Calling all Teaching Assistants- Query.

[skybright59]

Dear All, i hope you are all well as im looking to just branch out and speak to other TA's.

Have any of you been employed as a TA, and have started off on a full time temporary contract as a sort of probation period? (For example january to end of july?)

And then depending on performance switches over to permanent. Well i applied for a job that was advertised as full time. As far as few people have been taken on. One has been offered a permanent full time contract. Myself and someone else has been offered a temporary contract.

I have a degree and some relevant experience but no NVQ Level 2/3 so would that be a reason?

Many Thanks.

Some schools get their funding for TAs based on what certain pupils require so if those pupils are due to leave in July there may not be funding going forward for that particular role. Other TA roles are funded out of general funding for a class of say 30 pupils and that is why that role can be offered as permanent (even you in reality have no different tasks etc).

I have found in reality that there will either be a new intake of puipls that get funding for TAs or a turnover of staff that mean the temporary roles turn into permanent ones.

The school l work in has 22 TA' s - only 2 are on permanent contracts, which were internally competed for about 4 years ago.

Those on temporary contracts have to apply for new jobs (if there are any) and go through the whole interview process every time a contract ends or a child leaves.

At the moment through most of us are just glad to have jobs!

When I applied for my current job, it was advertised as part-time temporary, because the funding was for one pupil for a set number of hours per week. At the interview I was told there were in fact two positions available as extra funding had been received for another pupil. The new position was almost full time, but still temporary. That was the post I was offered. Positions that exist specifically to support a named child tend to be temporary because they only exist as long as the school gets the funding, so when the pupil moves on, the funding goes with them and unless another child with funding takes their place, the job goes as well. I was fortunate in that we had a reorganisation at work and I was offered a new, permanent role, but all new positions at our school are offered on a temporary basis with a view to becoming permanent after satisfactory appraisals.