After reading a number of threads I thought I would start of a new TOTW.

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One of the major problems in sorting out TAs pay is that historically TAs were usually mums or volunteer helpers who ended up being employed by the school. That is back in the days TAs, or as we were normally called classroom assistants, were happy to have jobs to fit in with our children's school days. Although even then the pay was dismal. There were no such thing as pay bands or levels.

As the job began to change we were sent on courses and given in house training. A pay structure of sorts began to evolve. This differed from LEA to LEA. Although we all grumbled about the increase in work without the increase in pay to go towards it, we stuck at our jobs out of loyalty to the school and not wanting to let the children down. I should also say out of complacency.

It's because of our complacency that I believe we are in the problem we are now.

If we could get one good union to take on our case we might have a chance. But at present we fight for extra pay alongside lollipop ladies, etc. No one wins because the councils believe that we'll stay put and put up with it.

We are on the whole a very well trained workforce who even HTs admit that they couldn't do without. Could you imagine the chaos with all our schools if we came out on strike with the intention of sticking to it till we got a decent pay structure along side decent pay. No school could run without us now.


Because each school pays differently even with the same LEA we never know the true picture. We can't compare like with like because it doesn't exist at present.

I sometimes think a TAs pay is a State Secret. It's certainly hard to find any hard and fast info on the subject.

Here endeth Tiki's sermon for today.

Please post your comments.

Hear! Hear! Well said Tiki.

Excellently put Tiki.

I don't know what the future holds - I can only live in hope - because I'd hate to have to leave a job I enjoy and thought I'd be doing until I retire!

A decent wage for a decent days work isn't too much to ask for

This article appeared in the Daily Mail and was brought to my attention by our lunchtime supervisor:

Classroom assistants are 'scandalously' undervalued and underpaid, Scotland's equal opportunities watchdog warned yesterday.

In a hard-hitting report, the Equal Opportunities Commission Scotland (EOC) said the coutry's army of largely female helpers was being denied equal pay and proper working conditions.

It found most of the 15,000 strong workforce put in extra hours for free and had no prospects of career development.

Equal rights bosses are now calling for an actiongroup to be set up to rectify the assistant's status. The recommendation comes after an EOC investigation into the worforce, the first of its kind.

Commisioners found many assistants were women returning to the world of work, who them became 'captives of love' at schools, choosing to carry on despite the low pay.

The helpers are among the lowest paid government workers the EOC said, earning as little as £5.68 an hour - only 33p more than the minimum wage. Annual salaries range from about £6,810 to £10,089. The EOC said that for most assistants there was no link between pay and qualifications or training and no career development structure on offer.

Doris Littlejohn, chairman of the investigation, said "We want an education system in which the role each classroom assistant plays is rewarded equally and fairly."

A spokesperson for the Scottish Executive said "Terms and conditions for classroom assistants are a matter for local authorities and employers."

For more info on the EOC' work on this:

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Totally agree with all the posts. Most schools run on goodwill of TAs, if we were to work just the hours we are paid for and never take any work home to do i wonder what would happen? Trouble is most of us are so caring and concientious and the teachers know this. Our role has changed so much over the last few years but the pay does not reflect this. We are still seen as "helpers" not highly trained proffesional people.

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I stupidly took a big cut in pay ( used to be a school evening caretaker) to do a job i felt better qualified for, have been here for two years , halfway though my NVQ3 and still paid rubbish! ( for a job i love )
Wouldn't change my job for the world but the pay is a bit of a joke.

The role has certainly changed over the 30+ years I have worked in secondary school. Tiki is right in saying the the role appeared out of a mum's army - as invaluable as they were. But in may case for instance, there are not many people confident enough to take years 10 & 11s through coursework in any subject with not much input from the teacher. This is C/D borderliners and naughty boys & girls who can be unmotivated or disrespectful. I am lucky, our head is quite fair and I am quite well paid, when I hear of some collegues in other schools. I know that all TAs cannot do exactly the same work but I hape something is sorted out fairly.
Very few students refer to us as helpers now, more like two teachers in the room - thank goodness.

Here endeth my lesson.

True.
I love how the students expect us to know everything about every subject LOl. I am getting much better though as the lessons don't change that much though the years but even teachers only need a couple of subjects. Those first few mins in the class learning the objective are so important to me as i need to know as much as they do.
You are right , i work with some very unruly year 10 and 11's , often having to take them out of the class as the teachers refuse to have them in.

I got my TA job after full time studying for 2 years {NNEB] and initially went to work in social services which was much better pay but without the holidays. I stayed there for two years before switching to school and then was paid on the NJC grade.
took the job, knowing my wage would decrease but that was my choice.

I also knew that once at the top of the scale there was nowhere to go as regards to promotion. To me a teaching assistant;s job is not one to go into if you are wanting to climb up a career ladder because it will just end in disappointment. [Just like many with HLTA status have hit a brick wall] Unless you train to become a teacher you will always be a TA. Maybe in some big schools or special/ secondary there is scope to become a senior TA. but in most primaries that's not the case.
Just recently on other threads I have constantly read posts that say we should have a proper career path. But where to????? We can all extend our skills sideways and learn new stuff as well as keeping up to date with government guidelines and initiatives but surely that is part of our normal role as TAs. I certainly consider it part of my responsibilities especially for supporting the curriculum.

I understand the issue with certain schools taking the P****s and putting all jobs at level 1, but that doesn't happen all over.

