Teaching Assistants - can I ask you how much work, especialy outside of contracted hours, you do?

[Hulababy]

I started working as a level 3 teaching assistant in January this year, with an extra responsiblity point for covering PPA and management time (for my class teacher). I work in a y1 class part time, 5 mornings a week.

As part of my role I also run a morning study support group, 3 mornings a week between 8:15-8:45am. I work 8-9am doing this, for which I am paid. This is for selected y1 and y2 childrem who come for some literacy support. There are about 26 pupils, some with parents, and I have two other TAs plus 3 university students who help out in those sessions.

However I am a bit concerned about quite how much work outside my contracted hours, mainly at home and in the holidays, I am doing in order to get everything sorted, especially for the study support.

I have done some of it in school, staying in the afternoons, for which I can be paid - but TBH I don't want to work afternoons (which is why I am part time int he first place) and besides I find easier to work at home with my own computer and resources, and peace and quiet.

Anyway, back to the point, how much extra work, paid or unpaid, do you do on top of your contracted hours? How much is expected of you? How much is too much?

I work 20 hours a week paid but by the time I add the little extras up more like 30!!! Even though we start at nine am usually there 8 25 to set up ect

I probably do an hour a day extra unpaid with things that have to be done. I could probably do another 2 or 3 per day for not-so-urgent things - filing, pencil sharpening, tidying, cleaning etc.

Prepping work - HAH! Fitted in twice a week while the class are in PE if I'm not book changing or photocopying or a million and one other things! Otherwise done after school in my own time.

At least they are willing to pay for your prep time in the afternoons!

Hmm, I spent two full days working on the study support prgramme over the holidays, plus all Mondy afternon and a couple of hours in the evening. I had already spent 3 or 4 evenings before the holidays on this new topic, plus research at the start of the holiday.

Normal day to day stuff. I am always at school at least 10-15min befor my actual start time but do leave on time most days.

ellingwoman - but I don't want to work afternoons, that is why I chose part time. I have other stuff to eb doing and getting on with.

maybe you're spending too long in the support programme and reinventing the wheel so to speak?

Can't you ask your manager for some planning time of your own? If the teachers get PPa, why don't you?

There is nothing set up already in the school rq. I have nothing to go on. I am making use of online resources wherever possibe, but having to come up with ideas and write full lesson plans, etc. for each session. As three of the staff I have helping deliver the work are universty students, not inked with teaching at al either, the plans have to be in enough detail for them to work from and to ensure the 4 groups are getting a consistent level of approach.

part of the problem may be that I was a teacher. Also, I can't do half a job, if something needs doing it has to be done properly. The study support is proving to be a huge success at present. When they ran it last year, entirely diffferent format and approach to how I have done it, it failed and did not recieve funding after the first half term or so. I am now a term in and funding has been secured again. So, I know I am doing a lot for that - but if you start from nothing and buid it up, obviously it will always take way longer.

I do get prep time - 40 minutes a day (8:30-8:40 and 12-12:30) but I use that to prep my norma classroom duties and to assist the class teacher in getting ready for the day, etc. I don't have time to use that for study support work.

It sounds like you will have to be pushier and say the standard of provision in the study support group might be compromised if you don't get an hour a week minimum to do planning.

You are doing a teacher's job but only getting paid for being a teaching assistant.

I think this is unacceptable. I would speak to your head about it.

Are you an HLTA?

Trouble is mrsmaidamess - I don't want to work extra hours than I currently do. I want part time for a reason.

I am a level 3 TA. The extra responsibilty point (within l3) is for covering PPA of my class teacher. This is the norm for all but one of our TAs in the school.

If you can't do your work in the hours you want to work then you will have to cut back on your responsibility.

They empoyed me with this responsibilty as part of the deal.

Don't get me wrong I enjoy it and I love the work. Just wondered how much extra work was the norm for TAs.

I didn't return to teaching just yet because I didn't want the extra workload. yet this holiday I did way more extra work than the class teacher I work with, and also the other two teachers I was sat int he staff roomw ith earlier.

I suppose I just assumed a TA job, with the much reduced pay, would mean a lot less work.

Good job I don't mind hard work really, lol. And it is good experience for if I do decide to return to teaching in the future - will go into primary rather than secondary if that does happen for sure.

So the prep time you have been given you are using for normal duties. Yes, you normally wouldn't get ANY for THAT!! I would cut back on prepping for day-to-day stuff - let the teacher do more e.g. getting your resources together. You have fallen into the trap of what we all do, by managing to 'do it all' so they just keep piling it on. Doesn't your teacher know that those 45 mins are not for the class's benefit?

I assumed they are for that purpose - i.e. getting class set up for the day, getting books out, doing display work, sticking work into books, clearing up after the morning, getting stuff sorted for IEP pupils, etc. When else would this be done? Teacher, nor head, have ever said any different.

When I taught I never gave my TAs any prep to do for my lessons, so was a bit unexpected I guess.

Good job I enjoy it!!!

I used to do about 2 hours a day on average. (Special school)This was common amoungst out TAs

At least I now know this is quite norma for TAs, which does make me feel better. However also makes me realise exactly how badly paid TAs are for what they do!!! Maybe I should start investigating the teaching again Keep being told to byt he staff at the school as it is.

I think a lot of support staff work extra hours, and it kind-of comes with the territory, but that's not to say it's reasonable.

I am contracted to do 32.5 hrs a week, and generally probably do at least 35 every week, sometimes as much as 40.

But I get paid for 52 weeks of the year, but only work 39, so that kind of evens it out a lot!

I do literacy intervention work with small groups of year 7s for 6 hours each week. (3 hrs each group). It has been a huge amount of work to set up the resources and get up to speed with the lessons, as they are very active and participatory. I also mark their work every day (though this is fairly quick as there are only 6-8 per group). I don't get any P&P time to do this in, just what I can carve out from my other responsibilities and at first I had to do a lot of it at home in the evenings.

But I am now teaching this material for the second year, and I teach 6 different groups altogether (on a carousel), so I use the material over and over again too. It does get much easier and the related workload gets much lighter as you're more conversant with the material.

Just before Easter I was teaching two units concurrently that I'd never taught before, and that was a steep learning curve again, but I know I'll get payback when I teach those units again.

HTH

Roisin - I am on te new contracts so only paid for the weeks I work.

Yes, I am hoping that - should I be employed beyond July 31st - that I will be able to reuse what I am doing now, as off next January anyway.

Oh and you should definitely be paid more than S.3 for the PPA cover you do and the literacy stuff too. S.4 minimum, or why not teacher rate?

There's a question Roisin! I suspect the fact that it is cheaper this way is the reason. Because I have my QTS then I guess they know I can do more that the average L3 TA, but what i think they also now know is that because of who I am I can;t do half a job and will always ensure what I am asked to do is done fully to the best of my abaility - which is positive obviously - but does mean that they will robably expect this level of committmen from now on in.

Experience experiece experience though...so all good for me int he long run I hope