Actual salary if you’re a teaching assistant?

[BrutusMcDogface]

I hope you don’t mind me asking, but I’m a part time teacher who wants out. An LSA job has just come up in my kids’ school. The salary is grade b or c depending on experience. I’ve looked online but can’t find any actual figures!

The job is only 16.25 hours a week so I know it will pay peanuts but could anyone help me with actual figures, please? Would be very grateful!

Thank you 😊

I'm not answering your actual question, but just so you know, private schools often pay LSAs privately and way better. I am a teacher who has young kids so I'm not class teaching at the moment. I support a little boy in a private school who has some additional learning needs for 11 hours a week and get paid £30 an hour. It might be worth sending letters to some of your local private school SENCos and seeing what you can find.

By the way sorry if that sounds offensive. I think I’d rather earn peanuts than be in my current job a minute longer! I know lsas are worth way, way more than they get.

Oooh, thank you @CeciliaMars ! Good for thought!

*food for thought 🙄

Can anyone offer some insight to a confused person please.

I have successfully been offered a job this week and the contract is:

''8.45am – 3.15pm (1 hour lunch) – term time only. 27.5 hours per week.

Term time only post (38 working weeks) therefore pay is pro rata (paid for 43.5069 weeks per annum). The pay range for this grade is Grade 14: £10.98 to £11.38 per hour equivalent to approx. £13,139 gross per annum. This is paid in 12 equal monthly payments.''

I have never worked in a school before and don't particularly understand the pay being spread evening across the year. Can someone PLEASE help me work out the monthly pay. Or guide me if you are in a similar situation. THANKYOU!!

So the £13,139 quoted is for the lower hourly rate of £10.98. It is saying that you get paid £10.98 per hour for the 27.5 hours you work per week. You actually work 38 weeks of the year when school is open but because you're entitled to holiday pay you actually get paid for 43.5069 weeks of the year (just over 5.5 weeks paid holiday and the rest of the time you are off is unpaid).

So £10.98 per hour x 27.5 hours per week x 43.5069 weeks per year = £13,137 (ish) per year. Rather than you only earn in the months when school is open it is typical for term time only people in schools to have their pay spread evenly over the year so your gross pay per month will be £13,137/12 = £1,095 per month. Then there will be a bit (but not much) tax and NI to come off.

Hope that helps.

Thankyou SOO much.
That has really helped me x

I’m on 1435 take home for 32.5hours

Thank you! While I’m paying childcare, a good proportion of my teaching salary isn’t even mine. I would probably be earning more as an LSA in my kids’ school with no wraparound care needed!

Based on the rates that my LSAs get paid - £14 per hour - you should receive around £910 gross pay - subject to deductions - but then it depends how much the school will be paying you?

LSAs in my school are a grade lower than me in admin and I get £13 ish per hour.

My DD is an LSA in another area and is literally on minimum wage.

Plus schools are having to cut hours and use fixed term contracts because of the horrendous lack of funding.

My take home pay as an LSA 4 years ago was about £1050 with lunch duty.
HLTA wage bumped it to about £1100!

Thanks for the responses 😊

Does anyone do supply TA-ing? I'm taking my teacher's pension this year (at 55) but would like to do a little bit of work to top it up. Don't fancy supply teaching but wondered if being a supply TA would be an option? And how much it would be worth?

We've used supply TA's in our school so such jobs exist. Might be worth approaching a teaching agency and asking them.

Will do, thankyou. I love working with children but have had enough of being a teacher!

About £65-70 a day in Surrey but I haven’t accepted TA supply for a couple of years. Maybe a few pounds more now.

I accepted some Supply TA work at Special schools I liked and one local primary.

Around COVID time schools wanted experienced teachers for Supply but would only pay Cover Supervisor rates. As work was very rare I accepted this in some local schools until the day I was credibly threatened….

After a few weeks of refusing all work agency put me back on teacher rates…

I think unlike teaching agency may pay better than permanent for TA.

I did full time TA work when taking a career break. Term time only pay spread throughout year….

My daughter did supply TA work for 2 years. She was primarily in 3 schools and loved it. They realised she was very good in SEN primary and I think many TAs they had tried to place in these settings refused to return. She is now qualifying to teach in this sector and adores it....but she does get bitten quite a lot....she finds it incredibly rewarding though.

I’m currently teaching in special education, @RBKB !

I’m still tempted by the part time LSA role but I think it would be a huge pay cut, and with interest rates and cost of living I just need to decide if it’s worth it.

I work 20 hours a week and take home about £790 after tax. It’s shockingly badly paid to be honest. If it wasn’t for the fact that DH is on a bloody good salary and it fits into our life for childcare, I wouldn’t do it.