burn out in education is a huge problem. Our recent school well being survey suggested our non teaching staff are almost as fed up as the teachers, and lots of our TAs leave after a term.

Honestly, I've been a teacher a looong time. It would be nice if I still felt I was making a difference but its become an endless treadmill of assessments, exams, accountability and a pressure to also heal all if society's ills. It's like pushing water uphill.

I understand your feeling about making money for a corporation, but the education system now doesn't really suit altruism either. It's pretty mechanical. Luckily, I still love the subjects I teach , because I am jaded by everything else.

You’ll get fed up of being a TA pretty quickly. The salary is advertised as minimum wage but because you won’t get paid full time hours or holidays it eill be pro rata. It could be 70% less than the teacher you’ll be supporting is paid. You’ll probably be asked to teach, do most of the break and lunch duties in all weathers and be expected to manage the kids behaviour despite not having proper responsibility.

I’d teach and go part time. Better money and conditions.

If you want it to fit around your family more than you want it to provide a living wage, then be a TA.

My HLTA job gives me enough challenge and enough time teaching that I get all the pleasures of being a teacher but without the ultimate responsibility for the children’s progress and without having to do all the admin and paperwork. It’s fab.

Working till 10pm at is what I already do so that wouldn’t be a shock, however I don’t think it’s great either.

I think lab tech or TA or a more pastoral role might suit me better. Money wouldn’t be great but I would be happier at least….I hope!

I almost did my PGCE when I completed my English BA years ago, but life at the time made me hold off and I’ve never taken the leap - something always comes up and although it’s ‘just’ a year for the PGCE it’s very intense and takes dedication and I’m not sure I could easily juggle that and home life.

I’m currently a TA in a Primary School, no TA qualification.
I did some volunteering there first and am employed as Level 2 TA, I currently work just under 28hrs.

Yes, my wage doesn’t cover our rent, but it does pay for quite a bit.

The hours and holidays mean that we don’t have to pay for any childcare (we have three children) which is a big benefit right now. Unless the school politics basically no different than the crap that happens in offices becomes too much, I’ll be here until my youngest finishes Primary school at the very least. I’d like to stay in my current school until all three children have got through Y13.

If you are looking for a work life balance reset, definitely don’t become a teacher. This is precisely why I will be leaving the profession in the next year! I get paid for 32.5 hours a week but never work less that 55 and often more than that. My children are not at school yet so to get through my workload that I have to do in the holidays, they get sent to nursery for 2-3 days of each week of holiday…nuts that I pay for childcare when I’m not being paid for the work myself.
The teaching itself is so rewarding and if you’re looking for a vocation then go for it but in the current climate it’s not a job I would recommend to anyone.

If you’re happy being paid peanuts for the job you actually do then a TA would perhaps give you a better work life balance but be prepared to get more and more responsibilities pushed on you for no extra pay as time goes in. Possibly why 70% of TAS in my school leave within one academic year.

I get the impression a TA's role is quite different in primary and secondary.
TA's very, very rarely are in charge of a class in the secondary I work in. Some are attached to one pupil, depending on their needs, the others seem to float about the other SEN children who do not need specialist help ie. Blind or deaf.

I am an RM, textiles, graphics and food technology technician. I have a STEM degree and the teacher's use me in the classroom as I have skills that complement theirs.
The pay isn't great but you can walk out of school at the end of the day and not think about it until you walk in the next morning, which is the trade off.

@Whatmarbles thats a good point I do think there’s a difference in primary and secondary TAs. I have a pull towards primary but secondary suits my degree better.