Struggling to manage teaching assistants and wondering whether to leave

[TidyPearlViewer]

Struggling managing my teaching assistants.

Hi! I am really struggling with my TAs at work, they are two young men. Since the term started, I am alone a lot in the classroom when the children go home doing the tidying and the classroom organisation, rather than the planning etc because I can’t find them.

There is a challenging girl and they don’t want to be her one to one support. They think I should be with her and they should teach my wider curriculum and science lessons.

During lessons, they are on a group google chat and often doing admin time. I asked for help with the paperwork and they said they’d done it and just ignored me.

yesterday, when I was in assembly they left a child in the playground. i have heard them say I am intense and highly strung.

I think whilst this might be the case, I take my job and my class very seriously and it is very upsetting being ignored all the time.

It is also upsetting being undermined and having two against one.

I have told SLT but nothing has changed. I have brought them crispy cremes as a thank you and made an effort to be friendly and positive.

I have a young daughter at home and I’m totally burnt out with this situation. I don’t think they’re going to listen or change.

I'm wondering if I should leave at Christmas and then supply teach in the Spring and Summer.

Who is their direct line manager? I would have one last go of speaking to them under the guise of requesting clarity over expectations. I’ve worked in some schools where TAs leave at the same time as the children for example, as that’s what’s in their contract. While there, you can mention them leaving a child in the playground (safeguarding concern) and the unprofessional way they have been speaking about you.

Great TAs make teaching a joy but you will always get lazy people in every job. I used to have a TA in-tray with jobs for photocopying etc - could that work? That way there’s a very specific expectation that you can easily evidence if it’s not being done.

At the end of the day, if you’re really unhappy, leave. The only word of warning is that I left a teaching job I was unhappy in and then ended up in a school that was even worse! It’s always going to be a gamble but worth remembering that the grass isn’t always greener.

I hate managing people and I’m terrible at it, though gritting my teeth I’ve managed to do bits of it without disaster. Can you go to your manager/head of department and ask for help with this? It sounds like you feel ganged up on, could they be split up and one work elsewhere?

are you primary or secondary? I’m guessing primary. You need to go back to your headteacher again and say that you are thinking of leaving at Christmas due to this. Tell her it is like having more children in my classroom and I won’t put up with it. Then on your planning plan them into your lessons and really structured their time. Tell them that you expect for them to follow the plans. Plan in display board time and photocopying and lesson prep time. If you want one of them with a particular child in a lesson wrote it on the plan. You also need to find their line manager- it might not be you, and speak to them. These staff members should have observations and performance reviews. I would be querying why that’s not happening.

What time do they finish? At my kids school the TAs leave at the same time as the kids, thats a bug part of what makes it an attractive job to parents. Their kids meet them in the classroom they're based at, they make sure all the class kids are collected safely and then they're out the gate and off home.

Ahh this is awful OP. You need to complain. Formally. They sound awful. Does it feel like sexism/ toxic masculinity traits?

You have spoke to SLT - now put it in writing. What you have written here is perfect, just formalise it a bit. Very unusual to have 2 male TAs as well. It is there responsibility to support with the 121 student and follow your direction in lesson. Is it in their role to tidy up? Would you rather not have support there these two as it’s just too awful?

email the head and the Sendco. Request action is taken and a response either in a meeting or in writing explaining the action that has been taken. They basically need to go a a performance improvement plans. Explain that if the situation isn’t resolved you will be seeking union guidance as the situation is untenable. Give them a week and then send a chasing email and state you will contact the union in xx days (two weeks from the first email is plenty) I was described as highly strung once. I’m also very sensitive and that makes me a great person who is very understanding.

if you are not in a union joint one first. NASUWT is fine or Neu don’t over think it

Oh and start you email “I wish to formally raise concerns about …”

It is completely wrong that they are refusing to give support to challenging child when you have directed them to and dictating to you the CT that you should take role of T and let them take role of CT - complete domination! You have got to find your strong woman and be assertive. Read up on good language to use.

Don’t engage at all at emotional level or let them bully you let any negative words slide off and have a tough inner core - you are senior, probably more highly qualified and more to the point have been appointed by the HT to your role. Walk tall and take control of your class and as PP have said put situation in writing and escalate it calmly and assertively. Very good luck OP.

If they don't want to work with the challenging girl 1:1 then it might be worth suggesting to SLT that one of them needs to swap roles with another TA who is willing to work with her. Also tell the SLT you are considering leaving over it because you feel unsupported and don't feel these staff members are doing their jobs. And every time you can't find them you could send one of your responsible class members to get the head and the head can go looking. In my DC's school LSAs don't have laptops or school devices during class time unless it's part of the lesson and obviously no personal devices either. But I'm sure the Google chats could be accessed by an admin if you feel they're doing that rather than working.

You need to keep going back to your headteacher and raising these concerns. Daily. Until something changes.

I just can’t believe this post….. 2 TAs to one class, TAs that should tidy and organise the room after school.

Reality in my school are shared TA across multiple classes that arrive and leave with the children. Only ever really used to do interventions or support SEN children that should have a 1:1 but don’t. This doesn’t sound real to me.

Right, well, they sound useless but what time are they contracted to work til? TAs usually finish at the same time as the children so would not be obliged to be around after school for any significant length of time. How long have you been teaching? Two assistants in one class is unusual. If fact this is a pretty unusual set up all round with 2 male TAs!! At least one must be there to provide 1-1 for a particular child so should definitely be doing that. If they need to share that then set up a clear routine of who does when and insist on it happening. Be scrupulously fair. You are simply going to have to toughen up. Be very specific in what you want from them and follow it through. They should NOT be privately communicating with each other during lessons if I’ve read that right!

There are absolutely loads of TAs that don’t finish at the same time as the children, I don’t think the op would bring it up as an issue if they had finished work.

It is not the OP’s fault that she has two TAs and other classes have none. It will not have been her decision that she has two. Or that someone else has zero.

Who’s their actual line manager? That’s key, as it sounds like they need to go down a formal route for misconduct and poor performance

I think people are, gently, trying to point out that the whole set up sounds very unusual.
2 TAs in a class
Both male, both young
neither of whom have apparently any idea of what their job actually involves.
Both contracted to work past 3:30.
A teacher who also appears to have no idea how to manage a large part of her job.
I believe some people are suggesting that this is not a real scenario….