Should I take a job in an academy?

[LastAvailableNickname]

I'm a TA. I am currently working towards a L3 TA's Diploma and I wanted to get some paid work experience, after volunteering for several months at my daughter's school. I started work at an academy on supply and they love me and want me to work there properly (as opposed to being just on supply) from Easter onwards.

I've read quite a few threads from teachers who are concerned about TA's becoming the next generation of Teachers and schools saving money by employing them as opposed to better qualified teachers.

I don't know. I've met some excellent Teachers and some awful TA's and vice versa. My daughter's School has excellent staff at all levels and it's from there that I have taken my role models. The academy staff seem nice, the Teachers that I've worked with are really good, the permanent TA's that I've met are great - but they're relying on supply staff an awful lot!

In some ways it's a great opportunity, I'm pretty sure that I can pursue an HLTA career path there, but should I???

What do you think guys? Oh yes, I'm a bloke and a graduate - if that's any help! ;)

Why not? I have been working in an academy for 3 years and it has been a great experience. There are some rubbish maintained schools and good maintained schools. The same goes with academies. Your experience will grow and so will your bank account!

Good answer!

I think I want to do it, it's just that I can see me getting used and pushed along a bit - if you see what I mean. This is OK and I'm a fast learner, but it's a bit scary all the same!

I don't know about the bank account part though, TA's wages are not that great! ;)

Thanks for your response!

Presumably this academy was once a LA school and as such will be run pretty much along the same lines so from that point of view it will be the same as most schools. Experience from the academy will obviouly then carry over.

What you need to take in to account are pay and conditions if that bothers you but for most people it does and there can be fairly big differences between LA and academy schools.

Job security can be an issue in academies as the safe guards in place in regular LA schools are not there.
If you don't perform you'll have 4-6 weeks to improve before being asked to leave where as working for a local authority you'd have a good 9-12 moths before they could get you out.

I'm sure that wouldn't be an issue but is something to think about as people can have dips and personal difficulties which impact work.

Some academies, especially those that are part of academy chains, do seem to have an inordinately quick turnover of staff and far too many supply teachers. I would worry about getting a job in one, TBH.

I think the problem with academies is that they don't have to follow the teacher's terms and conditions, called the Burgundy Book. Gove is out to destroy the conditions anyway, so soon all state schools will be just as open to the abuse of power as maintained schools.

The issue with using TAs to cover teaching staff is that the TAs are not being paid a teacher's salary; it's exploitative. If you're happy with that then that's fine. As long as you know what you're getting yourself in to.

Also you need to be aware that if you go from a local authority maintained school to an academy (or back again) you will not have continuity of service, and that will affect your sick pay entitlement, should something happen and you need to take a longer period off sick.

Actually it is more complicated than that.

For calculating redundancy pay all service at LA maintained schools and academies counts as continuous service.

For staff employed at an academy their service at LA maintained schools does not count for other entitlements unless they were transferred via TUPE or the academy decides to count service as continuous.

For teachers employed at LA maintained schools their service at an academy does not count but I understand their entitlement to sick pay depends on aggregated LA teaching service, so previous periods teaching at LA schools do count.

For support staff employed at LA maintained schools their service at an academy counts as continuous service for the purposes of contractual sick pay, contractual maternity pay and holiday entitlements.

That's really helpful prh