Teaching assistants...how much take home pay?

[Decafflatteplease]

I'm thinking of becoming a TA. Ideally looking for 0.5 / 0.6 so either 3 days, 2.5 days or 5 mornings.

If you are on similar hours, what is your take-home please? After tax, NI, pension etc.

Would I need to be in a union so there's union fees then?

Also is your pay the same each month like teachers is?

Thanks

@Decafflatteplease
It varies but I'm a HLTA and my hourly rate of pay is £11.67. Please also bear in mind you only get statutory holiday pay, not all of the school holidays (as some people assume). Pay is spread out evenly over the year.
TA's are also increasingly being expected to cover full classes (often with with no other adult) so I would ask that question of the school first. I would say 85% of my job is now class cover (which I don't enjoy).
The pay is indeed dire!
If you have kids you will need to consider how you're going to get them to school and collect.
I would absolutely recommend being in a union too.

You need to check what your LA pays, as a previous thread has shown, there is a huge variance in pay.

I earn 12.18 an hour as a TA and an HLTA in my area earns a minimum of 15.17 per hour.

Also you will pay into the pension (assuming you want to. I’d recommend it). I pay 5.8% of my salary.

To think most people have no idea how little HLTAs/Teaching Assistants earn? http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/amiibeingunreasonable/4993578-to-think-most-people-have-no-idea-how-little-hltasteaching-assistants-earn

There's a lot of extra in this thread but you might get a bit of a feel and the disparity!

Depends on the hours on the 3 days etc - is it 8.30 til 4 or 9- 3.30? Grade? Pro rota pay ? (Which most are)

Best way to work it out if pro rota is find out the hourly wage x hours x 44 weeks

I'm already a volunteer TA and enjoy it 🙂

That's good that pay is spread over the year.

How much are union fees? A teacher friend pays £20 a month.

It's only HLTA that can have sole charge of the class isn't it? I'm thinking of training at level 3.

Can I ask how much you get per month @LorlieS@Tulipvase@itispersonal

The sort of jobs I'm looking at say "16 hours at £23800 pro rata" can anyone tell me what that would be take-home?

I also definitely want to pay into a pension, that's part of the reason I'm thinking of going back to work! I need to make sure we will be better off with me working though. I can only do part time due to caring responsibilities but ironically, me working may mean I lose carers allowance so need to make sure it's worth me working otherwise I'll be working for no financial gain as any wages would be lost on the fact I'd lose carers allowance, but I'd gain a pension, and more confidence etc

@itispersonal Thanks for referring - that was a thread I started and hopefully it's proving useful.
I'm leaving my HLTA role in summer after 20 years in education to return to uni to do Masters and change career path.
I'm gutted in a way, but needs must.

@Decafflatteplease Around £1200 working 8.30-3.30 Mon - Fri.
Increasingly TAs are being asked to class cover.

@Decafflatteplease I don't know what my TA colleagues come out with, but of course it's less than that. Crazy.

I work 32.5 hours a week and take home £1300.

I would say 23800 is equivalent to around 12.30 an hour.

23800 ft is about 12.20 per hour if it's set at 37.5hour week.

12.20 x 16 x 44 = 8588pa

So you be looking at about £700pm take home with 5.8% pension

It is a pittance. On the other hand I was paid more per hour as a TA than as a teacher

You won’t pay pay tax assuming that’s your sole income and NI will be pretty low.

Id say around 600 per month ish. A salary calculator will be able to confirm.

With the example you give of 16 hours o think you would actually be earning about £9k.

@Decafflatteplease I work 8:30 - 12 as a TA & take home just over £800 pm from that aspect of my job. Mine's an 18 hour contract but I also currently do breakfast club and dinners so it had to work with them & me getting enough time to have a quick break to make a brew.

I don't do any classroom cover at all & no interventions or extras within the class. Anything extra I do do is because I've offered & I'll happily make props at home if I feel like it. Harsh as it is, there's enough to do without having more piled on.

Our other TA has literally taken on the role of teacher this week, ensuring interventions are done, provision swapped over etc, before we go back after half term as our teacher's off. Love her to bits but no way I'm hanging round on my afternoons to do someone else's job (i.e. the teacher) when they're off for a number of weeks & left us nothing.

This is all really helpful!

I'm trying to do an online benefits calculator to see if we would also lose tax credits as me working would bump up our household income obviously. Where it asks for salary is that take-home? Or annual? This is so confusing!

Actually you won’t pay NI either, so will be nearer 700 a month as you will only lose the pension contribution and any union subscription.

I think it’s around 12.30ph x 16h x 44.5 weeks = 8757.

Looking at this just reminds me how appalling the pay is. If childcare was added on top it really wouldn't be worth it 😞

I'm a TA3 (and quite often get left to do whole class cover). I work 30h including a dinner duty and take home £1400 pcm.

Three years ago as a TA I was on £13,350 a year as take home pay. It was split evenly throughout the year to cover holiday periods.

I'm a TA and get paid £13 per hour.
16 hours would be a take home pay of £773 every month (minus £38 pension if paying in)

The NEU fee for a TA on those hours is about £58 per year and you can pay monthly. They are considering bringing in a £1 per month fee for support staff.

If you’re employed at level 3 you’ll be covering classes all the time!!!

It's only HLTA that can have sole charge of the class isn't it? I'm thinking of training at level 3.

Heads will use anyone they want to cover. There is no national HLTA qualification any more and heads can call anyone an HLTA as well. Our class TAs all cover whole classes for absence/PPA/courses etc

That’s absolutely shocking that you’re expected to cover classes on that hourly wage!

I’m in Scotland and the class must have a qualified teacher in class at all times.

Is it written into your Ts&Cs?

Dh tells me he earns less than £12k. He is full time 9-3.30 and also has a lunchtime supervisor contract. He leads a curriculum area, delivers 2 days a week teaching, and the other 3 days he'll do interventions, general class support, cover supervisor and sometimes he'll be moved to he a 1:1 for a child who has behavior which puts themselves or others at risk. Oh, and he does an after school club each week. And when the bus driver is off sick, he gets paid to do the school bus run.

To be fair, when he's in charge he gets paid as a hlta so he probably gets more than he tells me.

He loves it. But changing to be a TA has definitely put us in a more financially precarious position.

You don’t need to be a HLTA to cover a class. Academies do not need to employ qualified teachers. All our teacher absences are covered by HLTAs or Level 2 teaching assistants. Teaching assistants that leave aren’t being replaced so some are leading the class by themselves.

I wouldn’t bother paying for the extra training you’ll cover the class with or without it. If school want you to have it see if they will pay for it.