To want a TA job

[QuestionAndAnswers1]

Calling all teaching assistants! How are you finding it? Is full time full on? How do you cope with the poor pay - I’m worried it isn’t enough money to justify the work?! Please share any tips or reviews!

@QuestionAndAnswers1 So you don’t really want to work hard and think the money is too little? There’s a very decent pension if you do enough hours! You are somewhat dismissive of the job. Most TAs I’ve known known like it. They earn less because they are not teachers. They have less responsibility and it’s term time only. However you work closely with teachers and of course working with dc is busy!

If you can earn more, why aren’t you?

@OhDear111 So I used to earn more BUT now have children and love being with them as much as possible. Term time work is ideal and I do think I’d enjoy working with children. TA fits the bill - apart from paying the bills! I guess I’m trying to hear from TAs about how they find it in reality, how they feel about the low wages and the trade offs.

The best advice I can give is try to volunteer in a school first to experience it firsthand and work out if it is for you. You will need a DBS check and some schools have a volunteer training program that covers safeguarding, policies, and some basic children stuff.

A lot of TAs now have 1 to 1 caring duties whether that is in a classroom or over lunch to give another 1 to 1 TA their lunch break, this could be sitting with a child whilst they eat to following them around the playground.

Even in the best schools there are still children with behaviour issues. You may have to be trained to safely remove a child from a classroom, you may get injured too.

Depending on the school depends on the duties which can be anything from gluing worksheet homework into books, cutting out things for the display boards, reading with the children, helping low ability children with the practical side of subjects like science or art. It can also be standing at the photocopier for 40 minutes. This is as well as supporting the teacher in the classroom.

That is the reality but it is also incredibly rewarding and fun, each day is different and the topics the children cover are interesting too. Most teachers are great and everyone is trying their best for the children with limited budget for things like whiteboard pens and pencils.

You get a lot of holiday and if the school holidays align with your child's school holidays then you won't have to pay for childcare in the holidays. How are you getting your children to school? Partner or are you planning on being a TA in your child's school? It will depend on your start time and what time the doors open for your children to go into school. TAs were not allowed to bring their children into school before school doors opened, one did this and it caused kick off from the parents in the playground, they had to pay for wrap around care.

You are not full time so still have time after school finishes when most people are still in work. That is the pay off. The money, not so great but you can train to be a HLTA or take on extra duties.

Been a TA (albeit in a private school) I was full time and worked between 8am and 6pm, so doing before and after school care. Most break and lunch duties too. Was lucky if I got 30 mins break in 8 hours. Was very full on, I also had additional duties of running a fair trade group. Was often left in charge of classes or covered absent staff for no extra pay. This was a few years ago, I just understand now most TA's are used as support for SEN students, so knowledge of this definitely needed. All those duties and more for just over min wage!

I absolutely love my job. Been doing it for 13 years fitted well around my children. The job has however changed an awful lot and is getting harder. More is expected of us we are not just TAs. We support children and families in many ways. There are more children with SEND in mainstream, behaviour can be challenging. The pay does not match the workload but thankfully for me I’m not the main wage earner.

The pay is stretched across 52 weeks when you are only actually paid for 39 plus holiday pay. This makes the wage per month lower. It's hard work but can be rewarding in the right school. Responsibilities vary widely depending upon the school and it's cohorts.

I’m still doing it long after my children are grown and I no longer need term time
hours just because I love it. I don’t rely on it as our only household income though, and nor do we claim top up benefits.

There are plenty of things you can do to supplement the TA wage, but they need to be done outside school
hours obviously, which much defeat the point.

I guess the biggest problem is it would be a great career for a single parent IF it paid better! I was hoping to get a career sorted again for financial independence but I guess it’s hard to be a single parent (if it came to it) on that salary. Equally, longer hours are hard to do when a single parent especially one who’s had a massive career break. I have wondered about training to be a teacher for the increased salary but I keep hearing about that career in a negative way? (Unpaid overtime and too much pressure?)

Are you expecting to become a single parent?

I'm a teacher and wouldn't do the TA role - too much responsibility for very little pay. It is a scandal how little most TAs are paid. Mind you, being a teacher is only any good if you are really, really invested in it - otherwise you'll be ground down by all the negatives. In many ways it's not a flexible career for a parent; my husband is the one who does all the school related stuff for my own children.

If TAs were paid better, teachers would have to be paid a LOT more or they would all quit to be a TA instead.

Very true! I left being a teacher as it was so awful, but would definitely have considered being a TA if the money was better!

That said, I think I’m would have enjoyed being a TA about 15 years ago when you were attached to a class/teacher but the TA role now in most schools is supporting very high need children 1:1 and it’s very full on dealing with nappy changing, smearing, hoisting, and sadly a fair amount of physical aggression -that is not for everyone.

