Do I need to speak to my union? PPA related

[xsquared]

I work in a college as a member of staff who runs the Maths and English work shop throughout the day. However, my job title does not have the word "tutor", "lecturer" or "teacher" even though teaching students individually or in small groups is the main part of my job.

I enjoy my job and the students who come to workshop are motivated and a pleasure to teach. The down side of my job is that occasionally, I get called to cover teaching a class for colleagues, meaning I have to cancel sessions.

Yes, this is in the job description and I know I should accept it but I no longer have any gaps in my timetable because of delivering intervention sessions. I explained that due to the increase in number of students attending now, I needed extra hours to complete admin and do PPA. My line manager agreed and my request was granted. However, the day that I came in with the intention of doing PPA, I was immediately called to cover for a colleague, so all those hours were gone and my PPA was delayed.

Now, I intend to speak to my line manager about asking for the hours to be protected rather than be used for cover. Do I have an argument, given my job title does not have the word "teacher" in it and my timetable is not fixed? What would my union rep say?

I would appreciate any advice you may have or if you have been in this situation before, how could I handle this?

Are you employed under standard teacher pay and conditions? if not, PPA is not protected unless agreed and in your contract. My friend is a teacher doing a similar job to you in a primary school. However, she is not employed as a teacher - more of a cover supervisor. She gets 'PPA' but it's not protected as it's used if she's needed for cover.

When cover is light, the 'PPA' can be used to support admin.

Hi,
Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately I am not even paid mainscale pay, even though many of the cities are the same as a ms teacher’s. It is a significant pay cut to when I was a classroom teacher.

I’ve booked an appointment with HR to discuss my job role as I just feel that I’m doing the same job as a teacher with none of the benefits.

In schools, a lot of TAs plan and teach lessons to small groups but are paid poorly for it. In our school, it comes with being a HLTA but they're not paid much more than those who just do classroom support.

My friend is a teacher who deliberately gave up classroom teaching because she couldn't cope with the workload. For her, the pay cut is offset by not having to deal with behaviour and by having a manageable marking load.

Cinderella, I gave up teaching for a bit and returned in a support role at half the pay, but it was worth it for having the extra time during lunch and I get to do what I please at 4pm.
I got given this role because the HOD knew I had teaching experience, but now I feel disillusioned and exploited.

Thank you for your input.

Yes, my friend feels exploited - far more is expected of her than of the other cover supervisors/TAs because more is asked of her. The school has a qualified teacher covering classes at no notice for the price of a cover supervisor. But, like you, she doesn't want to be a teacher and so puts up with it. She rarely gets to use gaps on her timetable as PPA and is made to feel grateful if she gets one now and again!

Yes, they are pretty much using me as cheap cover more than anything else.