To feel misled and short changed by DD's school?

[ciscocisco]

DD is 4 and started school in September.

My partner and I went to the parents induction thingy and were given information about starting school and told there would be 2 teachers doing a job share. Each was to be working 3 days a week (1 doing Mon, Tues Weds and the other doing Weds, Thurs, Fri to keep some continuity on a Wednesday). I had no problem with that, I actually work 3 days a week myself due to childcare commitments.

Upon starting school, one of the teachers seemed different to the one I remembered from the induction. Perhaps I was mistaken... I didn't give it much thought tbh.

There was a "Reception News" newsletter that went out the week after DD started school. In it there is a "Meet the staff" section. It mentions "Mrs A - Class Teacher" and "Mrs B - Class Leader". Now I just assumed that Mrs B was a lot older and more experienced and so was referred to as "Class Leader" as she was to take overall leadership of the class etc. It never occurred to me that she may not actually be a qualified teacher.

I've discovered from other parents today that Mrs B is actually a Teaching Assistant. It turns out the original teacher to be employed on the Mon, Tues, Weds did not start at the school in September (I'm unsure why). So instead they seem to have promoted a Teaching Assistant to take classes on her own on a Monday and Tuesday.

What makes it a little worse is that we had a parents evening on Tuesday this week. Nobody mentioned that Mrs B wasn't a qualified teacher. She had made an assessment of DD's progress which she had written down and went through it with us... She got confused about what she had written down and what she was trying to tell us at one point and Mrs A even had a "wtf is she talking about?" look on her face.

My initial thoughts are that this is not acceptable. Although Mrs B may have all the enthusiasm in the world, if she is not a qualified teacher (trained in teaching methods and passed assessments to show she can teach etc) then she should not be doing the job of a teacher for 2 days a week! I am planning on calling on Monday to arrange a meeting with the headteacher to ask:

1. Why we were not informed that there was no teacher 40% of the time (sneaking in the title "Class Leader" to a newsletter isn't enough IMO)
2. To ask why no temporary qualified teacher has been arranged.
3. How long they plan this arrangement to go on for?

For what it's worth the school is well regarded in the area and has an excellent Ofsted report. Also DD says she likes Mrs A but looks quite shady when asked about Mrs B.

I feel I should demand an actual teacher to be taking classes on a Monday and Tuesday! AIBU?!

I'd imagine that the school has found a legal way around this, I find it hard to believe they would risk the comeback if not. I'd make less of the qualification issue and more of her ability I.e. The confusion at parents evening and your dds uncertainty about her. I can think of ta's I'd rather have than teachers in reception, regardless of qualifications

"If you dc is at an academy, they don't need to appoint qualified teachers"

Yes they do, when it is EYFS.

Now, I think everyone would be understanding if they were left high and dry with half a job share not turning up as expected. But yes, all schools, including academies and private schools, need to have proper teachers (or completely different ratios (how many adults are in the room?)

This of course doesn't mean a teacher never leaves the room (non-contact time is allowed in all sectors) but staff should be employed such that there is a teacher or enough non-teacher but appropriately qualified at all times.

Cover should be provided by other teachers, usually by getting a supply teacher in, because schools may well not have enough teachers to redeploy properly to cover.

We have excellent TAs in our school, a few of whom are also qualified teachers. One young TA went from employment as a TA to a job in a Y5/6 class and is brilliant, and my daughters wonderful teacher started her professional life as a TA. It might be that I'd prefer some of our TAs to cover a short term crisis rather than a random supply.

BUT I am not sure it's legal and it certainly shouldn't be a long term solution. I'd be wanting to know:

Is Mrs B a qualified teacher? If not what are the justifications for using her not a supply and what are the plans for long term recruitment?

Does the class have a TA? As pp have said most reception classes have at least one teacher plus full time TA.

It's not perhaps your business to ask but if Mrs B is a teacher I bloody well hope they are paying her as a teacher when she is acting as one!

I would feel cross in your shoes.

However, the school is in a tricky situation. It sounds as if one of the teachers left abruptly for some reason, and it's incredibly difficult for schools to recruit at short notice (as they will have missed the normal recruitment window). They have probably been desperately trying to recruit already. I doubt very much this is their planned / ideal solution either.

One of the little prep schools near us employs a non qualified teacher and she is spoken of in hallowed terms by every parent I have ever met whose children she has taught. Without exception she is regarded as the best teacher families have ever experienced.

My biology teacher at my grammar school (o'level) was not qualified. She was the best teacher I had.

The issue at your school OP seems to be around communication and perceived competence.

Bob we have some good teachers in our school who started out as TAs too. But in between times they trained and qualified as teachers.

