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.

Are cover supervisors not Level 3 qualified TAs? If so then they are trained and/or experienced at supervising a class. However they should only be supervising, not teaching.

Also you do not have to be a HLTA to cover a lesson in short term asence - a level 3 TA is allowed to do that - again, it should only be supervising, not actually teaching as such - although the distinction is often blurred.

No idea of the trainee teacher front. A school I work at I have never knon a trainee teacher to be in charge of a class - normally that would be the Leve; 3 TA, or after first day, a supply tacher.

We have lots of trainee teachers. At the end of their placement they do a week (or maybe two) of sole teaching.

Hulababy, is there a reason why your school hasn't left a trainee teacher in charge of a class, as others have?

Cover supervisors are not level 3 TAs. They do not teach, just supervise a class working independently.

It's fairly normal for students to take some classes independently for the last few weeks of placement, especially when help is close at hand.

I suspect that if she is left for 3 days, she will already be signed off.

A lot of schools offer summer term starts to just qualified teachers as an extra incentive (they get paid over the holidays).

No idea anotherglass - TBF may be at different stages in course; I don't hav any dealings.

I was reading an article by the Governmet last week and it had Cover Supevisors at the same level as TA level 3 in their documents - and had the as able to do the same as Level 3 TAs, inc supervising whole classes in short term absence (not teaching as said before) - so assumed they held similar level of qualification or experience. Don't have one at our school, so noone to ask.

And level 3 TAs are not supposed to teach whole class, only supervise.

it's only three days, really not that big a deal is it?

Thanks for all the replies. I really hadn't any clue about what was "normal" for cover, but feel reassured now.