Calling primary school teachers and TA's please

[nutcracker]

Ok, are you a teacher and sometimes wish you were the TA instead or the TA and have a longing to be the teacher ??

Oh and can a primary TA (especially nursery or reception age) give me a run down of their day, and also a primary teacher do the same please.

I know I am being a pain asking, but it is helping me to do decide what to do honestly.

Oh by primary I meant infant age really, but anyother comments welcome too.

You would have to train as a primary teacher which mean 3-11.

The teacher plans and marks all of the work. A TA may plan some activities and may do some basic marking. But in my experience, the TA acts on the instruction of the teacher, carrying out small group activities that the teacher has planned and set up.

The training is also very different.

I'm a TA & have been asked lots of times over the years why I don't train to be a teacher, but I have never felt the urge. I see the strain the teachers are often under & I wouldn't want it. The money is far far better though!

I am a primary school TA & have worked in reception, yr1 & yr2.
I will give you more of a run down later when I'm feeling more with it!

Oh I know it's different training etc, and already know the courses i'd have to do for each, just can't decide which i'd be better at.

If i did an access to teaching course I could then do a BEd in Early years education, which would concentrate mainly on key stages 0&1 but also qualify me to teach up to age 11.

I don't want to do the TA course and then decide one qualified that i wish i'd done the access course, or visa versa.

Primary teachers' day:

Get before 6 to get evryone including myself ready. Leave house by 7:30/ Drive kids to childminders and drop them off there. Get to work before 8 (though I would like to be there earlier). Set up activities for the day. Teach from 8:45 - 10:30. 15 mins 'break' (more like toilet stop then set up for after break). Teacher 10:45 til 12:25. Eat lunch whilst marking books, setting up for afternoon. Teach 1:25 til 3:25. Mark for about an hour and a half. Pick kids up. Go home - cook quick dinner. Kids homework, batha dn bed. Sit down and do planning/marking/assessment. I try to have a cut off time of 9pm to stop working (so roughly an hour and half of work) but sometimes I need to do more. I also spend a few hours on a weekend working if I can.

I work 2 days.
Report writing time you will be expected to do a lot more at home. I often end up ringing parents from home on my days 'off' as I try to do as much of my work as I can at school.

HTH

Thanks PC that would be a huge help.

Thanks Popsy that was very helpful (god you are busy lol).

What year do you teach Popsy ?

Just to add in terms of work load. I have worked in the same job for 10 years and know the job standing on my head. The work I do is the bare essentials at the moment.

Year 5 or 6 (depends on which lesson)

Would you ever swap to being a TA if you had to do it all again ?? Sorry hard question I know.

For the lighter workload, responsibilities I mean.

I have a friend at work (I was her TA last year) who went from TA to teacher & says she would go back to being a TA as she found teaching very stressful. She is leaving work next week to be a SAHM!

No. It would never have entered my head tbh. They are very different jobs indeed really. I went to uni not knowing what I wanted to 'be' and it kind of was the next step after my degree.

Ah right

I think I may have just thought of a solution to my inability to make a desicion about this.

How about if I did a TA course which is 1 yr long and includes placements in schools, and then decided at the end wether I wanted to indeed be a TA or, go on to do a full time access to teaching course ?

At least then i'd know what both roles invloved from the placements.

Does that make sense ?

The stress thing is my main concern about teaching, I have to admitt.

Nutty - if I am being honest with you. The year I did my PGCE was the most stressful year of my life. And I did that aged 22, single, no kids, no financial commitments.

I could not imagine doing it with children. Many do - but I really could not.

Good luck with your decision

Thanks Popsy, I wouldn't be doing a pgce but i do know what you mean. I have friends doing different degree courses now, who have never been so stressed.

I've recently gone back into teaching after a 6 year break and I teach reception/year 1. I love it - I think its one of the most rewarding jobs. Actually, after such a long time off, I considered applying to my local school as a TA just to get back into the swing of things but as it turned out, they were desperate for teachers so I just jumped straight back in.

I think as a teacher, you have a lot more control re what goes on in your classroom, you obviously plan the work you will cover, either alone or with other teachers and have the responsibility of record keeping, report writing and parent tacher liason. I think, on the whole, a TA's day is finished a lot sooner than a teacher's which may be worth considering if, like me, you have kids.

I have worked with some fabulous TAs and a brilliant Nursery Nurse with about 20 years experience who could easily have trained as a teacher but decided she was happy doing what she was doing. Some of the record keeping and planning can be really laborious and unneccesarily complicated IMO and that all falls to the class teacher, as do training days, implementing curriculum changes, testing etc.

Having said that, I think its a great job and incredibly rewarding. For me it works well as my youngest in in the class next door and my older two can either come to meet me at the lower school or go home on their own (5 minute walk)

When do you have to decide?

Thanks Oxo, I have to decide this week really, as I need to apply for the courses now.

I think you have just made my mind up for me. I think I need to experiance the role of both and the best way to do that is to do the TA course. If I then decide i'd like to do teaching, I can do the full time Access course next year.

Sorry, to answer your question, I get up at 6, wake kids at 7, leave house at 8 to walk to school (5 mins) with 5 year old, older 2 go on their own 30 mins later. Set up class if not done night before with 5 year old helping! Teach from 9 til 12.30, run home and take dog to the woods eating lunch en route, then back to school for 1.15 to set up again for afternoon. Teach til 3, stay at school usually until about 5 doing prep and display stuff, records etc. Am currently working 3 days a week with the odd extra days doing supply/sick cover. At least one morning or afternoon every weekend in school and sometimes stuff in the evenings. Report times are a nightmare and all done at home. HTH

Thanks all, you have been very helpful

Nutcracker - how long is the course and what qualifications do you need?

Is there an age limit?

(am thinking of my own return to work!)

Nutcracker - sounds good but why not apply for a TA job, you sometimes don't need any training or qualifications, depending on what the school are looking for. Once in the job, either do an NVQ or TA course if you decide to be stay a TA or go for the access course etc if you decide that teaching is for you.

As a full-time TA in yr1 I love my demanding and exhausting job but know I could never teach. I don't have the ambition, energy and dedication that I think you need to survive.

Although the two salaries are at opposite ends of the scale I go home at 3.00 and don't have to think about school until 8.50 the next morning