To think most people have no idea how little HLTAs/Teaching Assistants earn?

[LorlieS]

Anybody want to hazard a guess at the average monthly income of a ft HLTA/TA?

It really is quite shocking!

With the latest pay rise, it’s 1300 a month. I think I get a slight uplift as I have been there over 5 years and If you were a normal council employee, you get enhanced holiday pay.

That’s how I started as a TA.

In my school you are allowed to volunteer but you need a DBS check which obviously costs money.

@Tulipvase 1300 x 12 = £15,600 take-home pay p/a then?

Of course, most talk about their gross salary as (most) people pay tax etc. That’s a given. My FTE is still 23k plus.

@Tulipvase FTE for TAs is pretty much an irrelevance, really.

TAs earn £17k -£21k for 39 weeks work on a Term Time Only contract (TTO)
They are paid 44.6 weeks pa in 12 equal monthly payments ie 5.6 weeks holiday pay
They absolutely should be paid more but it is beyond schools funding to be able to; the government needs to look into and undertake to fund the increase.

Not really as that is what the job is often advertised as, as you were alluding to earlier.

Im not really sure what you are getting at? all jobs are advertised as the gross salary and may or may not be pro rata. My salary is 18k - not the 15k you seem to think.

It would be interesting to compare average TA salaries between schools who run their own breakfast club and after school provision and those which don't (or where it's run by a separate company on site). Several of the TAs in my kids school work longer than the taught day and have in the past worked holiday cubs run out of the school.

Do you mind saying what area of the country you're in? That wage seems incredibly high... to me at least.

I used to work in the before/after school club and just earned my normal salary for the extra hours worked.

Same at ours.

Some TAs work an early shift - 7:30-3:30 and some a late shift 9-6:30 and some just do the school day. It works well - sometimes someone doesn't get their preferred pattern but mostly the TAs who want more hours can get them and the ones who want to work part time do. Those that have children in the school get a free wraparound slot if their parent is the TA supervising

Our head chose this way of doing it because I'm London it can otherwise be hard to get good TAs

While I have lots of TAs on here, can I ask if this is the "norm?"
We've all been told that ANY appointments (medical, dental, hospital, to do with dependents etc) must only be made outside of school hours. Any requests will not be authorised.
The only exception to that is urgent or emergency hospital appts. If such an appt is granted, then the time must be made back.
I'm not sure how it can be if my hours are 8.30 - 3.30 (when the kids are in)?

Have you checked if you are entitled to any govt help? I have seen Martin lewis posts on social media saying people on similar incomes got help they had no idea they were entitled to

We are told the same. We were told on our inset day in September to specify that we work in a school and we ‘need’ appointments after school.

Wow what a helpful comment. And if every single TA took your insightful advice then the education system would fall apart

@Tulipvase So how does one back up the time if emergency appt needed?

Hijack, but HE is such a joke. The only friends of mine still working in it are independently wealthy. Others hop between countries and from one insecure job to the next. Not an option for me as I have DC who like regular meals and no trust fund.

For the last year of my lecturing career, I made £4k. I had a PhD, grants, and a long list of published books/papers to my name and lots of offers to work for free too.

I’m now a lawyer. I laugh when people ask me if I miss academia.

SEN TA in a special academy here. I'm on £880 per month for 20 hours a week.

Most of the TAs in my school have 2nd or 3rd jobs.

I agree most people have no idea how little we earn.

Is it not from breakfast club, afterschool club, meetings etc. I have a friend who's a TA and he goes to meetings and PTA things out of usual hours.

I have never had to so I don’t a actually know. I’m not sure they can legally demand that. Previously my head was much more relaxed, It is really hard at the moment.

I have been involved in meetings after school and have banked that time to be taken as time in lieu tbf.

TAs are so poorly paid but they do such a good job supporting those students who need that extra. Some of my students have made really good progress because of them and we would be lost without them.

@Tulipvase Me neither. I had to take two weeks off last year following emergency surgery for a ruptured ectopic; the guilt I felt was off the scale as I've never been off more than a day in a row in 20 years!!

DH is a TA and gets just above minimum wage per hour, and lunch break is unpaid. He loves the job but the pay is terrible, especially when you factor in the TAs are often dealing with higher needs kids, with minimal / no extra training or support to do this. We worked out he’d get paid more ph as a tesco delivery driver

Exactly. Having time off means my colleagues are actually inconvenienced. My husband has a day off and his work just builds up for him when he gets back.

I think we will have to close a class tomorrow due to staff illness. It is so incredibly tight at the moment.