Category: teaching assistants

Struggling schools forced to rely on teaching assistants as cheap cover for teachers

Pupils are missing out on essential support as teaching assistants increasingly provide cover for absent teachers, without lesson plans or help from other colleagues, according to a report released by UNISON today (Saturday).

The report Teaching on the Cheap? is based on survey responses from almost 6,000 teaching assistants covering classes in England and Wales. It suggests ongoing teacher shortages mean support staff are increasingly having to lead lessons and manage whole classes by themselves.

The research finds 45% say they are covering more classes now than they were the previous school year (2022/2023).

The report, commissioned by UNISON and written by researcher Rob Webster, found three quarters of survey respondents (75%) say looking after an entire class means they end up teaching rather than supervising pupils.

This is despite national guidance stating school support staff should not ‘actively teach’ any classes they cover, says the research. This will also come as a surprise to many parents, says UNISON, who will assume their children are being taught in the classroom by teachers.

UNISON says too many low-paid teaching assistants end up performing roles for which they are neither trained nor paid. This results in pupils being taught on the cheap, as three quarters (75%) of support staff say they receive no additional money for stepping up.

According to the findings, almost two in five (39%) report covering classes for at least five hours per week. That, says the research, is equivalent to roughly one school day a week, or half a term’s cover over a school year. Additionally, another 15% say they lead full classes for at least 11 hours a week.

Half (51%) of the teaching assistants in both secondary and special schools have been deployed to cover classes because their schools don’t have enough teachers. In primary schools, this was the case for almost a quarter (24%) of support staff.

But providing cover for teaching colleagues means teaching assistants’ normal tasks are not being done. Three quarters (74%) say this is the case and leaves the pupils they support without any assistance.

In primary schools, almost half the teaching assistants (49%) say they rarely or never have support to help them cover classes, even though teachers would usually have an assistant on hand in the classroom.

And only half (51%) of the support staff who cover classes are provided with lesson plans. Eight in ten (81%) teaching assistants believe their deployment to cover classes is having a negative impact on the quality of special educational needs provision in their schools.

Six in ten (63%) of those based in primary schools say pupils are missing out on critical catch-up sessions, as well as on literacy and numeracy support.

Assistants describe regularly being told to lead classes ranging from nursery to year 6, with just minutes to spare.

Those working in secondary schools report planning and teaching subjects at GCSE level where teachers have left and not been replaced. Many feel they are used as cheap substitutes for teachers and are unable to give pupils the quality lessons they need.

Adding such intense duties and responsibilities to their workloads is pushing many to think about leaving education for jobs elsewhere, warns UNISON.

The union is calling for a review of the role of teaching assistants as they’re now providing cover in circumstances way beyond what has been nationally agreed. Their skills must also be better recognised and their pay negotiated by a new, independent body, it adds.

UNISON head of education Mike Short said: “The strain imposed on teaching assistants is both unacceptable and exploitative. When they’re leading full classes, teaching assistants are being diverted from what they do best and pupils who need additional support are missing out.

“Schools’ budgets are so tight that, instead of getting in supply teachers to cover classes, heads are having to use teaching assistants on the cheap. Ministers are entirely responsible for the funding crisis that’s putting schools in this impossible position.

“Many children can’t grasp the basics without the critical assistance of teaching assistants. Redeploying them to other roles is unfair on everyone. Parents will rightly assume their children are being taught by teachers, not teaching assistants.

“The government must ensure all schools have the budget and staff to provide the education they’re meant to deliver. This over-reliance on unsatisfactory stopgap measures and overburdening teaching assistants in this way has to stop.”

Researcher and expert on teaching assistants Rob Webster said: “This study reveals the hidden costs of deploying teaching assistants to plug gaps in the teacher workforce.

“It disrupts support for pupils who need it, and prevents teaching assistants from doing their essential work.

“The special educational needs system in England is already at breaking point. Parents of children with additional needs will wonder what effect this considerable loss of teaching assistant capacity is having on their child’s provision.

“The current situation is having a detrimental effect on teaching assistants’ workload and wellbeing too. Left unaddressed, it could exacerbate the existing recruitment and retention crisis facing schools.”

Notes to editors:
– Teaching on the Cheap?  is based on the survey responses of 5,989 teaching assistants in England and Wales located in primary/infant (84%), secondary (5%) and special schools (11%). The survey was conducted online between January and February 2024.
– An executive summary of the findings is available here.

