It's so hard with no TA. Would anyone else like to moan?

[dianasshoulderpads]

Only Reception has a class TA now. I'm in Y1 and it's so, so, so draining. I thought after the Christmas holidays we'd all be more rested and it would marginally easier but it's so hard. My results this year will be crap.

Are you doing whole class teaching yet? That's when I found it starts to get a bit more manageable in Y1 without a TA, I won't say easier, just more manageable.

Does the EYFS TA do any interventions that children in your class might also benefit from? I used to tag some of my children onto the EYFS phonics and gross motor interventions (with discussion/agreement from the EYFS teacher ofc).

Any parent/volunteer helpers to come in and read 1:1? That helped too. I had one parent helper who was so reliable and would muck in with anything asked of her for one afternoon a week, and another who was a bit flakey, but used to help with occasional reading.

And whatever your SLT say, data is not the be all and end all. Don't forget the children.

Good luck!

I can only manage whole class teaching. No way could I manage play and groups on my own. The children don't mind the whole class teaching but no one is being appropriately challenged or supported.

Our reception teachers are very (hmm, what word describes them) and wouldn't allow that. It's such a shame.

What makes some schools so much worse off, financially?

Our school has quite an experienced teaching staff (so expensive 😫), almost no pupil premium money, yet has a full time class TA in reception y1/y2, and shared TAs for other classes. I wonder how it is afforded. There's a fair few TAs supporting named kids as well.

It is exhausting. I have a Year 2 class and a boy with an ECHP who used to have a 1:1. Their support has gone and now it is just me with 28 children with a variety of needs. It is so difficult and I often go home thinking how I have let the children down, even though that isn't true.
I feel for you in Year 1, that must be a nightmare!

How big is your Senior Leadership team? I think that's the single biggest factor...

I had only one lesson a day with a TA in year 1 last year. It is so hard!! I had to set my bottom 5 in a play activity and then work 1:5 with them once the others were working. I don't know if I recommend that but it was survival mode to actually give the others an input without having to stop literally every ten seconds for one or all of those ones. I had so much more 🍷🍫 last year than this year when I have a TA most of the day!

When I started teaching, many, many moons ago, to have a TA was almost unheard of, so we got on and managed. However, expectations in terms of attainment and curriculum coverage, were totally different. Demands on teachers are therefore now totally different.

At my current school, I had a TA for 18 hours a week, when I started there. Now I have one for 2 hours. The children are still expected to reach the same goals. It doesn't add up!

I think a big factor for us is SEN.
We have an ever growing number of children who require extra support and the school have to fund the first £6000.
We also have TAs supporting children who are waiting for EHCPs - hopefully with additional funding. .
I am not SEN bashing, I am criticising how SEN funding works. In my class I have 3 children with EHCPs that allow them much needed 1:1 support- the school has to fund £18,000 of this. The needs of the children we now have is greater than ever, but the funding is just not there. It results in everyone losing out!

Schools with low levels of pupil premium end up with less money. But it doesn’t mean they have any less SEND. It’s a mess.

We've had TA redundancies already this academic year too, two of them, with another on a fixed contract that isn't being renewed so leaving at half term. Insufficient funding and increased bills. It's such a sad state to be in.

How many are MATs? With HUGE Central Teams?

I had no idea so many schools had so few TAs. We have one in every class and two in some classes. Class sizes are small as well. However we have a high number of SEN children so I suppose that’s where the money comes from.