Cover Supervisor for 1-2 days a week in year 4...is this OK?

[Canyoucheckonme]

This is what has been happening in my son's class this past year. The TA is also a Cover Supervisor... She is aged 20 or 21 and joined the school last September. Left on her own with a class of 26 kids for one or two days a week (I find out from my son, not the school).

Is this normal practice and ok?

Unfortunately this is normal especially in KS2. Is the teacher part time or on SLT? Where are they for the 2 days that the cover supervisor has the class.

Not normal and not ok. Your child is being taught by someone who's unqualified to teach and who isn't even being trained to do so.

The school are also taking advantage of the cover supervisor who should not be teaching - it's meant to be short term cover only. She won't be being paid properly

Do you know if the school keep a record of who has taught and when? The school office just say the TA/Cover Supervisor is doing PPA but son said today she was there all day. Normally it's a Weds during PPA. I thought his teacher (full time and not on SLT) was off sick but Admin said "no, she's been in school today".

He was being taught by his teacher 4 days a week and an older, experienced TA/trainee teacher 1 day a week. But have noticed increasingly that he says the young TA/Cover Supervisor has been there all day...not sure there's anything I can do about it though.

I feel sorry for the young woman - like you say, she is probably being exploited really 🙁(I know it's due to govt budget cuts not the school itself).

Becoming normal but in no way is it okay. Expect a lesser educational experience for your child. You can change a title all you like, fact remains s/he is not a trained teacher.

That's what I keep saying on the phone to the Admin - that she's not a trained teacher, but just get told "She's got two roles - a TA and a Cover Supervisor". Never any apology or reason she's doing it so often.

We have parents evening this week. Do you think it's worth mentioning? Just don't want him having a non-teacher for 20-40% of the time next year...

@Canyoucheckonme

Well there isn’t much you could do. They clearly can’t afford a qualified teacher. Also sometimes academies call teachers “teachers” when they are infact unqualified or HLTAs. Parents simply just don’t know half the time anyway.

September is going to be shocking for a lot of schools. I found out today my sons new teacher is the head teacher. She is doing the role of class teacher and also her headship. It’s a state at the minute.

Not ok, but becoming common.

If you have a problem with it you need to take it up with the Head though - not the class teacher or the administrator. Staffing is nothing to do with them.

Dependant on whether this is an academy or a maintained school. Academies do not have to employ qualified teachers.