I would be very unhappy with this situation.

It's one thing having a non qualified subject specialist teaching, another having a non-qualified reception teacher.

As far as I know the only way to be an eyfs/ks1 specialist is to train as a teacher.

If Mrs B is a HLTA, she can legally take classes, but the class teacher must plan them. Many experienced TA's can deliver a lesson extremely well, but just as with teachers, the quality of lesson depends on the individual.

I find it odd that you saw the TA, rather than the teacher on parents' evening, and I would question that, especially as she couldn't give you the information required.

Ask about her qualifications and experience before you do anything else.

She may be the best teacher ever. I don't think you can judge her on one incident at parents evening.

And I'll add, I worked in reception classes for years. Just because someone is a trained teacher is no guarantee you'd want them teaching your child.

"I feel I should demand an actual teacher to be taking classes on a Monday and Tuesday!"

You can "demand" all you like but, depending on your area, there are real difficulties in filling posts, particularly last-minute, as this seems to be. The teaching profession is haemorrhaging people at the moment, due to near intolerable workload and conditions. In fact, it's likely to get worse.

Assuming the 'leader' isn't a teacher, the school were wrong not to explain the situation. This could be the best TA in the history of TAs, but you should know how the class is being managed, and who to contact if your daughter is having difficulties. A TA should not be represented to parents as a teacher.

I would have thought that teaching a reception class involves huge amounts of assessment, adjustment and planning as the teacher gets to know the children. It's difficult to understand how this can be done if the teacher is relying on feed back from a TA, as opposed to collaborating with another teacher.

I thought the rules had been changed about LEA schools being allowed to employ "unqualified" teachers. I know that certainly in secondary they have been allowed to employ staff without QTS, but perhaps with other qualifications in their field (eg languages, computer science, engineering etc) to teach, on the understanding that they work towards getting QTS whilst in post.

I didn't realise about this not being the case in EYFS - but it does make sense as the specialism there is the age/children themselves.

As a qualified teacher in secondary, although I go into primary to deliver my specialist subject to junior-age children, I would have no idea with Reception - unless I taught them my specialist subject.

I think you should certainly enquire at the school - and see if this is a temporary arrangement for a start.

Be careful before you go in all guns blazing.
In my DS's class their teacher was off sick for 6 weeks, for the whole of that time two TAs covered the class.
However both TAs were fully qualified teachers, who just preferred working as a TA rather than having the extra responsibilities of a class teacher.
I would ask if MrsB is. HLTA, and if so who is planning the lessons.

Also my DCs schools both became academies but do not employ untrained teachers (at least partly because teacher training is a good revenue stream for them).

kitty I completely agree with you. Both the cases I cited - the young man now teaching year 6 had just qualified as a teacher and was working as a TA while looking for a job. My daughters teacher was a TA first and then did teacher training. There are a couple of TAs in school who actually are qualified teachers so could in theory step into that role.

It does sound like you need to speak to the head about this, but don't go 'demanding' anything or you'll just get people's backs up needlessly.

Also DD says she likes Mrs A but looks quite shady when asked about Mrs B.

I would also leave that ^^ out of the conversation, as it has nothing to do with whether the class leader is a qualified teacher or not.

I would ask for clarification but I wouldn't go in demanding anything at this point.

You need more facts about why the school are asking this person to act as the teacher for 2 days a week. She could be in trainee teacher doing her training through the school and therefore ok to take the class 2 days a week with a mentor supervising her. She could already be a qualified teaching but previously working as a TA. She could be a HLTA and the other teacher is planning all the lessons for those 2 days. Or it could be the school are trying to cover the class the best they can until they manage to find a permanent solution.

Check your facts!

There is a teacher at dd's school who was a TA who is now a class teacher. Some parents were all cat's bummed about this and thought it was outrageous. Turned out she was a qualified teacher - shocking that. She'd returned from a few years out after having a child and went back as a TA. She's now a teacher again, having presumably gone through some sort of recruitment process.

There are significant numbers of qualified teachers who choose to work as TAs for a range of reasons- no need for planning, evening/weekend working, childcare issues for example. You know, when you accept the job, that you will be paid TA rates, so you have to accept that.

If you are a qualified teacher, working as a TA, but being used to take the class, then you should be paid as a teacher because that is what you are doing. If you are a TA, you should not be responsible for whole class teaching, unless in an emergency. HLTAs can take classes, but not long term. It's unforgivable for the school to have avoided sharing information about the class teacher, if that is the case.

This is what happens when budgets are stretched, experienced teachers are expensive and schools have difficulty recruiting.

An TA, especially an HLTA covering a class a day every week is actually quite common for teacher preparation time, not sure about two days per week.