Teaching assistant removed

[Mellymiller1]

Hello, my daughter has dyslexia and has a SEN plan. We've just found out that her school have removed all teaching assistants except one who will float around 150 kids!! Previously there was one TA per class! No consultation and no communication. Just wondered if anyone has any experience of this and could offer tips as planning to write to the Governors. Also keen to understand what best practice is if there is any advice on this. Statutory guidance looks like just one teacher per 30 kinds, Many thanks!

Look, there is not a single Cabinet minister who sends their kids to state school (I just spend 30mins of my life checking all 15 of them - either no kids, or their children went to private school).

They really do not give a shit how bad state education gets in this country. It doesn’t matter to them, or their friends, or anybody in their social circle. They’ll continue to cut and cut in favour of backhanders and “favours” to themselves, their families, their donors and their mates, until we vote them out. It has become more and more blatant over the past five years, and they don’t even pretend to give a shit any more.

Years ago they didn't have teaching assistants. I think they are a good thing but there just isn't the funding to pay for them .

Goves children ?

No they didn't. They also excluded children with SEN or other issues, or simply let them failed and discipline was still physical and based on fear.

You can't have it both ways. Meet all the kids' needs, ensure everyone gets optimal adult time, makes progress, etc. and only have one adult in a classroom of 30.

Years ago, there were more special school places so that pupils with high needs could be educated in a more appropriate placement.

Years ago, there was the possibility to put sanctions in place for pupils or exclude for violent behaviour towards teachers/other pupils.

Years ago, the marking, planning and assessment expectations weren’t insane.

Years ago there weren’t one-word judgements from Ofsted that could ruin careers and have your school removed from the hands of the LA if they weren’t satisfied.

Years ago, schools were very different places.

There were certainly not more special school places in the past ( well going back 30 plus years)

There is more demand for places now- but special schools have not been closed - more are open- demand is greater

@RedLollyYellowLorry from 1997 until 2007 120 SEN schools have been shut. Can't find the data since then, but I'm sure there will be many more.

Why? Has the school previously explained what happened how their TAs were deployed?

Funding is inadequate and schools are having to cut their cloth accordingly.

I’d be interested to see some more stats on the number of special school places available here over the last 40 years

Agree.

Not really. They were amalgamated or moved mostly. For example on paper we closed 2 (possibly 3 before 2007) but in reality we expanded 6 and moved 1. They will show on that list I am sure.

The residential schools were not viable with the premises updates required and not really needed (such as the old designation of besd boys). A few moved into the private sector but most were technically closed but reopened as day provision or relocated.

Hundreds have opened post 2010 with another 66 have been approved this year.

Very normal I’m afraid unless your DD has an EHCP which states this support. Otherwise nothing you can do x

The current schools tend to be much larger as well.
Lots of older schools maybe had 40 pupils.

Very much agree!

Your OP comes across as if you think the school has cut TAs on a whim and to be unsupportive to their children.

This will absolutely not be the case. They have no choice because there’s no money.

I’d like to see the numbers since 2005.

32 not sure where 66 came from

You have to also look at total pupil numbers
And remember that in the 1970s to would include children in institutions for life and probably what are now young offenders institutions

Completely agree.
For parents saying we were not consulted, this is fundamentally what the strikes were about. Lack of funding.
Education being on its knees. The 'breaking point' being long gone.

I've been teaching for 27 years and the situation makes me weep.

You can

https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england#

in 2022 there were 147,427 in state special school and a further 3,995 and 28,732 funded with EHCPs in other special provision- so about 180,000 in funded special schools/provisions

There were 389,171 EHCPs in total.

EHCP data from the 2023 census showed there were 170,972 pupils with EHCPs in special schools, 8,039 in specialist post 16 settings, and 3,835 in AP/PRUs. You can see the data here. I’m not sure how useful raw numbers are to comparisons though, especially as the method of data collection changed.

X-post.

As others have said it's normal, I am a TA but now assigned to a EHCP child as opposed to a class. Unless there is a child with an EHCP, there is no TA in that class. We are incredibly short staffed but it is what it is unfortunately. We are also short on middays so I now do lunch time duty two times a week.

To be fair even when there are vacancies for TA's people don't apply. We have had an advertised vacancy for 6 weeks and no one has applied. It's fine if you have a higher earner partner and young children the job suits, but for many with the rising cost of living, the job simply does not pay enough.

I’m not arguing with posters saying don’t vote Tory. Pretty sure Labour will win next election.

However I wouldn’t have hopes of Labour fixing school resource issues and budgets either - there’s no money.

It won’t be their fault, it’ll be budget cuts. My mum works in school finance and to get by next year they’re going to have to make a teacher redundant and have more mixed year classes to get by. The state of funding for schools is horrific :(

OP, it could be that your daughter's school will buy in someone external to come in once or twice a week to do some intensive small group work. That could possibly be cheaper than employing a full time TA.

Despite what I said earlier about writing to the government not the school, if she was involved in small group work last year, ask the school if something similar will be provided this year. Just because there is no FT TA doesn't mean to say the group work won't happen.

The only legal recourse you have is to get a ehcp with dedicated TA 1:1 time. Via appeal if you must.

But you will need professional reports to back up the need. Things are so dire in mainstream it works out cheaper for the LA to put Mt daughter in a private school. I have a appeal to get her TA 1:1 this week but if they still use a floating TA I will appeal to move her to private next year. She is falling further and further being her peers.