Staff to children ratio

[Anonsie]

Hi everyone,
Does anyone know if a level 2 Teaching assistant is allowed to cover lessons. (Pre planned). Sometimes I am asked to cover for the teacher for the whole morning. I will have 30 4-5 year old by meself. Sometimes there is another adult present but not always.
Also I know in schools the Ta does phonics lessons with smaller groups. Is there a limit the number of children allowed. I have a group of 25 by myself for 45 minutes. I was under the impression someone with QTS or HLTA should be present. Please share your knowledge

TIA

Age 4-5 is Reception age. A level 2 TA absolutely shouldn't be asked to cover Reception by themselves. As a qualified teacher I find it hard when my TS iA off and I have 30 Reception to myself. The needs are so high at that age. Although 30 children to 1 teacher is the legal ratio in Reception, it's just not practical and should really be two adults (teacher and TA), in an ideal world. It's definitely not legal to ask a level 2 TA to look after 30 Reception children solo.

You shouldn't really be asked to cover any class yourself at level 2, baring an absolute emergency (such as the teacher being sent home sick). In those cases, it would be accepted that the TA covering is merely supervising rather than teaching. The children would be completing holding activity worksheets until proper cover arrives. Then the TA would go back to their supporting role, supporting the cover teacher.

This needs raising with your union. Are they paying you a cover rate for all these hours you are doing? It's debatable whether you should be doing it at all, but at the very least they should be paying you at a higher rate than level 2 for the hours you cover, otherwise they are completely taking advantage.

Sorry, I didn't answer your phonics question.

We run a scheme at my school which teaches the children whole class, but it is quite normal for a trained TA to be asked to take a group under different schemes. My interpretation of a group, appropriate for a level 2 TA, would be about 5-8 children. Sadly every school will interpret what is an appropriate group size differently, so it doesn't suprise me to hear that some TAs are being asked to have a group of 25 (practically a whole class! 😯). They really are taking advantage of you.

TAs are an amazing resource, but I totally agree with you that you should not be asked to manage a group that big. Especially with all the behavioural management issues that come with that too.

Personally I don't like schemes which rely too heavily on TAs teaching groups. It's not fair on you guys, who are not paid enough for that, and it's not fair on the children. As amazing as TAs are, the children deserve to have their phonics delivered by a qualified teacher.

What scheme is it? 45 minutes a day is madness. Our phonics lessons last for 20 minutes.

Thanks for the reply.
Yes we fill in a time sheet so get the higher rate. The school know beforehand the teacher will be away from class and just reply on the Ta.. the slides are already done but there is definitely teaching happening.
I dont feel comfortable doing it but same time I wanted to know the law before refusing. What about phonics being taught by level 2 Tas?

Read write Inc.

A level 2 definitely should not be covering classes on their own of any age group. In the current climate where there are a multitude of children with Sen in classes this is totally irresponsible. Unfortunately, schools are now so stretched with staff and finances that I imagine you are not alone.

They are taking advantage and not acting legally but sadly this is a growing picture up and down the country which ultimately the government are to blame for. Supply teachers are almost a thing of the past, as schools can't afford to pay them. Taking advantage of unqualified TAs is not the answer though. Ultimately it's the children who are suffering. It's an issue which really needs highlighting as I think a lot of parents would be horrified if they knew that their child's teacher wasn't actually a qualified teacher at all.

I know so many amazing TAs who are more than capable of standing in on the odd occasion, as they're use to seeing the teacher deliver the lessons day in day out. Some of them could replicate it far better than a supply teacher in terms of consistency for the children. That doesn't make it legal though. Being capable and being qualified are two different things.

It makes me so cross how much our poorly paid TAs are taken advantage of these days, and how many children are being taught lessons on a regular basis by unqualified teachers. It's not right at all.

Your words are accurate of what is happening up and down the country. I dont think I've ever seen a supply teacher in my school before. Few times the class teacher has called in sick and iv been asked to cover.. come to think of it my son is in year 6 and the main teacher is only in class for the mornings to teach core subjects then all 5 afternoons a Ta takes the class. And you are right some of the Tas I know are amazing but not qualified. Its Sad really.

It will depend on what type of school you work in as to what your rights are to refuse to cover & teach the whole class.

If you work in an academy then you will need to take a careful look at your contract and check what it actually says and I don’t believe it is “illegal” to ask you to cover as some have said because an academy doesn’t have to employ qualified teachers.

To be clear, I am not saying I think it is right that are being asked to cover but you need to get expert advice before you do anything that may put your job at risk.

It might not be illegal to ask unqualified teachers to cover a class, but ratios need to be adhered to. It's only 1:30 for a qualified teacher in Reception. I may be wrong, but I think a Level 2 is 1:8 in Reception.

Speak to your union. If you’re not in a union then get yourself in one pronto.
you have two issues- being used as class cover (or HLTA) to cover staff absence. Is the ratio of staff to pupils appropriate? Are you being paid appropriately?

• the second issue is the RWI session. The union should be able to advise whether you are actually teaching or doing small group intervention. It may be for your RWI sessions you should’ve paid a TA wage but on a higher band.

do come back and let us all know how you get on pls. (I’ve seen a few posts from TAs like this)

I don't know about legality but when I worked in Primary, TAs covered lessons all the time and were not paid any extra for doing it. HLTAs and HSTAs were even given their own classes, usually when they were doing teacher training but not always. Since I left I understand they have been recruiting LSAs (lower band than TAs) and even they have been expected to cover lessons.

It absolutely takes the pee!

You are not a teacher, therefore you should not be teaching.

With regard to ratio, no. That ratio is for teachers, they are paid significantly more than you and their insurance reflects this. SLT or supply should be covering an absent teacher.