Is this legal? Graduate position

[diian]

DC is thinking of teaching as a career and has seen a Graduate Resident Assistant job come up in their degree subject at a prestigious school. They will be required to teach some Yr 9 classes, have boarding and house duties as well as play an active part in the extra curricular life of the school. They must hold a degree in the subject being taught and are required to live-in.

The school is offering an honorarium payment of 13k per year. This role is probably going to be 60 hrs + a week due to living on site. This does not seem like it meets minimum wage. Has anyone else come across honorarium payments for this type of position? I think they would be better off paying to do a PGCE and getting a C25k bursary.

It's hard to say as I assume that DC would get free room and board, and that could be worth a lot (depending on area).

Very common in boarding schools. Housing, food and all bills included which with current cost of living is worth a lot. Quite a good transition to adulthood from university I think, and a good way to try out teaching. Some will support with PGCE too.

Your DC could go through Teach First - he'd be paid as a TA for yr 1 increasing to full QTS pay on yr 2. All college fees paid.

He may have left things a bit late but it's a good scheme with lots of inbuilt support for the trainees

It sounds a brilliant opportunity for a new graduate. Fre board and lodging alone is likely to be worth about £15k a year. However it is definitely wise to get a PGCE too so may be that could be done the year after or started during the year.

We knew two teachers with 3 children at my husband's prep school only paying 15% of fees per child and then the whole family lived in the father's boarding school where he taught and went on there at 13 at a similar massive discount on fees. That is quite rare but the value of the perks in some of these schools is absolutely marvellous. We only had to pay 15% of fees for my son from age 4 - 13. If you add the value of that to a teacher's salary and it is a very good perk. We also basically had a free outdoor swimming pool when the children as hardly anyone used it at weekends, (and started married life in a school provided flat) never mind acres and acres of gorgeous grounds.

To work out a salary package you have to
take everything into account. So, as others have said, add on board and lodging. It’s presumably for short terms too. However if he’s eligible for a bursary, I would look at the pgce route too.

Board and lodging sounds great but it also means you are on duty until 10pm some nights and on call during the night. The school is in the middle of nowhere so it could be quite an isolating experience with long hours and they might be taken advantage of to do airport runs, cover lessons in their 'time off'. School is 6 days a week until 4pm on a Saturday. All for 13k. I think they are going off the idea by the hour.

DC says it is not about the money, but they want this year to try things out and see if different careers are for them.

teach first comes with a minimum 3 year tie in that leaves people desperate to leave teaching but unable to without incurring all their training fees. Catastrophic for teachers and education

@diian That is the reality of working at a boarding school. You do get days and evenings off though!!!! You just work a rota for time off.

Boarding is a total bubble. You are either suited to a commitment to the cause or not. If you are going to sit there totting up hours worked per £ then it’s not the job for you.

You actually find that all accommodation costs, utility bills and food are paid for. The salary after taking all this into account is actually sensible.