I'm a Primary school TA. Today I was told (and by told I mean it was referrenced in passing and I asked for details - don't know if I would have been told beforehand otherwise!) that next week all the teachers are having a planning day for next year in their new year group teams. Fine - I get that they need time to plan for next year. When this has happened in previous years, each year group has had theirs on a different day and cover has been arranged using HLTAs and supply teachers.
This year, however, they have decided that all year groups will have their planning day on the same day, and cover will be done by the class TAs. The plan in my year group is to put the three classes into two classrooms (so 45 children in each room). Each room will be staffed by two TAs and one 1:1 TA. We are supposed to be doing Art in the morning (for 3 1/2 hours!) and a film in the afternoon.
The head of year tried to bill it to me and another TA they spoke to as a "nice, relaxed day". I don't know how anyone can possibly think that 45 children in one room, off timetable and out of routine at the end of the year could make for a "nice, relaxed day". Apparently the 1:1 TAs will be available for all the children because their 1:1s don't need much support. This might be true in a normal class, however one of these children always has worse behaviour when it's not his normal teacher and will almost certainly keep leaving the classroom, and the other will 100% not cope with the change in routine and the noise the classroom, so his 1:1 will have to be out of class with him all day.
Additionally, we will be expected to "teach" these children (even if it is "just" an art input and classroom management) which we are not paid for. We will be expected to do this all day with only our half hour (unpaid) lunch break - the teachers always get a full hour lunch and get morning break most days. We should hopefully be able to trade off going to the loo and making drinks etc, but that will leave 1 person alone with 45 children. Also, the teachers were expecting us to have the children from the very begining of the day, registering them and sorting out the splitting them into two classes, but I have managed to persuade them to come in first thing (they will be doing their planning in school anyway) to register and divide up the classes. (Apart from anything else, several of the TAs don't start until (9 or 9:30, so there would only be 3 of us until then).
When I tried to raise concerns, I was told "at least you don't have to do English and Maths with them!". I said that might be better because at least they'd be in routine, and was told "well, you can always do something different with them if you want more structure". Something different which we would have to plan (also not something we're trained/paid for).
I think a good part of my annoyance about this is that it has been sprung on us last minute (most TAs won't even know until Monday as they had gone home by this point); we have been "told" rather than "asked" to do it; and the head of year is trying to spin it as positive and fine, when I think deep down she knows it will be a nightmare. I think I would've felt somewhat better about it if she'd been upfront and said "Look, I know this isn't ideal, but we really need this time, and the school can't afford to pay for the cover".
So... rant over... Do you think there's anything I can do about this? Or do I just need to suck it up? I am happy to be a team player but none of this seems like teamwork. (I might be pertinent to add that I have autism and struggle with change/unexpected plans. The head of year knows this, and still didn't think to give me more notice than one school day and a weekend).