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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think Teaching Assistants are vastly underpaid for their role?

319 replies

altoran · 15/06/2021 14:03

When the role of Teaching Assistant was created, the idea was that they would help with basic tasks like photocopying, wall displays, etc. It was a very basic role with no real responsibility.
Now Teaching Assistants have a lot of responsibility and are very involved in children's education, although under the supervision of a teacher. But they receive very little over minimim wage for this.
AIBU to think they are vastly underpaid?

OP posts:
KaptainKaveman · 15/06/2021 14:06

I agree OP, but there are many here who will bang on about the 'long holidays' and 'short hours' and that people who go into education 'knew what they were getting into'. Please do not underestimate the envy and hate felt by a lot of people in the private sector towards the public sector!

MarcelineMissouri · 15/06/2021 14:06

I am a 1-1 ta and my hourly rate is the same as I was earning doing admin work 20 years ago Sad

shivawn · 15/06/2021 14:07

What qualifications are they required to have?

MojoMoon · 15/06/2021 14:07

Starting salary for a teacher is 25k - and that is for considerably more hours, stress and responsibility than a TA and after completing a degree and post grad qualification.

So relative to a teacher, I am not sure I would say they are vastly underpaid.

But relative to their merits in society, I would say both were underpaid.

Original poster
altoran · 15/06/2021 14:09

@MojoMoon A teacher's salary will quickly rise. Lots of professional roles start off with low salaries that increase.

OP posts:
Original poster
altoran · 15/06/2021 14:10

@shivawn there are TA qualifications.
But TAs could get as much or more serving in a pub or a cafe without any qualifications. The only reason they get applicants is because of the school hours for mums.

OP posts:
Findmeatthebeach · 15/06/2021 14:11

Speech therapy interventions daily, meetings with therapist with the child, interventions for a child who is a selective mute, lead and prepare for a letters and sounds group every morning, planning and making resources for an area of the classroom, medicine and first aid administering. The list is pretty endless. I absolutely love it but the pay is very poor.

billyt · 15/06/2021 14:13

And don't assume there is always a teacher in attendance.....

Quite often a TA/LSA will take over a class while the teacher buggers off somewhere else/does something less strenuous.

ancientgran · 15/06/2021 14:13

At my children's school (along time ago now) I always said the best teacher in the school was one of the TAs. When I said it to the Head he agreed and he said he had tried to persuade her to qualify as she was so good. Obviously they aren't going to be that good but she was worth her weight in gold.

ancientgran · 15/06/2021 14:14

I do know teachers who are working as TAs. I think it is due to stress/workload.

LadyCatStark · 15/06/2021 14:15

Yes definitely. TA jobs are in high demand too so most people are over qualified eg. At least level 3 for a level 2 job and degree educated for a level 3 or HLTA job. Many are qualified teachers especially in a HLTA job. There is always an expectation of working above your pay grade/ before/ after school/ picking up a lunch duty (unpaid) when they’re short staffed.

ChangePart1 · 15/06/2021 14:16

YANBU.

I'm appalled by the salary earned by nursery workers too. They have so much responsibility and work so hard, and the ones I've come across are excellent at what they do, really good at building rapport with kids quickly and relationships with the children in their care. I'm in awe of them.

We take in chocolates regularly and send cards in to specific workers who've been great with our helped our DC but I would really be happy for our nursery to charge more so they could be paid more personally. Maybe a means tested charging scale so parents earning more pay more and those on less pay less. I just don't think it's acceptable they get paid so little for such a difficult, skilled job.

CuriousaboutSamphire · 15/06/2021 14:16

@shivawn

What qualifications are they required to have?
Depends what kind of TA they are. L2-5 qualifications are readily available.
Gatehouse77 · 15/06/2021 14:17

I work as a TA and whilst, as you say, it's much more involved in the children's learning than originally thought I don't know that I'd agree with you about being underpaid.

I don't have overall responsibility, no reports, progress meetings, parents' evenings, emails from parents, no lesson planning, no thinking of differentiation within the class for each subject taught, etc.

When I leave I don't think about any of it whereas a teacher (hopefully!) will.

shivawn · 15/06/2021 14:17

@MojoMoon

Starting salary for a teacher is 25k - and that is for considerably more hours, stress and responsibility than a TA and after completing a degree and post grad qualification.

So relative to a teacher, I am not sure I would say they are vastly underpaid.

But relative to their merits in society, I would say both were underpaid.

Wow that really is a terrible starting salary for teachers. It's around 37k euros here in Ireland I believe maybe a bit more with allowances. I agree that teaching assistant wages should be relative to teachers wages, just unfortunate that they are also so low paid.
Justgorgeous · 15/06/2021 14:17

My friend is a TA, she has a degree in Maths but just loves her job.

