dh wants to be a ta.... need advice please!

[landwhale]

DH hates his job, earns very very little but works very hard.

He wants to work with children perhaps one day becoming a teacher and so to get a few years experience, would like to become a teaching assistant, or LSA. (primary level)

My Our questions:

What could he expect as a starting wage, baring in mind he has no qualifications in this area (though is very willing to do them on the job). We know it's not going to be a fortune, but he doesn't earn a fortune now so hopefully won't be too dramatic a difference.

He is dyslexic. He struggles to speak 'fluently', as in, it often takes him a while to get across what he is trying to say. Would this help, or hinder him, if he were to work with, say, a dyslexic child? (As in, he can sympathise and understand what the child is going through) His spelling isn't too bad, but if he has rushing he makes lots of mistakes. If he writes very slowly and thinks about each word he doesn't have any issues. I've never noticed his reading to be an issue (but then he doesn't really read to me...!!) and he's never mentioned it. (he reads biff and chip etc to the kids no prob!)

My mum and friend who both work in schools, said the best way to get in, is literally write a letter to the school this time of year, when they're assessing the September students who will need help, and whether they need more hands in classrooms etc. If this is the case, should he send a CV? Just a letter? Should he mention the fact that he would like to progress to being a teacher one day?

What are the hours realistically like? Would he work at home too, like teachers?

Any advice would be massively appreciated. :)

Hi
Full time hours for a TA is usually something like 28 hours per week. Mostly you get a paid break but not for lunch.
If he has no relevant qualifications, it's likely he would be a 'D grade' which is a lower pay grade for this type of work. If he had A levels or a degree, some school might make him an f grade, although this is unlikely. I would suggest he looks into taking an NVQ level 2 qualification as a teaching assistant. As well as giving him some relevant experience as a TA, it will also help, as schools will be naturally cautious in taking on someone with communication difficulties as a TA. It's not necessarily the dyslexia that is the issue (one of the best teachers I've ever seen was very dyslexic) but the speaking fluently will be an issue? It's unlikely that any school will short list someone with no relevant experience or qualifications so either he needs to volunteer at a school and get his foot in the door or take the qualification and thus get experience that way. NVQ level 2 are still generally paid at a d grade though but NVQ 3 often paid at "qualified rate' of f grade. The pay is pretty shocking though and is pro- rata (hours per week x 39 teaching weeks in an academic year / 52 weeks of the year). D grade is around £12,000 f grade around £16,000

Does he have GCSEs? If he has a view to being a teacher, he should start finding out what the minimum qualifications are now and start working towards them.

You must have English and maths at C and above to teach. A ta at my school would expect to take him 600-700 a month (it's terrible I know). It's your best way to get your foot in the door though.
My partner 'trained on the job' as a teacher and went to uni once a week as well as worked but it's very difficult. Good luck though!!
My best advice would be send cv's and covering letter explaining why he wants to become a ta, we are always looking for good ones.

My DH volunteered for 2 years in my DC school before becoming a paid TA. He did the open university qualification.
He worked 2 days a week as well as midday assistant and came home with about £200 a month. (He worked nearly full time in his other job so would have had no tax allowance on that job!). He loved it and would love to go back to it, but the pay is rubbish and it tends to be only a years contract at a time.

A good friend of mine recently qualified as a TA. TA his are very sought after. She worked voluntarily for a year, then for another year where she did her nvq on the job. There were no jobs available once she qualified, but she did get one a couple of terms later. It was a long haul! Would have been quicker to become a teacher since she has a degree. She has no aspirations to teach though.

Was going to say the same as effic the best thing he can do is gain experience and impress a school so that when/if they had a job they would think of him...especially if he has communication difficulties which might cause him to struggle at interview?

We advertised for non qualified ta post recently and had crazy numbers of qualified tas apply. I guess it may vary from area to area but very competitive here.

As a dyslexic teacher I have never let it hold me back but I have needed to have confidence in myself and develop suitable coping strategies and be able to explain them.

As to taking work home- no TAs just work there hours and leave and I don't blame them as they are paid/hour unlike teachers. Good luck to him!

*their hours!

Thanks everyone for the replies- wasn't expected so many responses!!

We're going to do the maths tonight, to see if we can afford him to take the pay cut- we would prob get tax credits I think.... Def couldn't afford him to do it unpaid though. So hopefully something paid will come up.. :)

Thanks again!

My Dh Is a TA. He wks FT term time, 40 hpw and tales home 1,100 after tax.

For the wages have a look on jobs go public and your area to get a rough indication. Varies from around 8K a year up to 16k depending on experience and grade.

Need to have math and English gcse c or better, and depending when born science as well.

The jobs are very sought after, and schools can be very selective.

Hours depend entirely on the school. I know ta's who are contracted 10-3. I know ta's who are 20 hours. Some are 31 hours. Others are 35+. Some have to be on site at 8:30. Some that get 45 minutes break at lunch whereas other gets morning and afternoon breaks of 15 minutes.

But, don't give up the current job until a contract as been signed elsewhere.

However enthusiastic your DH is I think he will be hard pushed to get a paid Ta post without qualifications and/or experience. I would suggest he volunteer in one of your Dc's classes and do a part time evening course alongside it.

Even the lowest paid Teaching assistant at our school has NVQ level 3, most have Foundation degrees or degrees as well as relevant experience, I would say 10-15% are qualified teachers who don't want the hassle of teaching! Maybe we aren't a good representation?

I get a little irked when people suggest that anyone can walk into a ta job, it requires a lot of skills to be a good one, diplomacy, tact, confidentiality, excellent numeracy and literacy skills, crowd control!, team work and public speaking to name a few!

I think it's easier to get a TA job in secondary - I knew someone who went straight into secondary TA job without having quals/experience, worked there a term or 2 and then moved to a primary school.

Don't forget to look at special schools as well - pay tends to be higher and often more make TAs in these roles