To think they could of at least given me an interview?

[taken4afool]

I have been volunteering at a school for 2 years while I completed my level 2 & level 3 teaching assistants course.

I qualified a few months ago and would love to work in the school, I have been working in reception year. On my course I needed to work 1 day a week in placement, but to get as much experience as possible I had been working 3, the teacher has been very vocal about how much she values me and that she would be lost without me, she has even asked (at least once a month) if I was not doing anything on a certain, if I could come in to help (which I always did willingly).

It is such a good school and due to my own children, working there would be perfect as no other school around for miles and I do not drive.

Jobs coming up are very rare, well one came up and my teacher told me about it, (it was in her class) I applied and the closing date was last Friday, and I have heard nothing. The post said that if the candidate has heard nothing by today, assume you have been unsuccessful. The teacher said that she would be a reference, but stated that the headteacher will make her own decision.

I am gutted as I have given a lot of time to the school, I have always helped extra when needed, I get on very well with the team and always being asked to help out in other classes.

My confidence has taken a real battering and I feel very low, my dh left me 3 months ago, but every time I went into school that was all forgotten as I loved what I was doing and built up good relationships with staff and the children. No one even suspected anything was wrong as I came alive in the classroom.

I appreciate there might have been better candidates for the job, but after giving 2 years volunteering, if I was not selected for an interview, I would of thought at least someone could of said to me, thanks for your application but you have not been selected.

Guess I am waffling now, sorry

We have several volunteers at our school who apply for at jobs when they come up. They are fab people to have in school as they are so flexible and helpful. The problem is that their basic English and maths skills are poor. Their spoken English is poor e.g. 'We done maths, then we done PE.' This means we can't consider them for a class or 1:1 support TA. It can be tricky to explain this to someone as it is so personal, but we have done.

It could be that you have a similar problem (your post title should read 'could have given me an interview.'). You won't know unless you ask and it may be that they're too wimpy to come outright and say what the issue is.

I do wish you luck as I'm sure you could solve whatever issue it is.

I think give it until tomorrow, so a full week since the deadline to apply has past, then send a nice e-mail to the head asking for feedback on your application.

It's quite likely that the shortlisting process has taken longer than expected so don't be disheartened just yet. I applied for a job recently and they hadn't contacted me by the specified date, but things had just got delayed. I start there in a few weeks' time.

If you are ultimately unsuccessful, obviously you will be disappointed, but ask for feedback and use it as a way to improve your application next time round.

Yes, do ask for feedback. It could be some generic fob-off, but it might well be useful and almost certainly won't make you feel any worse. I also agree though that there's still a faint possibility something's gone awry and you might still hear - it does seem odd that you didn't even get an interview with all of your relevant experience.

I agree with Pippin. The jobs that a volunteer might do in school are not the sdame as those I would give a fully-employed TA, simply because of their different skill sets and levels of expertise.

So while I might love having a parent helper or someone doing a course to read 1:1 with children, to help with messy art days or themed topic days, to come on trips, and to do the 101 little jobs that accumulate round the classroom, for an employed TA I would be looking for a step change in terms of ability and expertise. Flawless written and spoken English, for starters. The ability to work with groups of children on an academic task from a written plan, but also having the back-up knowledge of e.g. phonics or early writing to adapt the plan as needed to meet the needs of the children.

I think approaching the HT in person or in writing saying 'I applied for the job - I understand that i have not been shortlisted. I would love some feedback on my application so that I can improve it for future job applications,' is fine. Saying 'Why didn't you shortlist me? I volunteer here so much and the class teacher loves me.' is not fine!

[Spot irony of obvious typos. Apologies]

she's been doing a TA course and has been volunteering as part of that, it's not a simple parent helper role that she's been doing

Petula. I saw that. However, many 'student TAs' of this type do tend to do things in the classroom that are closer to 'parent helper / extra pair of hands' than 'full TA role' - they don't often, IME, lead intereventions for specific children, take phonics groups on their own, fill in assessment paperwork etc etc, all of which are day-to-day TA tasks.

Also Petula, there is a huge difference between making typos on a forum but proofreading an application more carefully, and using incorrect grammar. If you know it is incorrect to use "could of", you'd never use it by accident instead of writing "could have".

I think that as you've been volunteering you have the opportunity of asking for feedback - and whilst they may refuse to engage with other unsuccessful candidates they would be unreasonable if they refused to discuss your application with them.

Being that you volunteer they are stupid not to automatically take you to one side and explain the situation - maybe they had an exceptional candidate - it avoids bad feeling as they depend on your good will and it helps you know whether you are wasting your time with them and maybe better off looking for new opportunities and experience to add to your cv.

