How does the whole TA/ higher level TA thing work please?

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I'm a community musician working one day a week in our primary school. So, whilst these are not my hierarchies (thank god) it's useful to know a bit.

We have a couple of "Higher Level Teaching Assistants". Does that qualify people to do extra things?

Yes, they have an additional qualification which ( in my county) entitles them to apply for roles with additional responsibilities.

ooh like what?

Higher Level TAs can be in charge of a class - so can cover for a sick teacher, or PPA time. I have known those with this qualification take on PE and Art, but how much this was just being cheap I'm not sure.

At DCs senior school each year has a HLTA as a head of year, and then a teacher as a head of Keystage. The Head of Keystage deals with academics, the Head of year with the pastoral side.

Ds in Y3 has had a Maths lesson with a HLTA today. Think his class has one once a week with her.

In the school that I am in there is a HLTA who floats around the school covering PPA time. Timetable is that she will cover one class whilst the other have PE (external sports company) and then they swap over. There are 2 classes per year.

The HLTA follows the lesson plan set by the class teacher.

HLTAs at our school do PPA cover teaching lessons such as art or RE but lessons are planned by the teacher

They also do a lot of interventions

TAs work in a class with a teacher, sometimes providing 1:1 support and sometimes working with small groups and sharpening pencils, changing reading books, making sure there is fresh water, sorting resources, making sure iPads are charged, sorting the reading corner etc etc

At DCs senior school each year has a HLTA as a head of year

Really? Lordy. Is it a really small school? HoY is generally a middle management position- so you would expect a very experienced teacher never mind just a qualified one.

Can I just ask, a couple of you have mentioned that your HLTA take lessons such as Art or RE, would you be happy with a HLTA taking Maths? and it seems that this is once a week on a regular basis?

I'm curious too, I have a friend who is a HLTA and covers classes most days, she often speaks about doing lesson plans. Should she be taking this on?

Its a big school, but an academy. They used to have 2 HOY, one a HLTA and one a Teacher, but they have gone to having a teacher in charge of every 2 years (and year 7 and the up coming year 7). But they have a lot of Assistant Heads, Heads of Faculty, Heads of Deprtmaent, Deputy Heads etc. etc.

I would be unhappy with not having a regular teacher for Maths at senior level - I once knew a school which didn't have a teacher for one Maths class at all, various people just "covered" it, and they used Student teachers a lot.

In my school the teachers' PPA time is together for each year group (so the 2 yr4 teachers plan together) in the morning.

Literacy & numeracy is usually in the mornings but on PPA mornings (once a week for each year group) either literacy or numeracy is swapped with PE (which is done by an external company) so the HLTA will cover one lesson of either literacy or numeracy (depending on what has not been swapped for PE iyswim) but not both literacy & numeracy.

They are following the teacher's lesson plan & are more than capable of doing so.

HLTA's in primary are more than capable of planning and delivering lessons (including maths). Ours covers PPA in the afternoons and plans and delivers interventions in the mornings across maths and literacy. Some general TA's are also capable of this although they wouldn't be used in our school to cover PPA. I am a general classroom TA and I plan and deliver interventions to children in my class. I have a target group of children that I work with and my performance management is based on this. I have to plan, deliver, assess and report to class teacher on my group each week. In some cases you may find that HLTA's and TA's have better qualifications in Maths and English than the teachers they work for. In my case I have A levels in Maths and English but the teacher I work with has GCSE's in both but not A levels. She has QTS status though and I don't and that's why she's a teacher and I am a TA. I could train to be a teacher but I don't want to. The school knows my strengths and those of all the TA's and uses them accordingly. I am absolutely useless at anything creative but some of my colleagues are fantastic in this area and they get called on when anything creative is needed.

"In some cases you may find that HLTA's and TA's have better qualifications in Maths and English than the teachers they work for."

Yes, I had noticed that..... and half of them are ex teachers who are either burnt out or don't want the hassle.

I am a HLTA.

I was a secondary school teacher (ICT/Computing) but wanted out for a while, started this (at infants school) and loved it so stayed the same. Luckily I am in a position to choose and can cope with the much reduced salary.

I teach computing. I plan, deliver and assess lessons. I do PPA cover for Y2 and one EYFS class; in this time I teach the computing curriculum.

I also plan, deliver and assess Y1 computing, but I teach that with the Y1 teachers present - this year we are team teaching so that the teachers gain experience and increased confidence in teaching the new curriculum.

The other two EYFS classes follow my planning but the class teachers deliver and assess it.

I am also the computing subject leader, and the e safety coordinator for school. I have also found myself in charge of the new iPads so I maintain them, etc.

And you don't mind the "assistant" tag?

In law we have the concept of "para"legal. Sort of "like a lawyer and probably less qualified but don't assume it".

"Para" seems a bit more open/respectful to me.

Labels - meh! That's kind of my thought on it.

I am not a teacher's assistant.
I am a teaching assistant.
Or a Learning Support Assistant (LSA)

The reality is that I am doing the job of a teacher most of the time - I plan, I teach, I assess, I write reports, etc. . There is little on my current role which is different to my role as a secondary school teacher of computing tbh.

But I enjoy what I do. I can afford the lack of pay. I like going to work - which by the time I finished secondary teaching I could no longer say.

Good for you Hulababy.