To teach all day for £11.90 p/h?

[Sooooootired01]

I'm a qualified teacher primarily working as a SEN HLTA. Pay £11.60 an hour. OK I guess.
Last week I covered for a teacher who had gone on residential. This meant teaching all day from Monday - Wednesday, a full and routine curriculum of English and Maths etc. 30 kids in a class, no supervision, completely left to own devices. Again, I'm qualified so fair enough. Lessons preplanned but of course still needed delivery.
AIBU to think that paying me rate of £11.60 p/h for this is not OK?

Yet the job you do is extremely skilled and so important. Why we don't value TAs, teachers, nurses, carers etc in this country is beyond me. (Ex-teacher here)

@PickAChew Exactly that. Very few children with EHCP are getting even half of the support that they are entitled to.

And a bit of a knob

Op says qualified teacher

I get that but OP says they are a qualified teacher so I was wondering why she doesn't work as a teacher if she's just going to get roped into doing the job of a teacher

Thank you.

We try our best. The main problem for us at the moment is managing behaviour. It is out of control (not unique to my school) and nobody seems to know what to do including headteachers. I think teachers and TAs alike feel so unsupported right now because we can't do the jobs we want or trained to do.
It is so frustrating as a parent to see schools in this mess and to watch your children having to go through the system as it is.

At my old school HLTAs and Cover Supervisors were on the same salary (point 6 on local council band) so even as a cover supervisor you’d have been on same money.

I don’t disagree for any second that TAs etc are massively underpaid but you’re choosing to do the lower paid job with the higher qualification? If you want the higher salary, teach?

It's because they are predominantly female professions and in the olden days women were paid less than men and the government can't be bothered to rectify the years of ingrained inequality

Yeah that's what I think I am missing. Perhaps teaching has worse hours?

@notthatperson As a teacher I was working 7-5.30 and 7.30-10pm most days. When I became a single mum with two young children and a poorly parent this became impossible. I see what teachers are being put through now and understand completely why there is a recruitment and retention crisis.

I have a friend who is under 21 and an unqualified TA in a small school. She is on minimum wage. She covers all teacher sickness. One teacher was off for a about a month at one point and she had to teach and essentially plan too. The state of education system is scary.

It's valuable and hard work. It should be paid appropriately but it's not!

Why would they pay you so little? Was the supply rate agreed in advance? If so, I would have said no way beforehand. If they didn't tell you they were going to diddle you, I ask for a teacher's daily rate. Are you support staff in this school or another?

Which rules out the majority of 'key workers' aka supermarket staff, dustbin cleaners, cleaners, carers.

Utter snobbery.

@PurpleBugz I am a teacher (uk) and it's not allowed here for TAs to cover classes. By law it has to be a teacher. I have heard of it happening here but it's actually against the law.

JOB POSITION AVERAGE YEARLY SALARY
Cleaner £10,635
Teaching Assistant £12,291
Pharmacy Dispenser £12,920
Catering Assistant £13,500
Medical Receptionist £14,331
Hair Stylist £14,449
Customer Service Assistant £14,546
Waiter/Waitress £14,543
Shop Assistant £14,592
Barista £14,655
Beauty Therapist £14,907
Optical Assistant £14,990
Healthcare Assistant £15,104
Housekeeper £15,454
Personal Support Worker £15,685
Lifeguard £15,941
Porter £15,976
Bartender £16,330
Office Assistant £16,951

Honestly if you are qualified as a teacher, get a job as one and at least get the money for it.

If you are going to be paid min wage, only agree to TA roles, don't accept HLTA and don't admit to being a qualified teacher.

@Mademetoxic these are all unskilled jobs so you'd expect them to be min wage.

JOB POSITION AVERAGE YEARLY SALARY
Cleaner £10,635
Teaching Assistant £12,291
Pharmacy Dispenser £12,920
Catering Assistant £13,500
Medical Receptionist £14,331
Hair Stylist £14,449
Customer Service Assistant £14,546
Waiter/Waitress £14,543
Shop Assistant £14,592
Barista £14,655
Beauty Therapist £14,907
Optical Assistant £14,990
Healthcare Assistant £15,104
Housekeeper £15,454
Personal Support Worker £15,685
Lifeguard £15,941
Porter £15,976
Bartender £16,330
Office Assistant £16,951

@cherish123 The irony is I wasn't initially employed as a Cover Supevisior - it's not a job I'd have ever applied for!! I was employed as a SEN 1-1 HLTA but being taken away from that and used as cheap cover (much cheaper than a supply teacher).

I will NEVER work in a school again. The kids are great but the school (SLT) will bleed you dry if you allow it. I hated the culture within my school. I'm sure others are different. I think it's a lot of responsibility for a rubbish salary. You might be better off tutoring and temping.

Ps I forgot to add the most important thing which is that there isn’t a single job I would do for £11.60 p/h.
Which rules out the majority of 'key workers' aka supermarket staff

No - supermarket pay has been rising. Cleaners often get £15/h now. My cleaner cleans several houses within a short walk and definitely makes more than a TA.

Agree, cleaners are often on at least the same or more than TAs.

@ChangeAgain2 I can't really temp as not a guaranteed income and our private rent is expensive (and going up and up).

@Badgertime How many guaranteed hours is the average cleaner paid?

But they're jobs which are vital to the community.