‘Flexible use of support staff in keeping lessons face to face’

[Skinnyfrappewithmilk]

One of the points made by the education sec for return to school this week.

Are they planning on paying a decent wage for support staff then?! I’m a TA and having to claim UC as my wage is so poor, quite frankly it’s an insult.
I’m so angry reading that…our pay and conditions are already awful, I can’t quite believe the cheek of it.

@Spikeyball

I hope they are not expecting schools to use children's 1:1s.

I was just thinking my TA has recently been made a 1:1 but she has always been expected to cover me in the past when she was class TA. When she got covid in November they took a 1:1 off another older child to be with the child with more needs in my class it is all a mess really!

@Blubells

I don’t get paid anything comparable to my teaching colleagues precisely because I don’t have their training and expertise. Who on earth thinks it’s a manageable solution to put me in charge of classes??!

Because the next 3-4 weeks are going to be exceptionally difficult for all sectors of the economy - unfortunately we all have to make some sacrifices to get through it!

Oh, OK. I vote for your kid's school place for September being the sacrifice. They'll have to go to the local authority school with vacancies instead of an academy, selective school, grammar, faith based or other such establishment that requires a direct application. If the LA school has spaces, that is.

There are five days until schools that act as their own admissions authorities have to submit the rankings to the local authorities so that offers can be made in March. If the person working on that until 10pm at least once this week is stuck babysitting year 9, nobody gets offered a place. Repeat it in all desirable schools that run their own admissions.

Still want the admissions person to make that 'tiny sacrifice'?

The inspections need to be put on hold now. It’s almost cruel expecting schools to be judged under these awful circumstances. Also if ofsted inspectors are teacher qualified they should be given school to support during this time.

On another point I think a lot of parents know that a big hall full of kids and support staff is not an education but many are too terrified to admit what that means to their own jobs. Some secondary pupils still can’t be left home alone with on line learning. Some might not be SEN category but just unable to cope at age 12 with being left for 7 /8 hours a day. Some may suffer anxiety also and be older.

@Macaroni46

Maybe instead of cranking up the number of Ofsted inspections, the dreaded inspectors could roll up their sleeves and help teach in place of absent colleagues?

This!!!

"I hope they are not expecting schools to use children's 1:1s."

"Of course they will. Most of the TAs in my school are 1.1s."

That's what I thought but they ( the government) are not admitting it. That the most vulnerable will be hit the most.

What support staff need to do is mobilise together quickly. Get active on social media to join forces. I volunteer at a vaccination site and the paid staff (so most people) have all had a 50% pay uplift to cover about a month to get this surge done. TAs need to lobby for something similar. You are in a powerful position just now, make the most of it.
I agree with government, it's really important schools are kept open even if the quality of teaching is impacted, its unreasonable of gov and public to not expect a financial cost to this.

1:1s will be the first thing to go.

When we're massively short staffed having the greatest flexibility we can get is by pulling TAs off 1:1s and deploying them with larger groups.

Sorry everyone, you seem to be under the impression that they are trying to ensure that education is not impacted. It’s nothing to do with that. It’s everything to do with not pissing off voting parents who don’t want to homeschool and keep kids supervised so their parents can go to work!

[quote ArmChairQueen]@Blubells lol- there speaks the voice of someone who has clearly never experienced the unique creeping feelings of panic that are often felt by someone left in sole charge of a large rowdy group when their attempts at behaviour management are failing.[/quote]
Absolutely

At the school I work in, all the TAs, student support staff, and the cover supervisors have had COVID at least once, caught from children. Mercifully, all have recovered and are well now.

They kept the school open from March 2020, working in school every day alongside a rotation of teachers, supporting children of key workers and vulnerable children, and those with additional needs in person and one-to-one by phone or online. The work they have done has meant that on average, across all school years, the attainment gap between those on our inclusion register and their peers has narrowed since the start of the pandemic.

They have already made sacrifices.

And I support and agree with every post thecatfromjapan has made.

What support staff need to do is mobilise together quickly. Get active on social media to join forces... TAs need to lobby for something

Perhaps i'm a pessimist But if TAs and support staff try to ask for a pay increase and take to social media to complain, all I can see is a huge public backlash claiming they're putting pay above children's education.

DS (yr8 at the time) had 1-1 funding during the last lockdown- he didn’t get any 1-1 support as the TAs had to supervise those in school. Children like DS who couldn’t access online learning without heavy support missed out and the TAs were having to help multiple children doing different lessons at the same time.

Can we just take a moment to thank the government for keeping nightclubs open.

Also, parents who took their kids to pantos over the last fortnight deserve and honourable mention.

I have to say, I agree with KenDodd about demanding a pay uplift for support staff.

Realistically, schools are too balkanised and unions aren't really strong enough.

Plus, the funding would have to come directly from government - schools are quite screwed financially.

And that gets us to the nub of the call for 'sacrifice': get in there; work more for less; in unsafe conditions - because the government won't pay for furlough, has cut services to the nine, & has planned nothing over the last two years.

But the 'army' of mainly women can be called in to make 'sacrifices'.

Is this even safe? Not just due to the fact that they are quite happy to mass infect the countries children with omicron with no measures other than an open window, but in terms of numbers. Surely there are firm safety staff/child ratios that need to be followed? Give parents a choice for fucks sake, teachers and parents should not have to accept this.

Also, parents who took their kids to pantos over the last fortnight deserve and honourable mention

Oh stop.

So will this be HlLTAs and level 3 TAs or will even lower paid level 2s be expect to cover too?

It’s everything to do with not pissing off voting parents who don’t want to homeschool and keep kids supervised so their parents can go to work!

Yes, the Government want to keep schools open because the 'costs' of closing them will be higher than the 'benefits' to society overall.

This happened in the 1980s during the Teachers strikes. Multiple classes being taught by SLT in school halls.

We didn’t have the luxury of TAs back then. Just volunteer parents.

Needs must and all that. Everyone is going to have to muck in over the next while.

I’m non clinical NHS admin and have been asked to vaccinate in mass centre. I don’t mind. This is a crisis situation and it won’t be forever.

1:1s will be the first thing to go.
Yes, and if the alturnitive is closing the school, I agree. If 25% of staff are off teaching quality will inevitably fall. Even if schools become no much more than childcare over the next six weeks its better than closing imo.
For information, I don't have a dog in this race. My children are all secondary school and could study independently at home easily. But it's so important to keep schools open.

@user1471509171

So will this be HlLTAs and level 3 TAs or will even lower paid level 2s be expect to cover too?

It'll be anyone who is available. Because we're in it for the children, remember.

@user1471509171

So will this be HlLTAs and level 3 TAs or will even lower paid level 2s be expect to cover too?

Anyone.

Last year we had the admin team supervising classes.

Parents need to understand that if worst comes to the worst, there wont be an teaching going on. It’ll just be any school staff in front of a class.

@ArmChairQueen
I’m a teacher at the top of the pay scale and was utterly horrified about what was expected of TAs at my school last year, in terms of bubble teaching. The amount we pay our support staff is a national disgrace at the best of times.
Teacher here and I absolutely agree. It also makes me angry that as a teacher I often have a member of our support team with me, but if a TA covers me, they’re expected to do it without support. Double standards!

For all those being sarcastic about keeping night clubs and entertainment open; please remember the income generated is taxable which is a proportion of income to public services including schools. If parents can’t work where is that going to come from? Teachers will get made redundant and schools will shut entirely if there is no income generation from the economy to pay for it all.

I can’t wait until we get to the situation that the caretaker will be taking the initial phone call from the OFSTED Inspector. Do you think at that point the Government will admit there is an issue and put Inspections on hold?