To think that lots of TAs, LSAs and school administrators leave because of the money?

[Lulutheevilguineapig]

I'm in this situation atm and although I love my job, I'm seriously starting to look for something else.

I get why the money is poor; we get school holidays off. But I'd honestly prefer to work holidays and not take the hit to my salary. I know this is part and parcel of working in a school, but I just don't know how anyone who doesn't have maybe a wealthy partner or some other source of wealth can stay for long in the job.

And on another note, if you were a TA/LSA and left due to the money, what did you go on to do?

I left my TA job 10 years ago, I was full time and took home under £1000 a month. Its impossible to live on. I went on to work in youth justice and now earn significantly more than that. I really enjoyed being a TA but as you say who can afford to stay in the job.

YANBU

I’m a TA in a large secondary school, where we have about 25 TAs. This may sound a lot, but we don’t have enough staff to support the SEN students who are entitled to it!

But on your point; yes lots of my colleagues have left for better paid jobs…. and I don’t blame them. It’s really hard to get replacements too. Personally, I’m close to retirement, so I’m hanging on for a few years, and I still love my job and the students, and my colleagues.

Thanks @whatshouldIdo2022 . It is rubbish pay. I got underpaid this month as well, (I think in error) which is a separate issue, but clearly doesn't help.

Yes, I'm an LSA in a big secondary school. We have lots of students with SEN who are entitled to support who we struggle to give it to as we are so understaffed.

The jobs can be interesting and rewarding, but the hourly pay and hours often mean what you actually take home is ridiculous. For many, it’s worth sticking it out while they have primary aged children and need holiday childcare, but makes no sense later on. I can only do my job because we were lucky enough to buy a house in the 90s and still be married now. I work every afternoon and don’t take home enough for it to even count as being employed for National Insurance purposes.
Some people will no doubt tell me to stop moaning and get a better paid job (I could, and have in the past) but I think school support jobs are important and it’s terrible that we’re losing so many good staff who just can’t afford to do the job any more.

@Lulutheevilguineapig

We seem to have the same chronic understaffing problem - I’m sure there are loads more schools like this too.

TA actively looking for a new job here. The wage is so bad I can't keep going - I'm highly trained and experienced but need to take home more. Simple as that.

I can't believe how badly TAs are paid. It really is scandalous.

Sorry you're in the same boat.

Any ideas what you might do?

Thanks, it is crap. I do understand why, as we get school holidays, but it just isn't sustainable.

I do wonder whether I should stick it out till dcs leave primary, but I don't think I can

Are lots of people actually leaving? In the past people have said that school hours jobs where you get all the school holidays off are like gold dust because you don't have to pay for holiday childcare so even though the pay is low, if you have primary age DC, you're no worse off than if you earned more but had to pay for childcare/holiday clubs etc.

Plus the hours are better than a lot of other low paid jobs as no evening or weekend work, that you'd have to do in the retail, leisure or care sectors.

Not saying it's right, but if they have no trouble recruiting at (presumably) NMW or slightly more, and schools are underfunded, then why would they pay any more than they do?

Lots of public sector jobs offer flexible hours so you could work 30 hours a week for a higher salary and agree to work those hours during the school day. Would still leave you the holidays to worry about but you'd be on potentially twice the money. I was contemplating going back to school work now I have DC but the pay is just absolutely pitiful even if it is just term time.

Schools are having huge trouble recruiting.

Its the content of the role too , I was early twenties when I started as a TA in an SEN school and I was regularly left with the whole class, or asked to cover lessons, I was required to be team teach trained and use it when required, I was injured by pupils on a number of occasions as were my colleagues. It requires a huge level of skill and resilience to be a good TA and the pay should reflect that, or staff don't feel valued and they leave.

I was a TA for a few years. Our primary school only gave our morning contracts and any afternoons they needed you would be on overtime sheets so we got a basic pay of around £600 per month plus any overtime you were lucky to get but that wouldn’t include the first and last week of any term and obviously not holidays. Took home roughly £7/750 per month.
I went back to nannying which I did before o had my own children and now earn £34,700 per year for a four day week.

Not only are many schools having issues recruiting, but I’ve seen adverts for TA and HLTA positions where they either require applicants to be a relevant degree-holder, or it’s desirable…. surely they’re having a laugh!

How many graduates would apply for a full-time job paying £1000 per month??

YANBU. These are jobs people do to keep ticking over while their family needs them outside school hours. All the TAs and school admins I know could be earning much more elsewhere, and will do when their children are older.

Yep. Wanted to go back part time after having babies but couldn't find childcare cheap enough to allow me to actually make money from it. Also tricky to find childcare that started early enough to allow me to get in to work by 8. Couldn't choose childcare local to the workplace because that would have meant the impossibility of taking a pushchair on peak rush hour tube with no step free access.

It was a shame because I adored the work. The pay was a joke, though. I covered lessons, had responsibility for medication, helped with planning, behaviour interventions. And friends doing data entry jobs were earning more.

I’m looking for term time work, and won’t consider TA. They are often asking for experience and qualifications, and yet only offer minimum wage or barely above, and the energy and emotional cost is vey high. It would be absolutely exhausting for me (not my forte, I’ll admit). There is no way I could offer emotional or practical support to a SEN kiddo all day, and then come home and have anything left to offer DD. I also think it’s immoral to expect skills and experience for minimum wage. You should only pay minimum wage for minimal skill and experience (who’s is to say, none.)

The expectations (which go for anyone in a school) are also massive. You’re expected to constantly produce high standards of everything with utterly inadequate resource. There is a ton of responsibility. And everything else is shit, because schools are so underfunded. The parking is shit, the staff rooms are shit etc etc. I’m not surprised schools are having trouble recruiting (although. I attach no blame to them)

All the TSAs / LSAs I know only did it while their kids were in primary to work around school hours. The salary is a joke.

There's a huge LSA recruitment crisis. They are like gold dust in my area. Tons of vacancies. All at min wage or slightly above. I wonder when the penny will drop?

I worked as a TA ten years ago for three days a week and used to earn £30 a day.
I regularly had to cover for the teacher and would have a small group every morning to support in a seperate room which I would plan for.
Bus duty was awful as you had to count the numbers getting on bus but often so and so would be going for tea with someone and not informed the school or an extra would appear and I'd have to call parents to confirm.My stress levels were so high.
Now I clean farmhouses in my area and am self employed,no emotional stress but more stress on my 51 year old body!
Will go back to nannying soon.

Same situation round here. Deprived rural area, with not a huge number of vacancies, but schools are losing TAs because they're generally presentable, articulate, committed employees, who've concluded they can no longer afford to carry on working limited hours for pitiful pay.

I agree. Its very difficult because the pay is pro-rata so I suppose the idea is you can just get another part time job on top to make up the hours but thats not as easy as all that, and to be honest, particulary for admin - if you have to do two jobs to survive, you might as well find one job and not have to juggle.

I suspect lots do, particularly when they no longer get the benefit from not working school holidays any more so it becomes harder to justify. This may become a bigger problem as the age cohorts who benefitted from cheaper housing get older and are less likely to be in the workplace, and as mothers of school aged children become less likely to be of an age where cheaper housing was more accessible.