Week day appointments

[schoolmum11]

Hi there

I have been offered a TA role which I am planning to take. I'm just wondering if in general TA's can take the odd day off for specialist hospital appointments etc? I am not planning on making a habit of this. Thank you!!

We can fill out a form and request part of a day off for medical reasons in advance and our head is amazing at accommodating this. It's impossible to make every appointment in the holidays or after school as much as you can try!

Great thank you so much! Also do they allow you take any unpaid leave? I have a wedding in July which I would hate to miss but am scared to ask!

We are allowed time out for medical appointments, usually just have to give evidence we’ve been.

We aren’t allowed to take days unpaid for things like weddings, but we do get one well-being day a year where we can choose one fully paid day off!

If I wanted to appoint you and you had a prearranged commitment I wouldn't put me off. Tell the school before you accept the post. I am sure they will be able to accommodate it.

We try to as a good will gesture be flexible with staff for things like this. Especially low paid staff. One day is nothing in the grand scheme of things.

I know of a person who quit teaching booked a 4 week cruise and went on supply then was asked to do a permanent role and the new school honoured the four week absence.

Conversely numerous lunchtime supervisors (when they were a thing) resigning as the head wouldn't let them take a two week holiday. They saved more money by going term time than they earned by staying in the job!

Our TAs have quite frequent appointments in school hours, either for themselves or, more usually, for their children.

If it's something urgent and it can't be helped when you are given an appointment (and this fixes a problem and saves further unforeseen time off), usually it will be covered in a special leave policy and authorised by the Head. If you want time off for something fun or that matters to you , that will just inconvenience the school, it's more likely to be a no.