Seriously, teaching assistants don't get paid enough

[BelleTheBeatnik]

Disclaimer: I think this is true for lots of professions and unfortunetly there's pretty much nowt all we can do about it for now, but...

Before my DC started school, I assumed TAs were the nursery nurses who pottered about the classroom, tidying books and overseeing the little one's colouring-in sessions. I now have three DC in primary school and realise just how underestimated they are. It's just dawned on me that the reason my DC get the support they do when they a) find some difficult and need extra help or b) excel in something and need a little 'push' to get them working at the next level, is because there is another adult in the room who can focus on either end of the academic spectrum when the teacher has to teach for the middle ones. I can't believe primary schools ever managed to provide challenging work for thirty children of varying abilities with just one teacher!

Teachers and TAs deserve a particularly good present this summer, I think.

Anyway, that's my soppy post done for the night.

Yes but TA's only work school hours so really it's a part time job. Pro-rata, it is not a bad wage at all.

Toothless I'm in Scotland too. We have a TA's. I am one.

cumbria For the amount of work the TAs at my DC's school do, I don't think it's a good wage.

I don't see a problem with many of the TAs just fitting the job around having a family. It often means that they come with experience of children, previous work experience/life experience - which can be of a high level - and they are unlikely to chop and change jobs, so providing continuity.
Most people take jobs to fit their circumstances - don't they?

Yes aunt, but for some I felt that fitting it round the family was the only consideration.

That's interesting GooseRocks We have SA(support assistants ) who work with individual children who require support for learning and CA( classroom assistants) who do photocopying for classes for 30 mins a week Didn't realise there were TAs here too!! Shows you ....different areas, different jobs ;))

As a TA, I earn £10,500pa. I work 25 hours a week term time. I pay out approx £3,900pa for before and after school club for 2 DC. I am at work from 8.15 - 4pm most days, sometimes later, and often work through most of my lunch hour.

I don't do it for the money.

Can I just ask is 25 hours a week full school hours then? I am applying for a TA job which is 25 hours, I assumed it was 4 days- the start time is 8.30.

Sorry for slight hijack!

Can I just ask is 25 hours a week full school hours then? I am applying for a TA job which is 25 hours, I assumed it was 4 days- the start time is 8.30.

Sorry for slight hijack!

Yep 25 hours is ft.

25 hours a week is 5 hours a day (8.45am -12noon - 1.15pm - 3.15pm). Which is actually 26.25 hours a week. I have repeatedly asked to see a copy of my terms of employment, with no luck. The head insists, however, that I work 25 hours a week. I am tempted to rock up at 9am and see what she says then.

I was officially employed 9am to 3pm with an hour off = 25 hours. I had to be on duty at 8.55 without fail, which meant starting work at about 8.30 really.

If you officially start at 8.30, I would imagine they might be 'giving' you more unpaid breaks, or perhaps the finish time is 2.30? They probably do more preschool groups than happened in my old job.

Not only do we not get paid very much, but we also do a lot of unpaid hours. At our school, we help out at things like summer fete and Christmas fayre, always at weekends. Our Christmas nativity plays are held in the evening and we're always there, helping out backstage and looking after classrooms full of over-excited children. All in our own time and unpaid.

Having said that, I bloody love it and wouldn't want to do any other job. I'm just thankful we don't have to live on my wage!

Mitzi - I suspect your hours include an unpaid 15 minute break during either the morning or afternoon session which would account for the extra 1.25 hours a week.

Oh yes, I forgot about the pay being spread over the whole year! that was the real agony.

The TAs in the school I teach at are amazing. All of them are highly educated, hard working and deserve a massive pay increase. I couldn't do my job without them. Teaching a class of 30 without any TA support is incredibly difficult on an ongoing basis.

I am a TA and earn......wait for it....£6.47 an hour

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I am on this unbelievably low hourly rate yet am a Year 6 class TA with additional responsibility for one to one and small group intervention work and support of children with SEN. I am regularly left in full charge of the class when the Teacher is out at meetings. I also give up my time voluntarily outside of the paid hours to run a lunch-time club. I work in an affluent area of the South East. Seriously rubbish money!!!!!! But I do it because it fits around my own childrn's schooling and holidays etc and also because I enjoy it. But it is ridiculously poorly paid.

My dh is a level 2 TA and earns 14k. Its pittance in comparison with how hard he works and how didicated he is to the young people he works with.

He works at a school for students on the autistic spectrum and specifies in 16-19 yos with Aspergers.

He not only supports academically but does a lot of pastoral/intumate care jobs too.

Thankfully he adores his job so a happy husband bringing home a pittance, to me, is better than a depressed worker on 100k

My sister was a TA and up north you used to be able to claim unemployment during the summer holidays because you weren't paid, and were available for work. Down south a friend was only able to claim it once after going through an hour's interigation!

The hourly rate and role expectations can be manipulated by the head of the school.

This job is grossly mismanaged by LEAs/schools and unions can't seem to help.

Ithink T.A'S are FANTATIC (well my ds's one is!) and deffinitly should be on more money then they are . My ds had a bad start at primary school ...just not processing anything accademic in the lesson and stuff but this year (yr3) had a wonderful T.A who has worked hard with him and explained things differently (that i dont think a teacher would have time .....considering it has been supply since December !!)

Accademicly he is still "behind" ?begining/middle yr2 work but with her patience he is begining to understand it and I can see his confidence grow which for me is more important than if he is a level 2/3/4 !!!

My T.A is getting a bit more than a box of chochies in July ..!!!!(other T.A's

would you like NEXT voucher which is what i was thinking !!!)

GO YOU T.A'S......YOU ROCK AND ARE NOT APPRECIATED ENOUGH.......

[GRIN]

any Ta 's lots of spelling and grammer to sort in above post