Cover for teacher - can school do this?

[anotherglass]

DS's Year 2 teacher has been drafted into helping another class who has gone on a field trip for 3 days. He told me today that the teaching assistant, who is a final-year teaching student, is taking his class until she gets back. The student seems nice and competent but should an unqualified student be left in charge of a class of 22 students for 3 days? DS says that she did not have anyone in the class assisting/supervising her.

Any guidance would be appreciated.

Thanks.

Can she be a teaching assistant and a student teacher at the same time?

Yes - totally appropriate in a final practice - after their mentor and class teacher in the school is happy that they are competent.

Well..., it depends on a few things.
Firstly, if he or she is a higher level teaching assistant then it's ok for school to do this. Also, as a final year student mid-june she may have already passed her final year and just be finishing up his placement, so in effect already signed off and qualified.

However, all this aside, when you think about it, even if neither of the above apply, isn't it better for the kids to have the continuity of their TA rather than a supply teacher who doesn't know them, doesn't really care about their progress and will spend the 3days doing as little as possible?

As it's a planned trip, the teacher has very likely left left planned work and all that is happening is that another very capable adult whom they already know very well is delivering that work.

Incidently, I teach and have come across many TAs who are fantastic and all works their socks off for their class.

I would actually much rather my children's primary school classes were covered by someone who knew them well than someone brought in from outside.

I should have said most rather than many. Most TAs are brilliant.

I'm sure she's great but if she's doing the job of the teacher I hope she is being paid the same too.

Yes, totally appropriate IMO. If she's doing her final placement then you would expect her to be left for fairly lengthy periods of time as long as her supervisors are happy. She presumably finishes in two or three weeks time and could then work as a supply until the end of term if she wanted.

Also, I agree with TheFAllenMadonna far better to have someone who knows the class well than someone from outside the school.

She's final year student - she'll get paid diddly squat!

Assume the op didn't mean teaching assistant in the traditional sense, just that hitherto she'd understood that the student only helped the teacher (which she won't have, as final tps involve about 70% whole class teaching).

Well, she should be paid as a qualified supply teacher or someone else should really have the responsibility of the class. She's there to learn not be a free teacher (though nice to save the school £600). And I'm sure she'll be great, and wants to do it but that's not really the point.

(ooh, but 22 kids - sounds lovely )

Am sure there is actually somebody supervising, you might not be aware of it, that's all. As hopalong said, she'll have been left for longer periods of time without anyone physically in the classroom already (though I believe we are not officially supposed to leave trainees alone at all - v strange).

dair, this is just routine, and what normally happens to a final practice student as part of their practice. It's part of the learning process.

If schools had to start paying money to students just for completing a practice, they simply wouldn't be able to accept any.

Well as I said, I think the point is that she will want to do it and it is undoubtedly the best option for the chiildren.

Sorry, Adair.

Thanks for your replies. Sorry for the confusion over TA, but yes I meant the student is helping the teacher, but not as a TA. The regular TA has disappeared since the student arrived.

How long can a student cover for a mentor, and should they be unsupervised in the class?

DS normally has a teacher and TA (or student), now it is just the student teacher for 3 days.

Thanks

See above.

Someone is still responsible for the class though, no? Maybe this is routine in primary, I don't know. I have never seen a trainee used as a cover for a lesson without a qualified teacher present (even if they go and hide in the office).

Agree, she is most likely the best option for the class and for your son. Pretty sure someone will be checking in frequently!

Normally, surely, the class will have the student, and the teacher will be observing? Honestly - this really wouldn;t bother me at all. I teach in secondary, and frankly, if our students weren't capable of teaching now, they wouldn't be capable of it at all.

Normal in our school, and when I was on teaching practice too. One student in my last school covered his class for 2wks sick leave, but I think that was taking the piss quite frankly. Not ideal, but competent students often used like this. No pay!!

That's terrible, Caz. Agree one day maybe (with someone nearby on-call/hand). Dh was paid for his similar oh-look-why-don't-you-just-teach-this-while-on-teaching-practice (I thought it was a cheek he got unqualified rate). I was employed (ie paid) 1 week after I finished PGCE.

Darn it, why don't we just throw people in at the deep end and pay them a crap salary while they just do the job? (oh hang on, that's the GTP...)

As a trainee teacher (secondary), when a teacher is away I often take the class. But as I am a Science teacher, I often have a cover supervisor (pretty much untrained) in there to watch me, and for insurance purposes. If I was a GTP I could be alone, actually sometimes I am, but usually the teacher is in the prep room next door.

When your DC is at secondary they will probably be supervised by a cover supervisor when the teacher is not there. Cover supervisors may have received some training, but a week probably at most.

Oh lordy, don't start me on Cover Supervisors

Caz10, expecting a student to cover for 2 weeks is taking the proverbial - even if the student is competent!

The school didn't communicate the change in arrangements with parents. This is part of the problem but perhaps that is asking too much.

They don't have to or need to, anotherglass, it's part of the day to day running of the school. How else do you expect final year teaching students to gain experience? They will be in front of a class for real in a matter of weeks.

Yes it's normal forstudents to take classes when they are on thier final placement. DD1 has just finished a PGCE in Biology and has taken several classes at the schoolhere she was on fibal placement,

Feenie, I have no problem with students gaining experience, I never said that. Just needed a bit of reassurance that the arrangements were OK, as you can see from the posts on this thread that some schools do take the proverbial.