No teacher in reception class, just TA

[madhairgirl]

I was in m DS reception class this afternoon to listen to children read and they had no teacher just the TA from Y2 who isn't qualified. Is this standard if teacher has gone home ill? I think I just felt uncomfortable because she seemed to have little control over the class and little knowledge of their routines. At one stage all the children stood up and where looking out of the window and because they were pushing and shoving they managed to knock some shelving over. Just feel a bit concerned.

We've just advertised for a level 3 TA and I'm appalled by the applications received so far

Just because you get the level 3 qualification doesn't make you a Level 3 TA. That is a level decided by the Local Authority. I have level 2 NVQ Teaching Assistant qualification. Our LA says that to be a Level 1 TA you have to have a minimum of NVQ2 (or equivalent) qualifications.

We get loads for any advertised post and yes, a lot of not great at all. Obviously some of us are okay though

Our school Governors decided that HLTA's shouldnt cover clases anymore(But I'm still allowed to because I'm the best one shhhh)

The other 3 girls who decided to become HLTA's couldn't cut the mustard, and frankly shouldnt have been allowed to undertake the course but it was a vanity exercise for them (plus the extra tuppence an hour you get at that level).

I think that's my problem our staff are amazing and in comparison ...

I personally dont think anyone should be considered for a TA job without having had experience /qualifications working with children previously.

A few of our old hand TA's started off as dinner ladies and havent really improved their skills since then, unfortunately. There is also a contingnet of bored Mums who try it for a while, thinking its all putting up displays and sorting out reading books.

Luckily the new batch at our school are a lot better qualified with even an ex Dept Head working as a TA, and education work is their vocation not just something they 'fancy having a go at' that fits in with their childrens school life

I feel strongly about this, can you tell??

I dont understand what all those levels mean

YANBU. There should be teaching in schools, not just "cover". Supply teachers are a better idea.

The quality of some application forms can be shocking ime.

I have to say that the interview and application form I had to do for my HLTA post - also bearing in mind that I already was at the school and been working their for 3 years anyway, and that it was an internal posting and pretty much the case that at least one of us needed to go for it it - was really detailed. It was very similar (in some cases much more indepth) to teaching interviews I have gone for in the past. Was rather surprising to go through it all again!

Filtercoffee - in some cases supply teachers are not always better though. They ought to be, but it is not always the case sadly.

Yes the HLTA makes you jump through many o' hoops

Glad I did mine as it made me feel more teacherish

I made that word up

We have a supply TA at the moment (ex teacher) and she is hopeless ... and she's applied for the position ....arghhhhhhhh!

Yes Hula I would rather an experienced HLTA who knows the children and who know them teach the lesson , than a supply teacher who doesnt know the children or the routine of the day. Also the supply teacher may have specialised in a subject eg Drama , which bears little relation to the class they are expected to cover

What makes a TA hopeless?

that must be desperate if you are a teacher and your TA is rubbish

I fortunately didn't have to do the HLTA course. This was the school interview for the internally advertised post.

That's not good mrz.

Hopeless TA - presumably can't think for themselves, doesn't follow instructions or do work set with the children, not following school policies, not having much of a presence with the children and staff -

It is quite easy to get a regular supply teacher who will then know the DCs and the routines. A primary supply teacher will be quite capable of teaching all subjects. It is done purely to save money-a teacher on the cheap.

Exotic, that depends on what you mean by 'regular'. In our (small) school, class TAs (working in partnership) cover the class for short absences e.g cover for first day a teacher is sick, cover for half a day on a course etc. Almost all class TAs are HLTAs, one is a teacher. A TA from another class comes in to be the 'TA' for the HLTA taking the lesson. The TA anyway has the full planning for the week as a matter of course, but if I am e.g. absent from my class on a course for a morning, I leave additional planning for my TA.

Those absences are infrequent and irregular. Even if a supply teacher covered every single one throughout the school, it might be a year before he / she worked in each of the classes, and their visits to the school might be at maximum monthly.

For longer absences, supply is of course the best option. But for an odd half day (all PPA is covered by outside specialist sport / Forest school / music coaches) it is better for the class (all have very high levels of SEN) to have their regular, trusted adult teaching from the known teacher's plans than to bring in an infrequent visitor.

It would be different in larger schools, where the amount of cover might add up to a 'regular' job for a supply teacher.

By regular I mean someone like me, when I was teaching. I had worked in the same schools for a number of years, often doing job shares.
I have a friend who had done PPA work for the last 3 years in a school and knew the staff, children and routines and everyone was very happy with her work. She has been replaced by a TA, purely because it is cheap labour.

I have never worked for an agency. I worked directly for a small handful of schools and knew every DC in the schools.

Exactly what happened in my local school, exoticfruits I had been doing regular supply with another teacher,covering courses and illness,knew all the children and staff. Now most of that work is covered by TAs to save money. The rest of the staff are unhappy because they lose the invaluable support of their TAs working alongside them in their classes. The TAs are unhappy because they are not paid enough for the extra responsibility.And I'm not happy because I've lost work I enjoyed.

From the teacher's point of view I was the preferable choice because they told me what to cover and I did all the preparation and planning and marking.
There are plenty of qualified teachers who would like to work part time and would be happy to get to know the school and be a regular part of it.
It is simply cheap labour. If I was a TA I would refuse to do it for the money, but I expect they are coerced into it.

I agree that TAs should not be used to cover classes unless there is an emergency. The school where I work has started to use TAs to cover PPA and NQT time. Now the children in Year 2 are having to have catch up classes because they have fallen behind and will not do well enough in their SATs. Can't be a coincidence.

The TAs in our school are very good but I sometimes wince at what they do when left to their own devices.

In my son's class there is a HLTA who has recently been covering the class a lot as the the teacher has some health problems and is often away or can't do a full day. The HLTA seems very capable but she is left alone to manage the class whereas there would normally be two adults. My son loves it because he gets to do lots of choosing on those days.

Most of the TAs in my school are agency staff. They're all actors waiting for casting calls, and doing the job to get a bit of £££ in their pockets first.

As soon as they get an acting job, they leave with no notice. The kids form relationships and then poof the person goes. Often without even a goodbye.

On the whole, they have an appalling attitude towards the children too. They are impatient, they shout, they're blatantly bored out of their faces, they send texts whilst in class and on duty, they work the absolute minimum they can and they have no initiative.

Not all of our TAs are like that. Some are fantastic (like mine).