– Quotes from the report include:
“My role has become increasingly one of cover for absent teachers in my department. Last year about 50% of my time was spent doing this.” Secondary higher level teaching assistant 

“It is an expectation. If a teacher is off and has provided work, the teaching assistants are expected to teach the lesson.” Special school support assistant

“I’m told I have to plan and deliver a lesson every Monday as our class teacher does not work on this day. I am given no time to plan lessons, nor am I confident in doing this as I’ve not been trained. But I was told it’s in my contract.” Special school teaching assistant

“I’m having to cover an average of 3 to 4.5 days a week on a regular basis. This is partly because of the lack of funds to employ the extra staff needed or a supply.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“I have led reception class every afternoon since November. The head implied that another member of staff would be taken on, but they haven’t been.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“My school has used agency teachers to fill vacancies. The agency teacher in my class left so I was asked to step up and teach my class until a new teacher can be recruited. I am teaching my class on a full-term basis for the foreseeable future.” Special school teaching assistant

“I have been given a teaching timetable. Some was to cover maternity leave, some to fill a gap where a teacher had left and no one had been recruited to fill the space.” Secondary cover supervisor

“My school cannot afford supply teachers, so more teaching assistants than ever before are having to step in for teaching colleagues.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“Teaching assistants should not be used to cover teachers’ lessons. We are not qualified teachers and the students deserve a good quality education. This can’t happen if lessons are being covered by support staff.” Special school teaching assistant

“I don’t think parents have any idea about how much of their children’s education is being delivered by unqualified teaching assistants.” Primary/infant higher level teaching assistant

“I only get 20p per hour more than my basic teaching assistant pay for covering lessons. I receive a total of 74p extra for covering a whole afternoon. The additional payment for this morning is approximately £2.50 net. Supply staff would have been paid £150 for the same work.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“A supply teacher would get sometimes in excess of £100 per day, whereas we get barely £1 an hour extra. For about 30 hours of cover a month, I earned about £40 more. It doesn’t seem fair.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Struggling schools forced to rely on teaching assistants as cheap cover for teachers first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Struggling schools forced to rely on teaching assistants as cheap cover for teachers

Pupils are missing out on essential support as teaching assistants increasingly provide cover for absent teachers, without lesson plans or help from other colleagues, according to a report released by UNISON today (Saturday).

The report Teaching on the Cheap? is based on survey responses from almost 6,000 teaching assistants covering classes in England and Wales. It suggests ongoing teacher shortages mean support staff are increasingly having to lead lessons and manage whole classes by themselves.

The research finds 45% say they are covering more classes now than they were the previous school year (2022/2023).

The report, commissioned by UNISON and written by researcher Rob Webster, found three quarters of survey respondents (75%) say looking after an entire class means they end up teaching rather than supervising pupils.

This is despite national guidance stating school support staff should not ‘actively teach’ any classes they cover, says the research. This will also come as a surprise to many parents, says UNISON, who will assume their children are being taught in the classroom by teachers.

UNISON says too many low-paid teaching assistants end up performing roles for which they are neither trained nor paid. This results in pupils being taught on the cheap, as three quarters (75%) of support staff say they receive no additional money for stepping up.

According to the findings, almost two in five (39%) report covering classes for at least five hours per week. That, says the research, is equivalent to roughly one school day a week, or half a term’s cover over a school year. Additionally, another 15% say they lead full classes for at least 11 hours a week.

Half (51%) of the teaching assistants in both secondary and special schools have been deployed to cover classes because their schools don’t have enough teachers. In primary schools, this was the case for almost a quarter (24%) of support staff.

But providing cover for teaching colleagues means teaching assistants’ normal tasks are not being done. Three quarters (74%) say this is the case and leaves the pupils they support without any assistance.

In primary schools, almost half the teaching assistants (49%) say they rarely or never have support to help them cover classes, even though teachers would usually have an assistant on hand in the classroom.

And only half (51%) of the support staff who cover classes are provided with lesson plans. Eight in ten (81%) teaching assistants believe their deployment to cover classes is having a negative impact on the quality of special educational needs provision in their schools.

Six in ten (63%) of those based in primary schools say pupils are missing out on critical catch-up sessions, as well as on literacy and numeracy support.

Assistants describe regularly being told to lead classes ranging from nursery to year 6, with just minutes to spare.

Those working in secondary schools report planning and teaching subjects at GCSE level where teachers have left and not been replaced. Many feel they are used as cheap substitutes for teachers and are unable to give pupils the quality lessons they need.

