Is it normal never to have met class TA by now?

[mychatnickname]

I find it a bit odd but I've never met the TA in ds' class. She didn't do parents eve, never comes out at dropping off time (only works mornings I think although no one has ever told us that officially!), and is generally nowhere to be seen.
I can't go into the classroom to meet her as we're not encouraged to go in.

I know it doesn't really matter for ds' happiness but I think that is a bit strange and just wondered if it's the norm or TAs normally take a more active role and are more parent facing?

I would say that's normal - mone of ours come to parents' evening. The TAs in Ks1 tend to go out more at hometime.

none - God, one glass of wine and it all goes to pot

She could be shy, or lacking in confidence.

Some TA's are undervalued and not given the opportunity to meet with parents in case the parents ask them a question!!

Believe me this happens.

TAs often go home or to meetings quite promptly at the end of the school day.
I don't know what year your child is in but the TA is probably already starting some children early to arrive on some reading when you get to school in the morning.

We see more of DS's TA than the teacher! She (and the previous years TA) are a massive help to DS.

But it's normal not to see them at parents evening.

I would be surprised to see a TA at parents' evening.

Haven't met the one in DS's year 2 class thinking about it but am not concerned about it.

Have met DD's reception one but partly as she is in there when I go in to help one morning. Think I did meet her at an introduction to reception evening in the summer though

I can see why she might not come to parents eve but would have thought we could/ would meet her at some stage by now.

Ah well sounds pretty normal then.

Year 1 by the way.

DD's TA in reception was always at parents' evening, and we usually saw her at dropping off time, picking up etc.

Now she's in year 1, I have never even seen the TA.

Same here. TAs very present in reception because each class has their own dedicated one who is there full time with the teacher. So she is there at drop off and pick up (though not at parent / teacher meetings). From Year 1 onwards however, the TAs are "shared out" amongst the year group and do not spend the whole day with one class. So the main person you see at the door is the teacher - the TA(s) is/are only there if for some reason the teacher can't do the hellos or goodbyes.

TAs are paid by the hour, so I really wouldn't expect them to come to parents' evenings for free. They also do a huge amount of preparation and admin work when they aren't with the children, and grab extra moments to fit tasks in whenever they can.

It's very normal.

Even when a TA was doing an awful lot of 1:1 with my DD I still never got to meet her. And when I met her round town whe wouldn't speak to me because it would be unprofessional

So, just be glad that the TA isn't specifically employed to help your DC - then you would have met her.

I am a Y1 TA. I work PT, monings only. I don;t go to parent's evening as not part of my contracted duties, nor included in my paid hours, etc.

Parents who drop off in a morning will see me, and can talk to me, as our parents come into the classroom to drop off.

The class also has another TA who does afternoons only, but again not parent's evening, etc. Parents who only do the morning drop off may well never see here either.

I am a Y1 TA too.

I do meet the parents and open the door in the mornings so that I can help the teacher. she often gets stopped by parents who want to chat and so I take over and take lunch money/letters off the children and encourage them to get books out of bags or hand in homelearning.

I think I know all the parents in my class atm and think it is important for the parents to know they can talk to me as well as the teacher.

There never used to be such a thing as TAs when my DCs were at school, except perhaps one of the mums might come in to help out the teacher with art and craft etc. What do TAs actually do? Are they like a 2nd teacher in the classroom, or do they just mix paint and tidy the books away? Sorry, no offence to anyone that's a TA, just not sure what the role entails.

I do

sound books
listen to the whole class read
phonics lesson for small group daily
spellings
mark homelearning - maths and literacy
photocopying
first aid
playground duty
read stories

and in the afternoons

Intervention for middle groups across Y1

So, it's a teaching role, by the look of that list! What's the difference betwen a TA and a teacher?

80sMum TAs have a huge range of qualifications and experience and therefore different roles in schools. Our TA is NNEB qualified and works the same hours as teaching staff and works with children under the direction of a teacher in the class (basically the difference in role is she delivers what the teacher has planned)

Having said that she is level 3 qualified some schools employ TAs who are much lower qualified (or indeed unqualified) and therefore have a very different role in school.

I've never (to my knowledge) met DS's teacher, never mind any of the TAs. I've never even seen her from afar. I've met the head of KS2, but that's it.

I don't think I've ever met any of the TAs that have worked in any class he's been in.

i am a nursery nurse/ta in a school nursery/early years unit. the parents see me everyday at drop off and pick up times as was previously said a parents evening does not form part of my contracted hours but i have done them in the past, before i had my son 2.5 yrs ago. Ta's are an important part of the classroom and in alot of respcts see alot more of the day to day happenings in the classroom as the teacher is generally tied up doing other things...i love my job where else can u get paid for playing...(well for most of the day)

hahahaha the difference between a teacher and a ta is a degree...thats all, if anything we are in the classroom more than the teachers as they get preparation time and go on courses during the school day...most ta's do courses in THEIR OWN time!

Perhaps that happens in your school molly certainly not the norm here.

mollymunch- not in my case. having done both jobs - I am a fully qualified and experienced teacher and I am also a qualified, getting experienced TA.

I now work as a TA as I know that I get all the good bits of the job without the stresses and hard work outside the classroom. I know for definite which job involves the most work!

Oh - and the degree bit is wrong too. Several of our TAs, me included, have degrees.

dd1 is in Y2, and the TAs so far have been hugely important figures for children and parents alike (and teachers too, for that matter). Her current TA meets us in the morning, and is still there at hometime...she has more experience than the teacher, who is a lovely NQT, and they work really well together.

I can't imagine NOT having met her, but I can see that this would vary hugely from school to school - dd's class has 26 children in it, and is the only one in her year group.