Headteacher won't disclose qualifications of TA

[AStreetcarNamedBob]

My son starts reception in January and it's a long story but the "teacher" is actually a TA

I've emailed the head master and asked to know what Mrs Xs qualifications are (ie QTS or NVQ level 3 or whatever)

He has refused to disclose saying that he won't discuss his staff without a good reason. Apparently the fact that my son is going to be entrusted to this women for 6 hours a day is not a good enough reason to be told her qualifications.

Would this surprise you? Does it seem an unreasonable question. The head is acting as shocked as if I were asking something personal like what colour pants she wears.

All I wanted was a response saying Mrs X holds a level X in early years studies or something.

Me too!

How do you know she is a TA. Maybe she was a teacher who worked as a TA after having dc?

Whatever the reason you do realise you have marked yourself out as THAT parent before you even start.

Teachers who post critically and defensively because a parent wants to know if a teacher is actually qualified to do the job may also become known as THAT teacher.

Asking whether all teachers are qualified is fine.
Asking for a list of Mrs X qualifications is not fine.

What school lets children start rto caption in Jan, how do you know who the teacher will be?

A parent did ask me at Open Evening (secondary school) how many of my department (Science) had PhDs. Now that is not a relevant qualification.

I'd want to know if a school employs qualified teachers well before my child starts, so I could find another school if necessary.

I'm just astonished that anyone thinks it's none of OP's business whether the person teaching her child in one of the most important years of her education complies with statutory requirements.

Law firms are required to tell clients whether the person working on their case is a qualified solicitor or barrister or not, and I've never heard it suggested that it is none of the client's business or an invasion of the lawyer's privacy.

The only reason a Headteacher would be cagey about disclosing whether they are employing qualified teachers or not is because they know they are doing something dodgy. Otherwise they'd be upfront in saying she's a qualified teacher or has EYTS/level 6 qual.

Kittybiscuits, by whom will they be known as 'that teacher'
This isn't real life. Ha ha

Mumtryingbest....it's not uncommon for that information to be on a school web-site but that's because the person has consented for their personal information to be put out in the public domain. Lot's of different people list their qualifications in their personal e-mail, again because the individual has consented to do this. You seem to be confusing FOI and Data Protection Act.

Personal employee information held by an organisation is covered by the DPA and would not be automatically given even if it's a FOI request. One act does not trump the other. If you are a registered professional such as a doctor, nurse, health care professional, physiotherapist, lawyer, accountant etc your name would be on your governing bodies register. I don't know if teachers have a similar system.

By being on the register shows that the governing body has verified you and your qualifications. I'm a HCP, my name, registration number and city where I practice is on the HCPC web-site but not a list of my qualifications

A lot of people seem to think that teaching is a job that just anyone can do. They don't seem to realise that you have to be taught how to teach. The ability to plan schemes of work, assess, manage behaviour etc doesn't just happen. Which is why qts is important. I am not saying that TAs cannot do these things, as a lot of TAs are very good at teaching. However, qts exists in order to ensure that certain standards are the norm and once you say that these basic standards are not essential, there will be a gradual decline in the quality of teachers educating our children. As schools become academies, it will be more and more about the money and less about giving children the best possible start in life. Of course the rich will be okay because they will send their dc to schools which are not cash strapped.

I think the OP has every right to know whether her child's dc is qualified.

But she hasn't asked whether the teacher is qualified, she has asked what the qualifications are. They are not the same question.

The question should be "Is Mrs Smith qualified to teach the class" yes or no.

The devil is in the detail though. My friend was very smug when her DD's new head said that PPA was only covered by qualified staff (I had been moaning that it's covered by TAs in my DD's school). It turns out they were 'qualified' but as TAs- level 3, I believe, but not as teachers-as she assumed!

So would the question "Does Mrs Smith hold QTS?" be ok mouldy?

I think asking if the teacher has QTS is fine.

I really want the op to come back though and tell us how she knows for sure her child will actually have this teacher/TA in ten months?

NNalreadyinuse lovely, clear post.

I realise it's beyond the point of this particular thread but I do see the changes in education that are currently going trough as paving the way for a three-tier education system.

A very basic service, staffed by unqualified - perhaps gifted, perhaps not - individuals; a service that is free/cheap but available to selected entrants in the middle; private an fee-paying at the top.

Sorry. That was off-point. I've been thinking bleak thoughts this week, post-budget.

Hopefully all those believing that the teacher should hold QTS have signed the petitions against the forced academisation of all schools

The OP obviously has concerns by mentioning that there is a 'long story' behind this. In view of that and the fact that she knows that the teacher is actually a TA, it doesn't seem unreasonable to request reassurance or at least clarification.

kittybiscuits - known by whom as 'that teacher'? Some MNers? Oh no!

NNalreadyinuse, I think the importance of what people learn in their teacher training is often overstated. No, teaching is not a job just anyone can do, but I think most of that is down to being the right sort of person in the first place and having a degree or relevant qualification in your actual subject area. What you are taught about 'how to teach' is likely to be out of date a few years after your training, given the ridiculous whim-driven changes in education these days. And most of what's useful you learn after you've started your job anyway.

If the OP has concerns that a member of staff is not doing their job properly, she has every right to make her concerns known to the school, and the school has a responsibility to address them. If she merely suspects that a member of staff does not have the qualifications that she deems correct, that's a different matter.

This is what is worrying me as a qualified supply teacher.
Things like this mean that I will be finding it increasingly difficult to find work or will be forced to do the same work for less money.
I have mentioned this several times in the last few days but haven't responded to.
Every child should have a fully trained and qualified teacher teaching them but those requirements and qualifications are slowly being erased yet no-one seems bothered.

I'm finding the lack of protest about the changes going through - and the changes they presage - absolutely astounding.

Free, good quality, education for all is as important as the NHS. I cannot help but fear that we are on a path to the erosion of this.

nnalreadyinuse Exactly. TA's are paid almost half of what teachers are paid. I work as a supply teacher and sometimes do work in a support capacity. When I am support, I dont do any of the lesson prep or assessment. the teacher does that. It is a slippery slope with all schools becoming academies, where an unqualified teacher may start off assisting a qualified teacher, but may well end up having to prepare and assess work for a vastly reduced salary, due to a lack of teachers. From some of the posts here, it seems this will be done with little or no protestations from parents as presumably, anyone can do it.