Don’t do it unless you are considering it as a first step towards teaching. Even that is a route that requires a lot of thought.

TA’s are no longer the mum’s that want term time jobs. They have to support children who’s need far outstrips their own ability, unless specifically trained to do so. They are required to 1:1 with kids that everyone knows should not be in mainstream school for a vast variety of unique reasons. It is common to be hit, kicked, sworn at, spat at and blamed.

Frankly, it should be talked about as the educational scandal it is.

Eek @Shinyandnew1 that doesn’t make it sound appealing! What was so awful about being a teacher?

@Vitrolinsanity oh my god! Not selling it to me there. Just so hard to work out how to fit a job around parenting though isn’t it?!

Primary or secondary?

Big difference between the two

Its alot of work. Its full on.

And you will be working alot with kids with sen or behavioural needs in secondary

Are you qualified ?

Most schools can pick and choose these days and don't need mums applying, they can choose from qualified childcare staff. Level 3 in Early years etc. 2 year course.

I'm not a TA but my son has 2:1 TA support at mainstream primary school. They don't get paid anywhere near enough for the responsibility they generally have now, especially with SEND children.

I'm incredibly grateful for TA's. They are bloody amazing.

I was thinking that. This just seems a back of a fag packet idea without working out what is really needed.

Workload, constant micromanagement, pointless yet incredibly time-consuming tasks, long working hours, behaviour (pupil, parent and SLT!), a feeling that you are never good enough, Ofsted, lack of budget/support for SEND, crumbling buildings, budget meaning anyone experienced (expensive) quickly finds themselves on a ‘support’ plan.

I wouldn’t recommend primary teaching to anyone now.

@Yewoo yes maybe. I’d be mortgage free at least as our house is paid off and a decent value (clearly would have to downsize and buy two for the price of one). Just a big lifestyle shift for the kids and I don’t know what other careers fit in well without years of expensive training or more confidence in myself (been out of work for years now). I don’t want to separate but we have some issues that aren’t changing so sadly it might be the case.

Can you manage on a wage thats likely to be 80p-1200 a month? Are you qualified? Level 2/3/HLTA?
I love my job but its very very different from when I started 13 years ago.
You'll never get to go to your child's assemblies sports days etc. No holidays during term time not much flexibility for appointments etc. I almost missed my best friends wedding, she had to change it to a school holiday day if she wanted me to attend.
I did 6 years in primary and now in my 7th year in secondary, im in mainstream school have had tables flipped on me, been bitten by fleas, dogs a pupil.
My husband can no longer work due to illhealth/disability and its hard to be the main wage earner on a TA salary. I work 7.30-3.30 daily

Please consider volunteering in a school to get some experience before committing to a job as a TA.

When people become TA's purely because they want school holidays off and a job that fits around their kids it becomes apparent very quickly, and they generally don't last long.

It's not all putting up classroom displays and reading with children, our TA's are skilled professionals who work with the most complex and vulnerable pupils. They run small group interventions around Speech and Language, Fine Motor Skills and Social Communication. They work closely with children who have experienced significant trauma including neglect and abuse, which can manifest in some very challenging behaviour. They also provide personal care to pupils who have physical disabilities or who can't toilet independently due to SEND.
In addition to a good standard of literacy and numeracy (we do a written test for this at interview stage) they need to have knowledge and experience working with children with additional needs.

It can be a rewarding job but only for somebody with the right temperament. The best TA's I work with (and the ones who seem happy in their role) are calm, patient, resilient, flexible and adaptable, and able to keep a sense of humour when nothing feels like it's going according to plan.

I think it’s too little money for the total lack of flexibility. I used to recruit for schools and they are a nightmare to recruit go now as people can get school hours in supermarkets packing orders for much more money.

It’s a little unclear what your set up is (I don’t know if you are a single parent or not). DH and I aren’t teachers but we have 3 siblings who either are teachers or are married to teachers (and one set where both are teachers). DH and I are both LTFT. The teachers are mostly full time but a couple are LTFT.

Id actually say, overall, we have it easier than the teachers do. While they obviously don’t have the stress of holiday cover, during term time there is very little flexibility. Their kids are in wraparound care longer than ours are during term time. They also have a seemingly bigger headache covering sick days.

Obviously being off for the holidays is great. But during term time, my impression is teaching isn’t always that family friendly.

Just seen your update. If you were going it alone in teaching you’d need watertight childcare. And I’d get on with being qualified before separating. I have no idea of your finances, but on the face of it, it would be extremely difficult to make ends meet on a TA wage alone. You say you are mortgage free on a high value house, so I assume your DH earns extremely well. It would be a massive shift in QOL for you and the kids. How many kids do you have and how old are they?