To be surprised that so many people look down on being a TA?

[mummypie17]

I recently read a thread on Mumsnet about a lady who was embarrassed about being a TA (Teaching Assistant). This generated many responses. Some were quite negative towards TAs. I was a TA several years ago after I finished university and I absolutely loved my job. It gave me the experience I needed for my current role and was really rewarding. Granted that my job now pays more than twice as much, what I gained being a TA was invaluable.

One of my friends (who is a SAHM) was talking to me about trying to find a job to fit around her children's school hours. I suggested being a TA at her local school and she replied 'I'm looking for something more professional than that' obviously forgetting that I used to be one a long time ago.

AIBU to be surprised that TAs are unjustly viewed as a low skill job?

HiLTAs (High Level Teaching Assistants) can teach.

Also some of you seem to be labouring under the misapprehension that teachers need to have some form of professional qualification. They don't. Not under academy rules they don’t. I know several LSAs (not HiLTAS) who have no qualifications whatsoever – not even GCSEs, and some who have masters and are ultimately more academically qualified than the classroom teacher they assist, some are even qualified teachers who have chosen to take a step back.

My partner was a TA as he had previously been a sahd and it made sense. He loved it but the pay was very low; he was an office manager in his last job before redundancy. So when offered a job in the school office at 2 grades higher he reluctantly took it. I work for the council and the pay grade of our admin workers who do the filing and scanning is 2 - he was a grade 1 as a TA....but with much more responsibility- It’s terrible!

"Actually you can get into the job with relatively low level qualifications. Often training is done on the job. It doesn't require a degree for example"

"It's just the same as any number of jobs that require few / no qualifications and are awarded low pay. Working in a shop for example."

It is a low skilled job, as are many jobs such as Carers, Cleaners and Shop workers. They don't require professional qualifications or even higher education to get into them.
This isn't to be mixed up with the importance of the role though. All jobs are important. The country would fall apart without people doing the low-skilled work. No-one should look down on those who do lower-skilled jobs. We all play to our abilities. People can progress from lower-skilled roles to more skilled roles through further qualifications or training if they wish to.

"People don't seem to understand just getting a degree is not enough anymore."
I agree. As so many go on to take degrees now, it has reduced the value of it.
Even a degree doesn't mean much if you aren't employed in the field encompassing the subject you studied.

Professionals still have to study for a couple of years or so afterwards to gain a professional qualification (e.g. Lawyer, Accountant).

A PP mentioned HCAs and they are another example of low-skilled but amazingly important jobs.

Perhaps people that look down should look up the modules on Level 2/3 etc. I think it’s all to do the title “assistant” LSA will help, support children with sen etc or other children in small groups.
Basically teacher deals with those who need intervention and ta can support , prompt encourage those who do not need as much support .
Perhaps those who look down should be made to help in a class for the day lol 😂

@Idontwanttotalk - I don't think you can compare being a TA to a cleaner or retail worker.

I don't look down, but it's unfair to compare them with a teacher.

The do neither the same hours, far from it, nor the planning, the paperwork, have the responsibilities. Nothing wrong with the job, but there are obvious reasons why the pay is so low (maybe too low, but don't compare them to teachers)

TAs do an important job but I have heard some refer to themselves as teachers, which irritates me.

I worked as a ta and honestly it was way harder than anything ive done ...ive been on the professional side of education and lost my job due to budget cuts and had to take ta work for a while because we couldnt relocate. Im a sahm to twins now and it is much easier. Just to give you an idea of the behaviour i had to manage. The pay is abysmal.

In the school where i worked we were shoved into closets basically to work with the hardest kids with zero support , crap pay and on top of that we were disrespected and looked down on - ignored as teachers made each other cups of tea and didnt even acknowledge we were there.

@Idontwanttotalk You've selected several sentences from my post, which without the rest of the post for context, has completely changed what I said. Slightly misleading!

It’s symptomatic of the general lack of regard I. Which education and the teaching profession is held. I think we are only gradually beginning to refute the notion of short hours, long holidays for teachers and I think the ‘ mum coming in to help’ idea of a TA is still pretty prevalent.

