Teaching Assistants going to be axed... ?!

[soze]

One of the teachers I know (secondary school English) hates one of her TAs and hates leaving her in charge. She has two lessons a week where she splits her time between two classes. The TA takes over the rest of the lesson. She says that the TA does not follow her lesson plans and ofter goes off book and teaches her own lesson which the kids always love but has fuck all to do with the curriculum or the targets for that class. So it damages her relationship with them when the the next lesson she has to shut the fun down to get them back on track.

My Aunt is a primary school TA and by all accounts the kids love her. She does not teach lessons she floats between classes and helps when they leave school grounds for swimming lessons and the like. She also goes into classes when they are doing Arts and Crafts and the like to help when the kids need one on one help.

My only personal experience with a TA style Teacher was when we had a teacher there for on the job training. And they were getting torn to pieces in every lesson and as they had no authority they any lesson that did not have them without a head of year present was a wasted lesson.

 

[Kryten]

Teachers do not love to strike. Period. Mafia unions do.

 

[Embattle]

Sure love to think they are the worst off however.

 

[Kryten]

Some certainly do! The majority of ours seem to prefer to get on with their jobs because they're there for what they do, not how much they earn. The mafioso types can do one.

 

[russell]

None of my teachers are striking. None of us enjoy striking...its another day we have to catch up. Walk a week in any teachers shoes before you judge. Most demoralising job I have ever done.

 

[russell]

Its not the kids....they are great. Its the eons of red tape and other pressures.

 

[rynnor]

This post goes well with this story.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24433320

I honestly don't get the need to include the special kids with the regular kids, and then employ extra TA's to cope with that. It's a typical socialist idea of dumbing everyone else down to the lowest denominator. The above shows how well it's working and why changes have to have to have to be made to halt labours legacy which has failed recent kids and is still damaging kids today. This runs from primary schools who are coping with kids which simply shouldn't be getting schooled with the regular kids, to the fact that every dippy cunt thinks they are entitled to waste 3 years at university. It might be helping a few, but it's damaging the many. Political correctness and inclusivity aren't necessarily right, we've just been brainwashed not to tackle these things head on anymore. The results are in that BBC link above.

We are failing the bright kids in state schools - all the focus is on uplifting those below average but we leave the bright ones to rot because of fears of ability streaming.

Scouse is right that to an extent its about keeping kids off the streets and preparing the kids to serve the rich. Its also now becoming a way to massage youth unemployment figures by forcing kids to stay in school if they cant get a job - that's going to produce motivated students

 

[Urgat]

My missus is a special needs TA in a mainstream high school.

Her official role is to support one or two specific students with very special needs during mainstream classes. (like... life altering disability)

You have NO FUCKING idea the amount of bullshit she has to put up with.

She ends up having to CONTROLL classes because the fucking teachers Cannot do it.
She has to prepare the disabled students lesson plans because the teachers WONT do it (despite it being there fucking job to alter lessons where appropriate for students who require special treatment)
She has to outright LIE to Offsted inspectors when asked direct questions about provision for special needs kids, on orders of the Headmistress of the school.
Three of her colleagues have been "Managed out" already for daring to challenge the bullshit that goes on in that place.
If it wasn't for her, and the few other SNTA's at her school that actually GIVE a shit about the kids they look after, most Disabled kids in her school would be utterly failed by the staff there,

She fucking LOVES the kids she helps, she makes it her goal to get them through high school with as many exams passed as is realistic, but she is continually challenged by the very system and people she works for.

Yes, it makes me angry.

 

[rynnor]

She has to outright LIE to Offsted inspectors when asked direct questions about provision for special needs kids, on orders of the Headmistress of the school.

No she doesn't - she could tell the truth and headmistress be damned - the system rely's on the integrity of those within it.

How can you complain about stuff if you lie to the watchdog that things are ok?

 

[Raven]

Yep and if people are getting forced out because they refuse to lie to the regulator then that's grounds for unfair dismissal with the head teacher/boss likely joining the back of the dole queue shortly after.

My wife deals with Ofsted all the time, the last thing you want to do is lie to them. Obviously, most of the time they give you plenty of notice of a visit (which defeats the object imo) but now and again they will turn up unannounced.

 

[Tom]

big whinge

If what you say is true, I have little to no sympathy. Your missus is doing unpaid work and lying to officials because she "loves" the children?

Your missus needs to grow a pair.

 

[Chilly]

No she doesn't - she could tell the truth and headmistress be damned - the system rely's on the integrity of those within it.

