Teaching Assistant experiences?

laurel7172

I am a teaching assistant with a degree. I've been doing it for a few years now, and though I loved it at first I am now starting to feel (actually well beyond *starting* to feel) trapped in a dead end. I am understretched, underused, underpaid, I was promoted to the top grade my school employed within six months and I've been stuck in the same place ever since. I think the last straw was that last year I trained as a teacher of English as a foreign language, but the children I was teaching were taken away from me because the school got some extra funding for a "real" teacher. And *obviously* a mediocre teacher with no real idea what they were doing MUST be better than an experienced and specifically qualified TA.

By all means do it, but have an exit strategy. Trust me, mine is well underway.

Bella_b

I'm thinking about applying for a job as a TA as well, with infants and juniors... and I have a degree as well. I have a problem though, the application form states it needs a reference from my most recent employer and it needs to be a job in which I worked with children. I worked as a self employed EFL teacher in Spain and worked a lot with children as well as adults. Also I used to volunteer in nursery schools one afternoon a week whilst I was at school years ago, didn't get a reference from it as it was arranged through the school. I did however get a special tie given by the school in recognition of my efforts in community service. I obviously have experience with children, but just no references for it. What do I put down? They want two references!

Oldernotwiser

flimsier wrote: »

We have TAs who want to be teachers - for many it's a way into seeing if it's the job for you... I'd be far more likely to employ a TA with a degree (but that wouldn't be the biggest factor at all).

There is no qualification, but if you enjoy it you can do a course to become a Higher Level Teaching Assistant. However, assuming you can get on a course and the school will have you, I'd advise on doing a GTP and becoming a teacher. The problem is getting the TA position in the first place. Despite the god-awful wages, they're very very competitive. We get far more applications per post than we do for teaching posts (and high calibre people, out of business and so on), especially in the current climate.

There certainly is and many schools won't employ someone without it!

How can you employ people and not know this?

flimsier

There are many qualifications, obviously. No compulsory ones though. It's not like being a teacher where you have to have QTS.

doodoot

It's interesting that a few of you have said that TA's don't need qualifications.

The TA jobs that I have seen advertised request TA level 1, 2 or 3.

I'm studying at Uni for my english degree - 3rd year woohoo! - and hope to go down either the PGCE/PGDE or GTP route, but have recently thought of the TA route to begin with.

marcouk

doodoot wrote: »

It's interesting that a few of you have said that TA's don't need qualifications.

The TA jobs that I have seen advertised request TA level 1, 2 or 3.

There is no statutory requirement for qualifications in a TA post, obviously schools want someone who knows how to do the job so advertise with a minimum qualification requirement.

lexilex

I must have applied for 100+ teaching assistant jobs since graduating from university. The jobs are just so hard to get. I have experience working in schools from uni placements, and have tried to get in local schools to volunteer but they have all said they have as many volunteers as they can take.

I have been told the the majority of TA vacancies are filled before they are even advertised. The jobs go to volunteers or friends of staff. How true this is I can't be sure but it would explain why I have never heard a thing from any of my applications.

Amba_Gambla

I did a GTP last year (having spent a year as a cover supervisor). TA can be a great route into teaching.
From my experience, the teachers who don't like TAs don't know how to use them properly, or have useless TAs.

If I can help you out with it, let me know.

doodoot

marcouk wrote: »

There is no statutory requirement for qualifications in a TA post, obviously schools want someone who knows how to do the job so advertise with a minimum qualification requirement.

Now that is very interesting...thank you.

My SIL went down the GTP route so she is a font of information, and her degree is in law - she was a solicitor until a couple of years ago.

The only problem that I've got is that I don't have GCSE's in maths or a science subject...I was a lazy so and so at school.

Is silly really to think that after my degree is finished, I will be applying to do a couple of GCSE's lol!

doodoot

lexilex wrote: »

I must have applied for 100+ teaching assistant jobs since graduating from university. The jobs are just so hard to get. I have experience working in schools from uni placements, and have tried to get in local schools to volunteer but they have all said they have as many volunteers as they can take.

I got advised at Uni that it's best to apply to volunteer at schools that didn't do well in the last OFSTED report.

Apparently it looks good on their record if they have loads of volunteers, and you also get the opportunity to try to leave a good impression on the kids there.

If just 1 kid in a whole school gains an appreciation in reading because of something you did, then you've done a good job.