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!

Yes, that's what I mean. The take home pay is poor because it's pro rata due to them not working full time.

DancefloorAcrobatics · Today 12:58

The bigger question here is why are TA's paid so little that they are unable to support themselves financially?

Because, as such a depressingly high number of posters here have proved, there is still this prevalence in the opinion that it's an 'easy little job for those with no qualifications' 🙄

@DancefloorAcrobatics its pro rata pay, its isn’t a low wage overall. Many are £20k full time, but the job obviously isn’t full time due to holidays and short working day hours. I worked 6 hours a day as a TA, including as a lunchtime assistant, plus had the holidays. I couldn’t really moan about the pay when working such few hours.

Yes exactly, they’ll have to arrange and pay for childcare - which on many people’s wage may bring net income after the cost of childcare to not much more than a TA - plus they still have to work, and they don’t get to spend the time with their children. So you can start to see why the convenience of a being a TA might be worth the lower salary.

Well, the fact that there are 200+ support staff jobs currently being advertised on my local school jobs website when there are normally nowhere near this many suggests that it’s not worth the lower salary.

Those saying they only get 900 or so a month. Presumably that is because of the number of hours worked?.

TAs must be getting paid minimum wage. I am not saying that is good, I think they should be paid more, but as a statement of fact they are getting minimum wage.

35 hours per week across 45 weeks (39 worked and 6 weeks stat annual leave) at minimum wage is £16411. This is obvs split over 12 months and before tax and pension deductions.

There are a further 7 weeks of the year which are taken off unpaid.

Yes, lots of TAs are only working about 25 hours and term time. Ours start at 8.50 and finish at 3.

The last two TAs I know who left, are now working in supermarkets. It’s a similar rate of pay, but they are working evenings and nights (again, no childcare) but working all year round and for a lot more hours.

I can’t see this changing anytime soon-the government would be happy with one teacher in front of the class and no support staff at all. Many classes already don’t have a class TA so it’s just down to 1:1s and most areas are trying to cut the number of EHCPs given anyway.

No, I'm very far from well off, therefore my DH and I have cut our cloths accordingly.

What planet are you on that you're apparently forced to do this one and only job, especially with all the qualifications you say you have?

Fair enough if it's a job you really want to do, but if that's the case there's little point in complaining about the wage packet.

@NotForMeCheers Ah OK I see. What is it you do for a living?

Not sure how my TA job fits in with school runs? I don't get to do any! My "official" hours are 8.30 - 3.30.

I don't see what difference it makes to you, and what you're choosing to do for a living and then moaning about?

I earn a low wage, my husband earns a low wage, we (like most people) cut our cloths accordingly. If we were struggling to pay the rent and feed and clothe 3 children, we'd definitely have to have a rethink.

Just because we love our jobs, doesn't mean we wouldn't change them if we had to.

I was a science technican. We were paid the same as any other technician in the school, IT and Food Tech. No extra for us. I worked part time, 8.30-12.30. I left nine years ago so my earnings are irrelevant, but I moved to work in retail (supermarket) for the same 20 hours per week but at a considerable increase, because I no longer had my pay stretched out over holidays. I can now take my holidays when I want, in term time so much cheaper, my hours are more flexible (I can ask to work a different shift if I want) and the work is considerably less taxing on the brain and muscles!

I left because we were being asked to cover lessons, as increasingly science teachers were leaving and not being replaced. I have a very good degree and an (adult) teaching qualification and didn't want to earn technician's wages for a teaching job that I would have chosen to do if I'd wanted to!

I worked as a science tech because as a single parent to five children, I needed to be around before and after school and during holidays (no help with childcare at all and absent father). I stuck it out until my youngest no longer needed me at home, but couldn't believe the increase in money when I moved to retail work!

But you ARE choosing to an extent. As I said in my pp, in my office for entry level roles they offer 32k, and all you need is a degree (which you have) and a bit of admin experience! You could definitely get something else if you wanted…

But its rather a shame that the education of some of our most vulnerable children in particular (as they tend to be the ones with most TA contact) relies quite so heavily on individuals choosing to be low earners. Its a real issue. So many people are chosing not to earn a low wage, that a lot of children have a 1 to 1 support written into their ehcp but the post cant be filled. They are trying to move away from 1 to 1 support and having several chikdren having more targeted support but its still reliant on someone wanting to do it.

Absolutely. The poor parents are also under the impression that an EHCP will get them an autism expert 1:1 with their child, whereas in reality, the only people applying for the job have no experience, qualifications or training at all-they just happen to have their own kids at the school and need a local job.

It's because it's a part time job.

I haven't read the whole thread. Has anyone come up with the FTE?

Absolutely. These roles need to pay more or there's no chance of them being filled.

Teachers don’t start on £24k anymore. The starting salary for an M1 teacher in England in school year 23/24 (so this year) is £30k. The shortages for teachers are so dire that these pay increases are a very good thing and TAs should also be paid as much as they deserve as they do so much. Most schools would be lost without them. https://www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/teacher-pay-scales-how-much-are-teachers-paid-england

Wondering if you are in same LA, as I have noticed that too! I looked into the idea but decided against it ages ago. There must be a reason there are so many vacancies...

These roles need to pay more or there's no chance of them being filled.

The government don’t seem to give a crap about meeting the needs of SEN children so won’t care if the roles remain unfilled.

I imagine the 13 weeks paid holiday per year, every Bank Holiday off, every weekend off and a 3.20pm finish every day takes the edge off somewhat.

It's a modern day scandal. Councils (I'm in Scotland) take advantage of the fact that it's an area dominated by women. I mean, God forbid we should ever profit from having a job that works around our kids!
Unpaid breaks, unpaid holidays, no WiFi so you're using your own data. It's a piss-take.
And to the poster who said posts are advertised at £22,000, I wish! It doesn't work out that way pro rata. The job has changed exponentially since, say, the 90s when it was all
reading groups and art displays! The level of need and challenging behaviour these days is through the roof.

There must be a reason there are so many vacancies...

Lots of reasons, I guess.

-poor salary which isn’t enough to live on with rising costs of living so people don’t apply.
-TA jobs now often involve changing nappies, intense medical care (PEGs/joists etc) and dealing with pupils who are physical/aggressive which doesn’t suit everyone so they don’t want to apply.
-increased flexibility in other jobs meaning you could get a job WFH with no commute for more hours and more money and work it round your home situation, so there are alternatives.
-increased number of pupils for whom mainstream doesn’t suit, but there aren’t the specialist places for them, so they are in mainstream, needing a 1:1 so there are more vacancies.

Evidently not enough to actually fill them. Also, a 320 finish? It's 4pm at ours.

When I was a TA seven years aging in the North East I earned 24k a year. My oh earns 29k a year as a HLTA. Its not a terrible wage for NE appreciate it would be hard to survive in London.