How can you complain about stuff if you lie to the watchdog that things are ok?

Cos the TA's are not part of the same union racket as the teachers and have fuck all protection. She'd be fired and have very little recourse, assuming she doesnt have £200,000 to fight a lengthy, difficult legal battle the school and the council will defend strongly.

 

[Gumbo]

As above, no sympathy if what has been typed is true, which I doubt.

https://www.gov.uk/whistleblowing/overview

HTH.

 

[rynnor]

Cos the TA's are not part of the same union racket as the teachers and have fuck all protection. She'd be fired and have very little recourse, assuming she doesnt have £200,000 to fight a lengthy, difficult legal battle the school and the council will defend strongly.

Tribunal ofc - not sure where the 200k comes from and if she actually told the regulator (with some corroboration) that the Headmistress was asking the staff to lie to the regulator I don't think she needs to worry about reprisals.

It comes down to this - if you choose to collaborate you dont get to paint yourself as one of the good guys. I'm not saying others wouldn't do the same but you can't have it both ways.

 

[soze]

I was talking about this with a teacher again last night. And they blame the benefit culture on kids being so shit in school now. During a class they had to talk about what they wanted to do when they left school and "several" of them said they were going to have a kid so they could get a flat and get benefit money. Two of them said they planed to do this at 15 so they could both get flats for their 16th birthdays.

 

[rynnor]

I was talking about this with a teacher again last night. And they blame the benefit culture on kids being so shit in school now. During a class they had to talk about what they wanted to do when they left school and "several" of them said they were going to have a kid so they could get a flat and get benefit money. Two of them said they planed to do this at 15 so they could both get flats for their 16th birthdays.

It's a side effect of materialism. Once society is reduced to the level where its all about things you own and money then free flat and free money is going to sound great.

 

[Scouse]

Cos the TA's are not part of the same union racket as the teachers

You can voluntarily join a union.

 

[Urgat]

Just... Wow.

Yeah, most of you are woefully naive, or plain cluless as to whats actually happening in schools, or both.

Keep on posting about shit you know nothing about.

"Unions, Tribunals"

/shakes head.

 

[Chilly]

care to explain why she lies to ofsted?

 

[Raven]

Because she is Victorian and has no employee rights.

 

[Urgat]

care to explain why she lies to ofsted?

Because she would loose her job if she didn't do as instructed. And until she can find another job at a better managed school, she needs to keep her current job.

Real life, ya know.

 

[cog]

I've been through special measures and am now working in a 'good' school. I've been through 3 full ofsteds in 4 years of teaching. Having experienced an awful lot of ofsted, and fair amounts of both bad and good management... lieing to ofsted is still a stupid idea and I would LOVE to see how the head justified trying to get rid of her as long as she could support her claims to ofsted with some sort of evidence. The head would likely be gone if it was that serious, or at least in a position where she couldn't effect that kind of change before she could actually do anything.

 

[Tom]

Because she would loose her job if she didn't do as instructed. And until she can find another job at a better managed school, she needs to keep her current job.

Real life, ya know.

Bullshit.

 

[rynnor]

Because she would loose her job if she didn't do as instructed. And until she can find another job at a better managed school, she needs to keep her current job.

Real life, ya know.

I understand that it's not black and white here but from what you said about the other TA's who were sacked she's probably on a sticky wicket anyway so she might as well try to bring about real change there? Surely some of the other TA's/Teachers have seen what goes on and are concerned?

If she can get some evidence - emails even witnesses of conversations then she could put a stop to it?

 

[Scouse]

Because she would loose her job if she didn't do as instructed.

She could contact offstead anonymously and list all her concerns - including fear for her job.

And she can join a union and get free legal representation...

 

[Raven]

And Unions love that shit.

 

[Chilly]

And Unions love that shit.

not when its someone dissing teachers, they don't.

 

[Raven]

Nah, union member vs union member, gets them wet. Can go round in circles forever, wasting everyone's time. Just like in any public sector Union.

 

[soze]

Just because you are in a union it does not mean you automatically get protection. When my sister got pushed out of where she works she went to the Union for help at her industrial tribunal but was told they could not or would not help. She would have been taking 5 members of the same union to tribunal and the union were not going to risk 5 members for one. So while this is not exactly the same the union will be on the side of majority. If everyone else sides with the headmistress then his wife could be fucked.

 

[TdC]

Two of them said they planed to do this at 15 so they could both get flats for their 16th birthdays.

middle school I went to a girl got pregnent in her final year. as far as I can remember she was absolutely mortified and eventually left. I wonder what changed.