To think the general public don't understand the job role of a Teaching Assistant?

[notyourmummy]

This might turn into an "I'm a TA, ask me anything" and that's fine.
Having been speaking to both my family and parents at my children's school, I've realised that there's still a common misconception that TAs only make displays, mix paint and wipe snotty noses... what do you think a TA does at your child's school, how much do you think they're paid and what hours do they work?!!

I'm a former TA and LSA so I know all too well.

I think the (very) low pay is offset against having school holidays free. Especially if you have little kids. However, I was finding the school holidays stressful, boring, too hot and expensive, so I don't think we ended up getting a lot out of it.

It is a hard job. Low points for me were dealing with poor behaviour, including violence. I hated that side of things and I was responsible for the kids during playtime so if they battered each other I had to patch them up and report injuries etc. I was constantly worried they'd be properly injured or I'd get caught in the crossfire.

That's really why I left. I love children and I liked being an LSA and 1:1 especially. But general behaviour especially at primary was so bad where I live and schools now do a really low discipline approach in primaries. There is a method to their 'madness', but it's not easy being the TA in those sorts of classes.

I learnt on Mumsnet btw that in parts of the NE England, TAs get a proper salary. It isn't pro rated down to £10k a year or whatever. They get a full time salary for full time school hours.

I think they do everything but plan lessons but I don’t really know. Just like most TA’s don’t know the ins and outs of every parents job. Honestly I don’t think the public care. We have our own lives/jobs/troubles.

Harsh but probably true. I don't think it's so much that the role is misunderstood in that the majority don't really think about it at all.

TAs have had low pay historically because its a term time, school hours job which has generally been desirable (as the saying goes- nought like trying to balance home and work to destroy a woman's career/earning potential). They are also subject to similar things we see in healthcare; an ever expanding job role for the same pay to try and plug the gaps of suitably qualified staff. I suspect the only interest a lot of parents would have would be knowing an unqualified member of staff was often supervising the class/their child.

I'm a level 3 LSA and this is everything I did yesterday:

• supported a small group through literacy and numeracy
• small group for English lesson
• small group for maths lesson (different children in all of these small groups and I need to be aware of all their varying support needs)
• key readers
• SEND interventions x8
• set up an art activity (so yes, I did "play with paint" a little bit...)
• supported children during the art activity
• tidied up said art activity
• meeting with SENCO
• parent workshop on e-safety
• put all the worksheets into their books for today's lessons (24 children, four books per child)
• yard duty including first aid for any trips and spills
• one to one recap of the previous days maths lesson with a child who struggled to meet the learning objective
• administered medication, helped a child test their blood sugar
• cleaned up a child who had been sick
• checked we have the resources needed for a craft lesson next week and ordered what was missing
• reading evaluations to see who can go up a level

This is alongside all the lace tying, nose wiping, hand holding, button fastening, eyebrow raising (I have a "behave, child..." facial expression), marking, and so on. There literally isn't a spare minute in the day.

That is so unbelievably impressive it must be utterly exhausting. Thank you for everything you do.

I appreciate the hard work TAs do as a parent- I know they do guided reading and give support to those who need it

However, what I don’t understand is how we became dependent on them. When I was at school in the 80/90s there were no TAs. We regularly had mums come into class, but only for a couple of hours for something specific. We were fine and although it was a school in deprived area, pupils achieved pretty good outcomes (I still live in the area).

Our class sizes were much higher than they are now and weirdly we were mixed with a different year (even though we had enough kids to fill whole classes).

So what changed? It seems to have happened after New Labour. I’m guessing it is the pressure on teachers - targets, ofsted etc.

I do know what you mean @Heyjoewhatsup. It's now seen as a total shit show if the teacher has to look after the class on their own where I live. At primary anyway. We never had a TA in the 80s/90s.

I think the role of schools has changed and there is more responsibility for things other than teaching. Lots of work on social issues, mental health, pastoral care etc. There are also a lot more high needs students in schools. Children with SEN who would have been able to access special schools in the 80s and 90s find it a lot harder to do that now. I remember the special school in my home town growing up and I even volunteered there. It was such a lovely place but it was closed and they built a load of new build homes over it in the 00s.

