Children 'being taught by untrained staff'??

[mrz]

www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/7854360/Children-being-taught-by-untrained-staff.html

I know one exisiting TA and one ex TA, they are both qualified teachers who wanted an easier job whilst they had young children. They must vary a lot.

I work as a ta in an infant school. I am a qualified teacher and taught for 10 years. I love being a ta and enjoy the better home work balance.

There are 12 tas at my school. All classes have a level 3 ta. Of the 9 level 3 tas 4 of us have teaching degrees and teaching exp, at least one a year are about to start a pgce after doing their degree and one other has teaching exp although not a teacher.

INS many tas are more than qualified to cover at least short term absences.

We have 10 TAs, none of the present ten are ex-teachers. Some are level 3 trained, two are trying to achieve level 3 at the moment.

The governors actually use the fact that we only use trained teachers to teach classes to advertise the school. We are permanently oversubscribed.

TA's shouldn't be teaching, except for Higher Level TAs- in which case, in our school, they can cover now and again. The class teacher still plans for the lesson though...

Level 3 TAs can supervise lessons, which have been preset by teachers. They can do this for short term absence and the definition of this is up to the head teacher - which means PPA can be deemed short term. Also first day sick absence, etc.

However Level 3 TAs should not be teaching lessons nor should they be planning.

HLTAs can teacher and plan, but again should only be for short term cover.

Level 1 and 2 TAs should not have full classes on their own.

"Level 3 TAs can supervise lessons, which have been preset by teachers" "However Level 3 TAs should not be teaching lessons"

THerefore the work planned by the teacher clearly has to be work in which no teaching is done. So why all the huge focus on teaching all the time in other lessons (ie teacher teaching small groups, not "helicoptering" around the classroom) if for maybe up to 10% of the kids time they are effectively being babysat?
IN a school I have worked in, the TAs were frequently being used to teach lessons, as otherwise not enough of the curriculum was got through (PPA all coevered by HLTAs)
I agree, there are some TAs who sued to be teachers, and some TAs with degrees if not higher qualifications. Equally there are TAs who could barely write a decent sentence, being asked to "supervise" groups of up to 15 kids writing sentences.
'Tis madness.
I agree with mrsz:
My concerns are
a/ TAs are being exploited
b/ schools are employing unqualified people to do a very important job

To me it undermines teachers, and just makes even more people think that teaching is easy and that anyone can do it.

OOPS:
I agree, there are some TAs who used to be teachers

Even if the TA is a qualified teacher is it fair to expect them to "teach" when they aren't paid a teacher's wage?

mrz - no i dont think so. I think it is just an easy way for schools to cut costs.

giddypickle - it may be planned and set by a qualified teacher, but usually (IME) the teacher is not there for any of that lesson, so the TA effectively "teaches" the lesson.
I think in some places they describe it as " delivering" the lesson so its not officially teaching.