I managed TAs and the majority were skilled, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I encouraged one to train as a teacher, mentored her an an NQT and saw her become an AHT.

Here in Notts you need a level 3 qualification - either a certificate or diploma to get a job as a TA.

I have a degree as well as a level 4 (equivalent to hlta) qualification.
You also need English and Maths GSCE grade C or above.

From my experience, quite a few of them are qualified teachers. That muddies the water somewhat.

A good TA can really help in a classroom but I have also worked with TAs who fall asleep, undermine the class teacher , and do the work for students instead of encouraging independent learning.
www.teachingtimes.com/articles/teaching-assistants-less-progress.htm

Loads of TAs are very highly qualified people. Loads more are not. There's a lot of them about, probably more than there are teachers, which is probably the most numerous profession in existence. The role is also varied. Some are what they started off as, little more than pencil sharpeners. Others are steadily becoming teachers in all except name and wage - I've known several TAs leave recently due to the amount they're being asked to do for their wages.

The wage is pretty much the same for all of them, and it is appallingly low. Cleaners get paid more. Which is not to sneer at the essential job of clearing the place of dirt and germs, but TAs are entrusted with children's futures and it requires knowledge to carry out well. I think teachers / ta's model ought to be replaced with a senior teacher / junior teacher model. Junior teachers ought to be appropriately paid and trained. It might help to share the workload out too.

DS's TA was the one who had time to sit with him yesterday after he got scared at school, to sit with him this morning as he was still scared and she knew book corner would soothe him, who let him sit. In her lap for half of sports day because he was overwhelmed, who ran every race with him.

Worth her weight in bloody gold!!

Yes amazing for your child, probably less amazing for the other 32 in the class.

SleepingStandingUp does say DS's TA rather than the class TA so presumably the TA assigned to support an individual child rather than the other children in the class.

I am a TA with a decent psychology degree. However I am fairly new in role, and have only a few years experience. There are TAs in our school with GCSE level education who are absolutely brilliant at their job because they have been doing it for years.

Generally speaking, I feel well respected by the school population. However, yesterday, a trainee teacher who had been supposed to send a child to find me at the end of lunch said "well I told her to find a dinner lady, there is no difference". I do admire our SMSAs, and could not do the playground supervision they do, but I was irritated by that. Mainly I was irritated that she thought my time mattered so little, that I could spend my afternoon tracking down the children she was supposed to organise.

Funnily enough she sent for me today to deal with a child having a meltdown that she could not deal with.

The do neither the same hours, far from it, nor the planning, the paperwork, have the responsibilities. Nothing wrong with the job, but there are obvious reasons why the pay is so low (maybe too low, but don't compare them to teachers

Some TA's in my workplace teach, do paperwork, end of year reports, parents evenings, class assembly and certainly put the hours in.

Many don't, but many DO. Your sweeping statement is insulting.

I agree OP, we are looked down upon.

I have just done a year as a TA after 20+ years teaching. The pay is very low but I am relishing no work in the evenings and weekends and not having the overall responsibility for the class.
Maybe I've been very lucky with my school but I have NEVER felt moe valued or appreciated. I love my job!

TAs do valuable work but they aren’t valued. They’re usually on insecure hourly paid contracts, term time only, often minimum wage, no benefits. When someone says they want a “more professional” job, what they mean is they want something with security, a proper contract, holiday pay and sick pay, progression opportunities, and a salary that’s more than the bare minimum.

There needs to be formal , quantifiable evidence that TAs, add value to education. Lovely as many undoubtably are, I have seen so many TAs in a secondary setting who hinder rather than help.
Most of the students who require TA support are boys. Many teenage boys are embarrassed by being helped older female TAs who make up the majority of the teaching assistants. I have witnessed students refusing support because they feel self conscious. There needs to be encouragement to bring in some young, male TAs, perhaps as preparation for a PGCE.

The number of TAs in the classroom has increased over the past few years but there is research to show that they do not always improve student performance
www.theguardian.com/education/2009/sep/04/teaching-assistants-classroom-improvements
There needs to be more accountability showing how TAs contribute to both individual and class learning.