I am with you Tiki and think we should have a new union that represents TAs. How can we be compared to other public sector workers when our working conditions are so different.
Also how can it be called equal pay when those of us that have climbed the threshold with annual increments are the ones to stand to have pay cuts to be bought in line with a particular grade.

What about the person with 10 years experience at a level 2 and another person at 6 months. does the person with the experience take a cut so it's fair to the 6 month TA.

It's bloody crazy to me and I will not vote for a single status s I don't believe there will ever be one.

Anyway having said all that, I work in a voluntary aided school where the governors set our pay. Our boss will ensure we are all kept on the same pay regardless by just pushing us all up a grade or so. But that's not the case for everyone else I know and it must be so demoralising to be told " we are paying you too much so we are taking it back!"

I would like to see all TA pay increased but the single staus lark is not concerned with increasing pay but more concerned with cutting back TAs pay especially those who have worked their way up the pay scale after many years of training and experience.

It is absolutely scandalous that already pitiful wages are to be lowered in the name of single status. If only we were a bit of a militant bunch and would stand together for any of our colleagues who were facing a lower wage. It is so wrong. Even those on a supposedly 'good' wage of around £15,825 are still around £8,000 below the national average wage. And that is the top of spine level 2. Nowhere to go but stay the same or back if deemed nec. by the single status. I could understand the sticking at a pay spine if it was a decent level, but sticking at a level 1 or 2 pay spine is morally wrong as it is woefully short of a living wage.

It all sounds like something from the Victorian Era.


I believe a living wage these days for a partially skilled job such as ours with training and experience should be around the £18,000 to £22,000 mark for TAs generally (not just the extremely lucky few). Those who say get a job in a supermarket are missing the point. TAs are involved with the education of children and are often teaching groups of children or even PPA ,now, not just washing paint post. We deserve recognition and not deskilling and de waging.

I believe that as TAs gain experience and quals they should rise up to these amounts and then be capped. At least it would be a realistic living wage and one that we could work for over the years.

Gone are the days of TAs doing it for pin money and fitting it in with the kids. How many teachers are accused of only taking a job to fit it in with any kids or future kids they have.

We have, lets face it, been patronised and dumbed down for too long.

Shout about it if you are losing out because of single status. Write to MPs, etc. I also think the Unions are culpable in this too.

Sorry to go on but it makes me so annoyed!!

couldn't agree more calypso

I wouldn't say I am militant but I have been on strike two or three times over the last 13yrs and I would do it again.

The last strike was over the pensions and look what happened there, they back tracked as they didn't expect such an uproar.

I am going to write to my local Unison and let them know what I think. Up to now we haven't had any information about single status at all.

What I have read at local level is that not many TAs will be in favour of it [I know at this point we don't actually have a choice] as so many TAs would loose out in our area.

We should be naming and shaming those LAs that pay limited amounts and praising those that have already got it right.

I am on the NJC scale pay spine 23 which puts me in a level 4 bracket. I consider my salary to be about right for the work I do but I don't consider myself lucky. In 13yrs I have worked really hard extending my skills and training, taking on new responsibilities for ICT developing my own professional skills with OU courses. That's not luck, that's being in an LA/school that values the work of TAs and the extra responsibility we have taken on since the literacy and numeracy strategy were put in place.

As much as I love my work, If it was all to be taken away from me and I had a pay decrease, then I would look about going back into social services or other areas of work using my ICT skills in other ways.

Whilst I recognise I have reached the top of my scale I am happy with that decision, but what other occupation would demote you for no reason [or as they call it so that all pay is equal] absolutely bonkers!
That's not being fair, It's called ripping people off.

As someone else has commented before, they don't take into account all the extra work some TAs do, so that's not part of the scale they put you on.

I wonder what would happen if any one who had a pay cut took it to court.

When you go for an interview you are told the pay you will get. That should act as a verbal contract even if you don't have a written one for a while. Then without any negotiation with you 1:1 your pay can be reduced. The job you do hasn't changed, the hours you work haven't changed.

Why reduce our pay to cover the poor wages other public sector workers get. Surely that is a seperate issue.


I didn't notice MPs getting their salaries reduced to help out. Aren't they public sector workers as well?

Interesting point Tiki

For those TAs who have had pay cuts, surely it would in effect make their original role redundant and a new role created. In law they cannot employ someone else in that redundant role for two years, so what about those who are still doing the same job [no change to responsibilities].
And as you have already pointed out, redundancies have to be in consultation.

I agree some TA's are under paid and under valued! As for structure to the job - there is none. Some TA's come into the job on a higher level of pay than others who have been in the job years. Apparently it's all at the discretion of school/Headteacher. Qualifications don't seem to matter either to some it seems and then for others qualifications matter more than experience.

There are so many courses for Teaching Assistants now, and those there used to be have been replaced with different ones. How is a prospective employer supposed to decide which ones are better unless they are aware of course content? How are people who want to come into the job supposed to make an informed decision about which course to take when there are so many? The powers that be need to decide what route TA's need to take and stop changing the goal posts.

Personally I think it is about time that there were national guidelines and a pay structure for all schools across the country. Guidelines that take into account qualification and experience and reward these accordingly. That way everyone would be singing from the same song sheet and there would be no confusion.

Lets face it, there is a national pay scale for teachers, that doesn't change regardless of which university they obtained their degree or where they did their training.

'Every child matters .' What about 'Every TA matters.'