Unqualified teacher

[idontknow202]

Our school is beginning to use more unqualified teachers to job share with qualified teachers. We've just had a post filled in the worst way I know of yet - I day qualified teacher 4 days unqualified teacher. Parents are just being presented as these are your teachers. Unqualified teacher isn't a HLTA - has a few years of being an lsa in this school.
In the same year group there is a job share of one qualified teacher 2 days and 3 days unqualified, again not a HLTA previously an lsa.
Is this common in other schools next year as well?

I genuinely believe this scenario will become more common in schools for two reasons…

1. Retention of qualified teachers is an ongoing struggle for many schools.
2. The chronic underfunding of state schools has obliterated budgets and schools are struggling to afford the wage bill.

I know of two ECT’s who are walking away from the profession as they feel there is zero work/life balance. Teachers are academics and can often earn more money in other professions. Whereas unqualified teachers may not even have a degree and the salary is appropriate to their level of qualifications.
I know it has become more common to have HLTA’s timetabled for one or two days in a job ‘share’. I think that most parents must be oblivious to the fact that their child is being taught by a person who doesn’t hold the relevant qualifications. Surely if this was common knowledge outside of educational settings, more would be made of it in the media…
When I first entered the profession fourteen years ago, this was unheard of. At that time, HLTA’s had to complete a full portfolio and be assessed by an external assessor to gain the qualification which took a year to complete. These days HLTA’s are employed and they have never before stepped into a classroom until their first day ‘teaching’.
State school kids are getting a really poor deal and it’s so unfair.

Wow, I think this is awful. It also puts way more pressure on the qualified teacher to get the planning / assessment right. I'd hate that. I'd resent doing more of their work and I'd feel awful for the kids and their parents.

My goodness, that is crazy!

It's bad enough when TA staff are required to cover lessons for teachers. I am a TA and this is the norm where I work. No way on earth would I be working as " unqualified teacher".
LSA is what it says on the tin. Likewise, teacher is a teacher.

This exactly!!

Thank you it's good to see what others think - you get a bit used to your own school situations!

It’s been a thing for a long time. I know of two schools next year having to do similar with job share but it’s something they have done since 2018/2019. They have a ‘morning’ teacher and an ‘afternoon’ teacher in classes. Afternoon teachers are unqualified teachers.

What age group and subjects are you talking about?

Seen it in both primary and secondary KS3 in particular

KS1

Early years

Increasingly common in secondary as well.