Increasing amount expected for advertised roles in schools now

[fluffythecat1]

Have been in education for over 20 years now. A TA role used to require little in the way of formal qualifications apart from maths and English GCSE and some experience eg voluntary experience in a school/Brownies etc an advantage. I am now seeing some roles for LSAs that suggest the planning of interventions and experience of non violent restraint techniques. In my experience, the TA or LSA would deliver interventions but these were planned by a Senco and NVR only applied to SLT who had the necessary experience, responsibility and training and would be called as a last resort if needed. Is this a common shift in responsibilities or are there qualified teachers etc who are now applying for these roles and schools are looking to get more for their money?

From my experience in Primary there are a lot of TA / HLTA roles being applied for by qualified Teachers.

Changing the terms of a TA roles means the school saves money.

Long gone are the times when TAs were teacher’s assistants( and washed paint pots, did pretty displays and filed copious bits of unnamed work- which is how I started 20 odd years ago!) They are now TEACHING assistants and are expected to plan, deliver, assess and record interventions and support, deal with the neediest of children, both academically and physically, and all the while earn less than in a supermarket( which I’m sure has its own drawbacks!). It’s a disgrace!

TAs and LSAs get a really raw deal now. They are virtually expected to be teachers, often handling the trickier kids, for absolutely terrible pay. HLTAs even more so.