teaching assistants

[katydid02]

What is it like in your area? Are there plenty of jobs or is Gove having his way and are teaching assistant jobs being quietly got rid of or are hours reducing?
What do you do as part of your job and what grade are you?

[BitchyHen]

I would say that there are not as many jobs about at the moment. I suspect that some vacancies are not being filled as schools try to save money.

I work as a TA in a KS 4 PRU. My job title is level 2 special support assistant which means I am a point higher than a l2 ta in mainstream due to the nature of students I'm working with.

Normal duties for me include supporting students one to one or as a class alongside the teacher, a lot of pastoral stuff - listening to students' worries, smoothing over arguments, phoning parents. Also admin - producing Roas for year 11, producing resources, making displays. A lot of these are not typical ta jobs but as it's a small unit we all muck in together to get things done.

I absolutely love my job, the students make it for me. It's really rewarding when they make progress academically or socially. It's not for everyone the kids swear a lot and hearing about their home life can be very difficult, some of them have had a really tough time. However I wouldn't want to do anything else.now.

[katydid02]

I'm a grade 2 in mainstream. I run intervention groups for fine motor skills, phonics, handwriting and spelling; that involves choosing the resources and preparing them - none of the resources are provided by the teacher. Like you, I make displays. I also (when there is time), file children's work.
During class time I support a small group in maths or literacy, usually 6-8 children, then I mark their work and add what they need to work on next.

[BitchyHen]

Hi Katy - didn't reply earlier, I've been out making the most of the sun with my kids. Are you enjoying your job? Mine is much more pressured than it used to be. Due to cuts we are losing our head and deputy will become teacher in charge. This will mean more work for all of us I expect.

[katydid02]

Yes, I do enjoy it but there is much more pressure like you say. Locally there is a lot of pressure of budgets and TAs hours are being cut so it is a worry how we will get the work done if expectations don't change.

[LuvMyBoyz]

The new funding changes are causing more disruption to TAs than Gove's wishes. SENCOs in a neighbouring authority told me that in their schools (2 secondaries) the teams of 30+ TAs were all let go and had to reapply for 5 or 6 jobs. Jobs are harder to come by at the moment because schools are facing budget cuts (in real terms).

[katydid02]

Yes, same situation round here too. I can see there being no TAs in schools at all within a few years - and some trying to train to be teachers in order to try and stay in employment.

[JambalayaCodfishPie]

Hi, I was a grade 2, mainstream secondary - I worked with our SEN students with severe behavioural problems. I'm highly experienced but there wasnt the funding to promote me beyond TA1.

In September I start at a brand new academy PRU, and its a grade 5 job. Like BitchyHen i'll also be paid more to account for the students I will work with - its nice to be recognised/valued at last. I'm so excited - we will be the flagship school for our area, with lots of opportunities for promotion, etc.

I start my degree in September too, as katydid02 said, I'll be able to teach then if TAs do disappear.

[katydid02]

Good luck with that Jambalaya, are you doing it with the OU or with a local university?
I'm about to start a 3rd level SEN module for my BSc, can anybody recommend any good books?

[QuickSloth]

Our SENCO is having to fight to keep the hours of the TAs. We've been told that we'll need to prove that we're having an effect in order to maintain our hours. Think it's going to be easier for those who work with statemented children. I have two kids of my own with ASD so said at my interview (5 years ago) that I'd be unwilling to work 1:1. I know that means that I'm likely to be the first out if I can't prove that my intervention groups are making outstanding progress. I work primarily in Maths support, and also with G&T. I absolutely love my job. Am also doing a degree with the OU so I can go into Maths teaching. Just need to keep hold of my TA job for 3 more years.

[Katydid02]

It's going to be a tough few years for a lot of TAs, sadly.
Michael Gove doesn't seem to think we make a difference either, and that is going to be a major problem when it comes to the budgets as well.
I don't work with statemented children either, in some ways I think that is a good thing because contracts only last as long as the child is at the school but there are always other children with SEN who need help - though many are not statemented here as statements are like gold dust.

[Inthebeginning]

I work in an academy so it's a bit different. I'm splt 50/50 between covering classes when teachers are absent and support.
For support I work one on one, with small groups, with small groups outside the classroom and as support for the teacher to with particularly difficult groups. I also do resources and admin, a bit of pastoral work and I have a form.
I absolutely love it but I'm pretty certain without the cover side of things (which is my least favourite) I wouldn't have a job.