Alternatively you might have not received the communication inviting you to an interview - to me it seems ridiculous to not give an explicit answer one way or another - it is easy peesy to send one email bcc-ing in all unsuccessful candidates. By saying "don't call us we'll call you" the communication to the successful or potential candidates can get lost with the other person just assuming they haven't progressed to the interview stage - if you are expecting a reply one way or another at least if you haven't heard you will chase it up.

I agree that the school could have let you know why you were unsuccessful, but they will be looking for the best person for the job, not the person who wants or needs the job most and a lot of your post is about why this job would have been good for you not vv. I would ask the employer for some input into how you can improve your chances in future jobs. I'd look at sitting your driving test as well.

Oooh that would destroy me too.

Ring anyway, it shows you are interested, and if your application has gone missing somewhere then they can relocate it before it's too late.

Having worked as a TA for six years (when my children were young), can I add here that not all teachers possess impeccable spoken English grammar, spelling and pronunciation. I often had to pick up spelling errors (caterpiller was written once instead of caterpillar in a child's book, just as an example). It was to do with the life-cycle of the butterfly, so one would think the teacher could have checked spellings necessary for the subject, if she wasn't sure!

Also one Reception teacher I worked with was doing a lesson in "People Who Help Us" and consistently pronounced 'ambulance' as 'ambliance'. It was only because she eventually noticed the look on my face that she quizzically asked me "I'm saying that wrong, aren't I?" Err, Yes - and you're the teacher, I'm only a mere TA.

Just thought it worth a mention that not all teachers are fully aware of their spellings and grammar, so appears a little harsh to judge a potential TA on the same.

OP - ask for constructive feedback, so you can work on any perceived "failings". It is a shame that you haven't been given the chance, if you are a valued volunteer. Surely someone could have given you some coaching, if they thought it might be needed. Good luck with your application!

Evans, I absolutely agree. And the OP is at a potential disavdvanage here because, as someone known to the staff, her spoken and written English is likely to already be 'known' regardless of the written quality of her application.

I once worked for a very picky head, in terms of English - having had 320 applications for a single job, she whittled it down very rapidly to 40-50 by the simple experient of 'if it has a spelling or grammatical error on the first page, reject it'. Brutal....

I'd be sad about it too. OP, the school should certainly provide you with clear and proper feedback, if you haven't been shortlisted.

That said TA jobs are like gold dust, round here, possibly everywhere, with highly qualified and experienced people applying. That doesn't undervalue your work in school, but evidences how competitive the field is. Depends how much of a stickler they are for recruiting processes.

I wonder if the role in question was a 1-1 position for which different experience might be needed eg supporting a child with physical disability?

Isn't the pay appalling, given what we expect from TAs?

I know that doesn't help the OPs predicament, but it really is dire.

This is a shitty thread in some ways - TAs are paid about minimum wage or just above

And we live in a society currently that expects perfect English for that

The OP has completed the course, there really should be a job at the end of that.

It's absolutely crap that qualified teachers are applying for TA posts.

You've not had a formal rejection yet so all is not lost. I'd wait a week after the closing date and ask for feedback if you've still not heard anything.

Why is it so terrible to expect good English for a role in a school? Wages have nothing to do with it.

As for expecting someone should get a job at the end of an NVQ level course, tell that to all the unemployed graduates (not Mickey Mouse degrees) with their tens of thousands of pounds in debts.

Real world, please.

I knew someone this happened to. She asked the HT why she hadn't been offered an interview, and was told she had no experience of SN, and the job was working 1:1 with a child.

But I think it would have been nice to interview her, or at least polite explain personally why not.

She stopped volunteering at the school after that, and went to a different school instead.

I am a qualified teacher AND a qualified TA, unfortunately I am struggling with the competition for a paid TA role. There are frequently so many applications.
Good luck OP, it is great that you've put so much of your time into the life of that school and I doubt this is any reflection on the work you do.

I work in a school and am involved in recruitment. We would never just give someone an interview because they were known to us. We only interview people we think we would seriously consider appointing. If there were more experienced, much stronger candidates, you might just not have made the cut. I do think someone should have spoken to you and explained if that was the case. They might just be late with it all and have not short-listed yet.

I was of the same mind as Bobpat, that they may not want to pay you when they have you around for free anyway.

I would rethink and continue searching for jobs elsewhere. Maybe bank work?

Find a way of getting yourself transport and after school care lined up in case you are successful elsewhere!

We get lots of qualified teachers applying for TA posts. Usually they are very young and have given up teaching after a year or two because of the stress and amount of work and ridiculous hours. Newly qualified teachers are poorly paid. They work 60 hour weeks easily for £21,000. That's why they apply for TA posts.