FlowerArranger · 15/06/2021 14:18

Some years ago my son worked as a TA at a 'sink school'. £18k. The responsibilities that were heaped on him were extraordinary. Not only was he used as an informal supply teacher (often in subjects he knew little about, such as chemistry!), but he was 'in charge' of very damaged pupils with horrendous special needs. Think refugees from war zones and girls who were being abused, sexually and otherwise.

He had virtually no support. Because he played the guitar they even asked him to start an after school music club - for no extra pay. It was horrendous and he burned out within 18 months.

And if he hadn't lived with me I don't know how he could have lived on what he earned.

Cocolapew · 15/06/2021 14:18

How much do they earn? I'm a CA in a special school and I'm pretty happy with my hourly rate.

Sockwomble · 15/06/2021 14:22

The TAs in ds's special school certainly are. It is a very demanding role with difficult to manage volatile teenagers ( and I include my own in that).

LadyCatStark · 15/06/2021 14:23

In a previous school, TAs were expected to stay until 4 despite being paid til 3. I couldn’t as I couldn’t afford to pay for a late finish at nursery to work for free so my contact wasn’t extended. A few years after I’d left, the TAs got together to say that they should all be allowed to finish at 3. The teachers were dismayed as that’s when they needed the TAs to do the basic admin tasks (as they were now so busy during the day running groups etc). The TAs then came back and said could they then finish at lunch time on a Friday to gain back some of the time spent working for free (baring in mind they also worked for free for at least 20 mins every morning)… nope that was rejected. Guess who all started leaving bang on 3pm!

In the school I went to, I was practically usher out the door at my finish time and if I ever stayed late, I was told that I must take the time off an afternoon. The head teacher noticed that teachers liked TAs to be in at 8:45 so decided to pay everyone for this time. I stayed there for 5 years!

arethereanyleftatall · 15/06/2021 14:28

Well of course they are, but like any job, it's supply and demand. So so many people want to work those hours once they have children that they will pay as little as they can. Even if they were volunteer roles, they'd be half full!

JarJarQ · 15/06/2021 14:30

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Maryann1975 · 15/06/2021 14:31

@ChangePart1

YANBU.

I'm appalled by the salary earned by nursery workers too. They have so much responsibility and work so hard, and the ones I've come across are excellent at what they do, really good at building rapport with kids quickly and relationships with the children in their care. I'm in awe of them.

We take in chocolates regularly and send cards in to specific workers who've been great with our helped our DC but I would really be happy for our nursery to charge more so they could be paid more personally. Maybe a means tested charging scale so parents earning more pay more and those on less pay less. I just don't think it's acceptable they get paid so little for such a difficult, skilled job.

As part of the Early Years workforce (I’m a childminder), thank you for recognising that we are underpaid for the level of responsibility we have. In the past I’ve had parents moaning About how much they are paying me, while they are taking home £40k + each year. I can only dream of a salary like that.
One of my best friends is a TA and we are on similar hourly rates, although I work more hours, so my annual pay is more than hers. Part of her problem is that although she is full time, that’s only 30 hours a week, 38 weeks a year (And although she needs the money, she can’t see why she should have to work in the holidays to boost her income, which I disagree with but hey ho). Whereas most jobs, full time is 36 hours a week all year round. But I completely agree that the pay should be far higher for Caring jobs like Teaching assistants, early years staff and care home staff. There is little progression in any of those sectors and I know in one of our local nurseries, the difference in pay between the nursery nurses and the room supervisor is so little, they struggled to promote anyone as it wasn’t financially worth the stress. Unfortunately, I can’t see it changing any time soon.
Greenmarmalade · 15/06/2021 14:32

I agree completely. It can be a really satisfying role but the pay is far too low for the level of responsibility and workload

ChangePart1 · 15/06/2021 14:34

As part of the Early Years workforce (I’m a childminder), thank you for recognising that we are underpaid for the level of responsibility we have. In the past I’ve had parents moaning About how much they are paying me, while they are taking home £40k + each year. I can only dream of a salary like that.

The phrase 'pay peanuts, get monkeys' springs to mind... not that nursery workers are monkeys, they're incredible. But why do we value a role so little when we are putting the most precious thing in our life, the lives of our child, in their hands? Why is that not valued more? Like you say, it can be hard to attract and retain staff with that salary. Not many people can afford to live on it!

It's just wrong, but I'm not sure what the solution is. I know some people struggle to afford childcare as it is, but others could easily pay more for it.