Also, as I said, behaviour is poorer imo than it was and / or we would get dragged over the coals if we didn't actively prevent things like fighting. The primary school I last worked in was really modern, progressive and a children's rights award winner, so all of their policy was based on the UN convention on the rights of the child (which I don't think was available in the 80s/90s). So I think this is where the differences come from. It's great that children's rights are so well considered in schools now, but I don't think they have mastered balancing children's rights with teaching them how not to behave in an entitled way. We did used to say things like "you have the right to an education. You have the right to voice your opinion and to be listened to. However, you do not have the right to punch anyone, scream in my face or swear at me" (mine were older ones obviously). Anyway, I hated the job in the end which was very sad.

I don’t know what they do as we didn’t have them when I was at school and I don’t have children.

My mum was a TA and so I've known for more than 30 years it's not just washing up paint pots or hearing kids read. It was stressful and undervalued then, and I can't imagine it's improved

the class TA job has got more and more skilled as schools have to demonstrate the TA has an impact in pupil progress to justify paying for them. With the inclusion agenda SEN TAs are essential to make it work.
The whole pay and career structure needs review.

The TA's at both the primary and secondary schools my dc go to are amazing. 2 of the TA's at the primary school have been there since the 1980's. They help with anything and everything and clearly love the children. 2 of the 1-1's are regulars at the local autism support group. One TA who helped in my son's class for the first 4 years came back to watch their leavers service. I'm less certain of what the TA's at secondary school do but they certainly go above and beyond. They are amazing people and aren't paid anywhere near enough.

The TA in my youngest’s class is amazing, my child has likely SEN, as yet undiagnosed. Needs lots of support and she is amazing with him. Definitely not wiping noses!! She’s been essential in all his core learning.

All the shit of being a teacher with a fraction of the pay. I couldn't do either.

My DD(7)’s TA teaches the class one afternoon a week. Both DDs absolutely adore her and the only thing I get out of DD(7) on what she does at school is about that 1 afternoon.

Didn’t read the thread but I was a TA for 8 years and I’m so glad I left for a better job, more money, more flexibility, less stress.
Will never go back

My children both have lovely TA's

My eldest is in year 2 tho and there are 2 classes. Both classes had a full time TA but One of the TA's is on maternity leave so now the one left is shared between the 2 classes which is really tough.

Younger child in reception there is still a TA in both classes however one is retiring this year and I know someone who enquired about when the role would be advertised and was told they weren't replacing them owing to budgets.

The TA's are very highly respected in my children's school they make a huge difference but I agree it's poor money for a very demanding job.

I think most people have very little idea what anyone else’s job involves, tbh!

Would it help if they were referred to more as Learning Support Assistants because that is actually what they should do? They aren't teachers as such, but their back up skills are invaluable.

Fun Fact:

one of the people who interviewed me (and later would become my line manager) confessed that he had his reservations when he read ‘teaching assistant’ on my CV.

now I’m in the new job, they are always amazed by my hard work capacity, attention to detail, inquisitiveness, ability to multitask and how fast I get things done, diplomacy and soft skills / rapport with a range of different people

I keep telling them that I work like this because I was TA

This is true too.
When all the (usually high earning) MN say what their jobs are, often I can't begin to imagine what that looks like in real life

My friend was a TA in a large primary for years.

I know she worked bloody hard, was a teacher in all but name, and got paid an absolute pittance. She hated the job in the end.

I think a TA works 8-4ish, does similar job to the teacher including often teaching classes alone, but without responsibility for lesson planning and dealing with parents, and also more flexibility and less power ie the head can keep moving her around the classes, and is paid £11-14k.

I think it’s an exploitative job that relied on mums needing a job that fits around school hours and now that more women can work from home its harder to recruit TAs.

My understanding of a TA is that they're mainly there to assist individual children (eg. reading with them or helping them find their coat). They're not paid as much as teachers because they don't have preparation or marking to do outside class time.

I could be totally wrong on this!

Should add, I think TA's are great and often able to develop a more individual relationship with the children as the teacher is thinking about the whole class.

The "general public" don't know the reality of most jobs. Unless you do the job you wouldn't really know exactly what it involves. Even jobs that seem easy to guess such as paramedic will include additional things the public don't know about. As for pay it will be shocking just as all public pay is bearing in mind the pay hasn't risen with inflation for a long time so everyone in public has had a pay cut year on year. Is it right TAs do a lot for little pay? No. Is it shocking that they do? No