Teacher sickness covered by a TA

[Dinnertime22]

The TA has covered the class for the last three days while the teacher has been off sick. Has this changed as I recall a cover teacher was normally drafted in? Is the common practice?

Being a TA myself I can assure you that it’s usually ( for short term ie a day or 3) in the child’s best interest.
We know the work , where the children are academically and we know the children very well !
Quite often a supply teacher will not and work can not be “picked up where left off” as they havnt been present . We also have all of the extra meetings about curriculum and what is expected of teaching and what is expected of the children .
I think people still assume TAs glue and stick ! So far from the truth . We are very hands on and know the children and their strong / weak points. We also spend a lot of our time giving extra lessons/ interventions to help the children

Meant to say a day or 2

@Roughday

With all due respect as a teacher in Ireland I can tell you that substitute teachers can absolutely “pick up where they left off”....it’s not rocket science!! Knowing the children is another story but a good teacher doesn’t need the help of a TA to understand children in a class. I can walk into a class and tell you within 2-5 mins who the trouble makers are. Who is lazy, who is a hard worker etc etc... I can tell before they even speak tbh. 🤣

Thanks for the responses. I guess it is not that uncommon unfortunately. It is nothing personal against the TA, but I would have expected there to be a policy that a qualified teacher had to be in the class for ratio purposes if nothing else?

My dds school had teachers on sick/suddenly leave and two teaching assistants took over on job share. One was an ex teacher anyway, but didn’t want the responsibility of all the extra work, the other was an experienced TA. They do a fantastic job. They were dd1’s teacher first and she thrived, now dd2 has them as teachers and all’s good there too.

Travelmumone
You seem really dismissive of what TAs offer schools.
The days of being some sort of mummy army who do cutting and sticking are long gone.

Dinnertime22
Even the class teacher no longer has to be qualified. That's what a few people are saying. Children and parents have no entitlement to a qualified teacher and haven't for a while.
In some cases that can be appropriate, but in many cases it means schools can out anybody off the street in front of a class.

It's wrong but that's the reality at the moment (and dare I say it, I'd sooner have my child taught by an experienced TA than some of the weaker newly qualified teachers that pass their courses without being truly competent)

This is what everyone who voted Tory voted for, I'm afraid

Many of our TAs are actually qualified teachers who don't want all the additional responsibility, prep, marking etc.

In fact a few years ago when the class teacher left mid-term, the (qualified teacher) TA took on the teacher's job, which meant continuity for the children.

Tbh @LolaSmiles if the uk teachers weren’t expected to do so much extra paper and stretched so much etc on top of their actual teaching job then there would be no need for TA’s. 🤷‍♀️

Travelmumone
I disagree.
We don't need TAs because we have paperwork. We need TAs because they have a set of knowledge and skills that supplement our teaching and in many respects (certainly at secondary) they take on specialisms where they know more about specific needs than teaching staff.

When I taught a hearing impaired student, it wasn't a teacher I went to for advice. I went to the TA who is our specialist in supporting hearing impaired children. If I know a child starting my class has autism then I'll speak to the TA who has done higher level training in autism and Asperger's to bounce ideas off them

It doesn't mean teaching staff don't have that overall SEND knowledge, but many of our TAs know far more about their areas than we can because their job is different to ours. If any of my colleagues ever said we didn't need TAs because we are the teachers then I'd consider them arrogant. Our TA team are a brilliant team of professionals in their own right

@Lolasmiles well If that’s the case then why on earth are they called teaching assistants, surely they should just be teachers!!?? Here we have teachers who rotate between year groups and positions every 3-5 years. Most schools have a SET (special education team) who are qualified teachers that specialise in literacy support, maths support, EAL, speech and language support, social skills, working with children with GDD/ ASD. These teachers take children who need extra help etc etc. and these are the teachers we bounce of for the exact same scenarios you provided.

I think if the uk is going to treat TA’s like teachers then they should be paid accordingly!! And stop calling them TA’s then.
Also I am one of 4 teachers in my school with a diploma in Autism studies.

Many English Primary schools can’t afford TAs, they certainly couldn’t afford teachers who have specialisms but don’t have responsibility for a class. Many schools also now reduce the number of classes they have to reduce the number of teachers but still have the same number of pupils.

well If that’s the case then why on earth are they called teaching assistants, surely they should just be teachers!!??
Because they aren't teachers.

