key stage 1 SATS

galvanizersbaby

dizziblonde wrote: »

I can back what kelloggs is saying up in terms of hours - it's perfectly possible to run that level of working time up teaching. Yes you can reduce it over time if you get lucky, stay in the same year group, the curriculum doesn't change - but some heads like staff to rotate, and the literacy and numeracy curriculums have just changed in primary so there's a lot of resourcing and planning to be done from scratch again which whacks the workload right back up. I was very lucky in that I had a realistic head, and we could share planning as it was a large school I taught at last - but still I was regularly at the PC sorting stuff out until 10/11 at night (and yes I'd flick to forums while stuff was printing off or whatever) - and I was one of the people with a better work/life balance than most.

The job situation is actually getting pretty dire as well - the only contracts around are one-year temp ones, and once you've been working a couple of years - you're too expensive to employ (because our payscale is set nationally we can't agree to work for a lower wage really) which is where I'm at now pretty much - or would be if I hadn't decided enough was enough and just dropped onto doing supply teaching so I got my life back. Even that's in danger though because now you don't have to have qualified teachers covering classes - which I think is pretty shocking but no one really seems to care.

And just btw... those wretched adverts with what you'll earn on... are 99% fibs - the figures quoted are incredibly rare as a percentage of teaching, but they're painting them as the common level of earnings - it's not.

Hi Dizziblonde
Was just wondering about the bit above I highlighted in bold - what qualifications would the supply teachers have to have?
We were rather surprised recently to hear a former colleague of ours had started covering maths classes in a secondary school on a supply basis though he has no teaching qualifications

allIcouldwishfor

galvanizersbaby wrote: »

Hi Dizziblonde
Was just wondering about the bit above I highlighted in bold - what qualifications would the supply teachers have to have?
We were rather surprised recently to hear a former colleague of ours had started covering maths classes in a secondary school on a supply basis though he has no teaching qualifications

We regularly have TA's filling in for teachers, at least 2 half days per week in DS's class it seems.

kelloggs36

My head has said that he would rather pay a TA to cover PPA time rather than keep me on because it is cheaper!!

milliebear00001

Level 4 qualified TAs (Higher Level Teaching Assistants) are allowed to take classes without being supervised. Their planning and assessment is supposed to be 'overseen' by a teacher, but in my experience this rarely happens. Often HLTAs will cover a teacher's PPA time, usually teaching the same subject each time. I would agree this is pretty shocking, and wonder how many parents realise this is happening?

across

kelloggs36 wrote: »

I would suggest that a housewife is not overworked (not in my experience lol)

yep it depends if you like keeping very clean house in order or let things slip!
thanks for your comments anyway they were interesting!!!!:beer:

dizziblonde

If you see any job ads for Cover Supervisors just keep an eye on them - the qualifications needed are minimal and they're expected to supervise kids doing pre-set work... aka babysitting while it's death by wordsearch. It makes me angry cos it's short-changing the kids, it's short-changing the parents but it's the elephant in the corner of education that people aren't really speaking out about.

Thankfully it's not hit primary that badly... yet.

Edited just to clarify - although I'm a supply teacher myself, I've got qualified teacher status and a good set of academic qualifications, degree and experience teaching full-time for a number of years - I just wanted out of the barrage of paperwork, silly initiatives all overriding each other and wanted to be free to do the teaching part of being a teacher, as opposed to the drowning in paperwork part which is why I don't work full-time nowadays.

kelloggs36

across wrote: »

yep it depends if you like keeping very clean house in order or let things slip!
thanks for your comments anyway they were interesting!!!!:beer:

Cheeky !!!!!! - my house is clean thanks :eek:

kelloggs36

milliebear00001 wrote: »

Level 4 qualified TAs (Higher Level Teaching Assistants) are allowed to take classes without being supervised. Their planning and assessment is supposed to be 'overseen' by a teacher, but in my experience this rarely happens. Often HLTAs will cover a teacher's PPA time, usually teaching the same subject each time. I would agree this is pretty shocking, and wonder how many parents realise this is happening?

So if they aren't HLTAs can the HT temporarily make an ordinary TA an HLTA for the time that they are teaching? That is what the HT is planning to do. ie they are an ordinary TA whilst they are working with the teacher, but if they cover lessons they are paid as an HLTA but aren't actually HLTAs.

kelloggs36

Although I do have a large ironing pile, but it doesn't matter how much or little time I have, I only do that when I feel the urge!!! I HATE ironing - it gets done as we need it! Saves hours!

moggitymog

across, i know what you mean, i'm not a sahm but, when i do get the odd day of and dd is at school, by the time i've watched jeremy kyle, this morning and had an afternoon snooze, the day has just gone! lol