TA jobs

[haapynot]

What do schools do when there's a national shortage? How many people are applying to be one but not finding work? I saw that some schools use agency staff for teachers is that the same for assistants?

I’m a TA. In my county are hundreds of applications for every TA job posted. We don’t have enough TAs in the school but that’s because of budget, not because there aren’t people that would fill the role.

Completely different in my area as in our school we are always advertising for TA jobs and get little or no applications. My school have used agency TA’s regularly for years because of the lack of response the job adverts get.

I also used to work for an agency and never didn’t get a days work in the whole year I worked for them.

There are agency TAs yes. In my experience they cope by redeploying existing staff to the areas they are most needed while others go without support entirely, e.g year 1 has a high concentration of SEN pupils so year 5 TAs will be moved there while year 5 just has to get on with it. Midday Supervisors sometimes get additional hours too.

This will remain all the while TAs are overworked and undervalued, in terms of both pay and people's attitude towards them.

There's always people who want to be TAs, it's less mums who want a job in school time and pin money with a wealthier husband like it used to be as there are lots of other jobs that can be WFH now and suit them and instead it's shifted to those interested in teaching or similar without dependents who supplement it with evening hours at Supermarkets / Pubs/sports coaching etc. but yes there are TA agencies and academy chains can ask for TAs / teachers at other local schools to fill in.

So the agencies are quite busy? Thank you. I saw an agency teacher come into my child's school last week, in north London, to cover sickness and then wondered if TAs are also sent by agencies. Also was thinking that I may do some TA work to get back into working and a possible career change.

It's a very low wage for a lot of proactive enthusiasm and a high level of education needed. It only appeals to people who want a pt job in school hours and the money is a bonus not the reason for the job. Otherwise they'd go work in aldi for £16+ph not just over £12.

There are agency TAs as well as teachers. Most (all?) supply agencies employ both.

Do schools pay agency staff more like in other jobs?

Budget constraints mean that the number of TAs is much reduced. Not because they aren’t wanted or needed and not because no one wants the job, but because there is no money in budgets to pay the pittance they earn for fulfilling a vital role. Academy CEOs on the other hand………

Yes I got paid more per day for agency work than when I was contracted by a council, but obviously agency work doesn’t pay holiday or sick pay.

Where are you that retail pays 16 quid per hour?

Yes they do have agency TA s . I know in my work we have never use them ( actually now I have said that I think we did get a lady in for mornings about 8 years ago when someone broke their arm 🤔)

tend to shuffle people around and make do for the day or so off sick .

I was actually talking to a lady who was a supply ta on bonfire night, and she did say she often ended up struggling to get work , and when she had it it was often quite Stressful ( ie phone call in the morning, can you get to this school however many miles away by half 8 , it’s just 3 hours pay until lunchtime) then nothing for three weeks .

I suppose there will be some people that it works for, but it seems hassle for such low pay to me …..

if you’re only wanting a few hours I would imagine that there was a local school somewhere that would want a TA permanently for a few mornings a week

Yes. The agencies take a cut, so the schools pay more. But they don't have to deal with the HR, and can end the contract easily. So agencies are often used when schools need to take on TAs for a short time, such as for 1:1 support.

Most of the schools I work with use agency TAs for two reasons. Firstly, it can be difficult to recruit high enough calibre staff, but sadly, when schools are facing ongoing budget pressures and are having to restructure to save money, it makes sense to employ agency staff where possible to save on redundancy costs when they have to cut jobs.

I used to love being a TA as the work was so varied and fun. But now TAs are mostly only used as 1-1 with SEN children, often doing little more than babysitting if the child refuses to engage. There are some intervention groups you might work with and HLTA can cover for teacher sometimes. It's not as rewarding as it used to be.

Its not a high level of education needed. Its common for nvq to be asked for but the actual bare minimum is gcse eng and maths passes, thats it

Also was thinking that I may do some TA work to get back into working and a possible career change.

It is unlikely that an agency would take on a random mum who was thinking about a career change and unlikely that a school would want an unqualified TA when there are qualified TAs on agency books.

It always makes me wonder what people think the reality is. Most schools don't have TAs now not because they are kept wanted or needed but because the budget doesn't allow for it.

I would get some experience first by doing unpaid work! I was even thinking of actually going into teaching but can't commit to the hours needed because of childcare.

Yes Aldi round by us pays £16+ph. And you apply with minimum English and maths skills but you're not going to get that job. The TAs in a lot of primary schools are (like the staff in the office) working with an aptitude well beyond their pay grade.

Many schools prefer more because of the level of responsibility and requirements of what you do- intervention groups, medical need ( sometimes quite complex), S&L & MH programmes, EHCPs, planning for the above…More and more is being expected of TAs and yet the pay is still really poor.It’s so wrong.

Do you have any relevant qualifications @haapynot? Most of the TAs I work with are educated to degree level, some are qualified teachers, although one has no qualifications, not even Math/English at level 2, but she's been there forever and is brilliant at what she does.

If not, it might be worth volunteering while training - most TAs these days work with SEN children. The school I work in has only used agency TAs to cover for children who need a 1:1 when the usual TA will be absent for more than a short period. It can a really tricky job supporting a child with SEN you haven't build a rapport with. It takes a special person and the pay is pants for the skill required.

If you can get a permanent position, over time training would be provided and you'd be able to build up your skills.

@ReceptionTA yes I'm qualified to postgraduate level but not in teaching.

What county is this? I keep hearing that nobody applies.

Agency is massively a thing, but schools try to avoid and redeploy wherever possible, so it's always hard, hard work if you're called in to cover. It means someone very high needs will go unsupported otherwise - so you're either doing intensive support with someone who doesn't know/trust you, or a nightmare timetable to cover someone else.

The school pays more and you earn slightly less than a standard TA.

It's a role I love, but one where I need to be physically strong and am regularly assaulted. It's nothing like teaching (apart from occasional whole class cover. That's too much like it...). It requires massive emotional and physical resilience; strong SEN knowledge; an ability to swap what you're doing extremely fast and to keep on with a smile even when someone's just hurt you, with only the time between classes to get over it (as too stretched for anyone to cover you while you have a cry...).

I love it, but I'd not do it if I didn't have disabled family who need me at home. I do 37 hours a week TTO, which brings in enough to live while I also look after them and be available in the holidays.

There is a shortage of TAs but at the same time, as someone has already said it's a job that will always attract people because of the hours and the holidays.

Despite the shortage, in my experience a teaching agency would not take on someone unqualified because it's a hard job and being on supply makes it even harder. It's not sharpening pencils like in the good old days. It's having your own phonics group or supporting a child one to one for the whole day with little guidance. Sometimes it's changing nappies for seven hours.

My agency pays supply TAs about £70 a day but that probably varies enormously. Holiday pay is included in the daily rate.