They are teaching assistants. It's a different role, with different skills and different remit.

I don't believe TAs should cover lessons, but there's times when a TA would be preferable for a day or two (of course they should be paid accordingly for that but pigs fly in that respect at the moment).

It seems you're outside the various UK systems (all different), don't really appreciate the nature of the TA role but are dismissing their value.

My TA put up one of my displays for the first time this year yesterday. That’s normally my job but, because it was our Christmas party afternoon, she had some time. Normally, she is supporting the children in lesson or running interventions. There is no time for cutting and sticking so I do it when there are no children.

My TA is my best support in teaching. She knows my children, she is ready to support them with their learning as I can’t possibly get to all 30 of my children at the same time. Her knowledge is brilliant and she keeps me sane when I want to scream. This year, with my incredibly challenging class, she has been more of a support for me than my SLT have been.

Our child has a TA for half a day a week.. another parent told me yesterday. ..

@MrPickles most children do- PPA cover for teachers. It’s usually a HLTA though.

Yes I’m in Ireland, and to be honest I find the uk attitude odd towards teachers as I see a lot of teacher bashing on here!! It seems teachers are expected to do so much, and ppl give off the opinion that teachers are crap, replaceable, not well trained, don’t treat the children fairly etc etc...however, the TA’s are SO valuable, they an important cog I the wheel of the classroom, they have great expertise, they love the children and know them so well!! It seems you love to put TA’s on the pedestal but kick the teachers when they are down. As I said we don’t have TA’s, so yeah I don’t see the point.

Travelmumone
Yes there is teacher bashing on MN, but that is nothing like this thread.
People on this thread who are pointing out that teachers don't have to be qualified aren't bashing teachers, they are point out fact. There is no requirement for teachers to be qualified in the English system (and Welsh as well I think but I don't know about the Welsh system).
Equally, pointing out that people are getting onto teacher training and passing without meeting the same standards many of us had to meet isn't bashing teachers, it's a statement of fact based on actual experiences.
Discussing problems in the system and the consequences of system level decisions is not bashing teachers.
It seems you love to put TA’s on the pedestal but kick the teachers when they are down.
I think you've got a chip on your shoulder seeing to find teacher bashing where there isn't any to be honest.
I'm a teacher. I just happen to think that TAs are a valuable set of professionals in their own right and don't subscribe to the attitude I see from a small minority of teachers that they're a waste of time/not needed/don't see the point.

The TA in my daughter's class has far more of s relationship with my daughter than the teacher does. She knows the children so well whereas the teacher does the bulk of the teaching the TA is invaluable. I would rather the TA provides cover rather than a random teacher.

There is no requirement for teachers to be qualified in the English system

Only in academies though.

I have had some very good TAs in recent years and they are great. I do well remember the days before TAs though and things seemed less frenetic then. Lessons were simple to plan and didn’t have to be in countless different parts and endlessly differentiated. Marking was simple and quick. There wasn’t so much ‘stuff’ to prepare (printing off and sticking in learning objectives/photos of practical activities, photocopying worksheets etc) so I could work with individuals struggling first thing in the mornings myself etc. There weren’t the mental health problems I see amongst very young children because the curriculum and classroom was geared towards them.

The teachers in my school were supportive of each other and the experienced teachers had time to support us newbies. Now-nearly everyone in the staffroom is under 30 and the only ‘experienced’ ones are me and the head!

This rambling probably isn’t entirely relevant to this thread, but I can see why the poster up thread said this

if the uk teachers weren’t expected to do so much extra paper and stretched so much etc on top of their actual teaching job then there would be no need for TA’s.

That is what I feel things used to be like. Teachers were generally pretty happy as were the children and teachers worked in their jobs usually full time for years. There was paperwork and marking, but it was sensible. That has all changed and I don’t think it’s been a change for the better.

Most TAs are very qualified and able to teach in the short term. They also know the children and where they are in the curriculum. Supply teachers can be very hot and miss.

Hit and miss doh

.

As others have said, I bet the TA is often more capable to teach than a one- off supply.

Travelmumone

I’m putting my TA on a pedestal! I’m a primary school teacher and notice the teacher bashing a lot on MN and the general attitude by some parents is that teachers are less deserving of respect. Many of the people commenting on here are teachers themselves.