Adding such intense duties and responsibilities to their workloads is pushing many to think about leaving education for jobs elsewhere, warns UNISON.

The union is calling for a review of the role of teaching assistants as they’re now providing cover in circumstances way beyond what has been nationally agreed. Their skills must also be better recognised and their pay negotiated by a new, independent body, it adds.

UNISON head of education Mike Short said: “The strain imposed on teaching assistants is both unacceptable and exploitative. When they’re leading full classes, teaching assistants are being diverted from what they do best and pupils who need additional support are missing out.

“Schools’ budgets are so tight that, instead of getting in supply teachers to cover classes, heads are having to use teaching assistants on the cheap. Ministers are entirely responsible for the funding crisis that’s putting schools in this impossible position.

“Many children can’t grasp the basics without the critical assistance of teaching assistants. Redeploying them to other roles is unfair on everyone. Parents will rightly assume their children are being taught by teachers, not teaching assistants.

“The government must ensure all schools have the budget and staff to provide the education they’re meant to deliver. This over-reliance on unsatisfactory stopgap measures and overburdening teaching assistants in this way has to stop.”

Researcher and expert on teaching assistants Rob Webster said: “This study reveals the hidden costs of deploying teaching assistants to plug gaps in the teacher workforce.

“It disrupts support for pupils who need it, and prevents teaching assistants from doing their essential work.

“The special educational needs system in England is already at breaking point. Parents of children with additional needs will wonder what effect this considerable loss of teaching assistant capacity is having on their child’s provision.

“The current situation is having a detrimental effect on teaching assistants’ workload and wellbeing too. Left unaddressed, it could exacerbate the existing recruitment and retention crisis facing schools.”

Notes to editors:
– Teaching on the Cheap?  is based on the survey responses of 5,989 teaching assistants in England and Wales located in primary/infant (84%), secondary (5%) and special schools (11%). The survey was conducted online between January and February 2024.
– An executive summary of the findings is available here.

– Quotes from the report include:
“My role has become increasingly one of cover for absent teachers in my department. Last year about 50% of my time was spent doing this.” Secondary higher level teaching assistant 

“It is an expectation. If a teacher is off and has provided work, the teaching assistants are expected to teach the lesson.” Special school support assistant

“I’m told I have to plan and deliver a lesson every Monday as our class teacher does not work on this day. I am given no time to plan lessons, nor am I confident in doing this as I’ve not been trained. But I was told it’s in my contract.” Special school teaching assistant

“I’m having to cover an average of 3 to 4.5 days a week on a regular basis. This is partly because of the lack of funds to employ the extra staff needed or a supply.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“I have led reception class every afternoon since November. The head implied that another member of staff would be taken on, but they haven’t been.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“My school has used agency teachers to fill vacancies. The agency teacher in my class left so I was asked to step up and teach my class until a new teacher can be recruited. I am teaching my class on a full-term basis for the foreseeable future.” Special school teaching assistant

“I have been given a teaching timetable. Some was to cover maternity leave, some to fill a gap where a teacher had left and no one had been recruited to fill the space.” Secondary cover supervisor

“My school cannot afford supply teachers, so more teaching assistants than ever before are having to step in for teaching colleagues.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“Teaching assistants should not be used to cover teachers’ lessons. We are not qualified teachers and the students deserve a good quality education. This can’t happen if lessons are being covered by support staff.” Special school teaching assistant

“I don’t think parents have any idea about how much of their children’s education is being delivered by unqualified teaching assistants.” Primary/infant higher level teaching assistant

“I only get 20p per hour more than my basic teaching assistant pay for covering lessons. I receive a total of 74p extra for covering a whole afternoon. The additional payment for this morning is approximately £2.50 net. Supply staff would have been paid £150 for the same work.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

“A supply teacher would get sometimes in excess of £100 per day, whereas we get barely £1 an hour extra. For about 30 hours of cover a month, I earned about £40 more. It doesn’t seem fair.” Primary/infant teaching assistant

– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

Media contacts:
Fatima Ayad M: 07508 080383 E: f.ayad@unison.co.uk
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk

The article Struggling schools forced to rely on teaching assistants as cheap cover for teachers first appeared on the UNISON National site.

School staff face violent attacks from pupils, with some receiving death threats, new research finds 

Teaching assistants have reported being kicked, punched and spat at by pupils in mainstream primary and secondary schools, according to new research released today (Monday).

The analysis is the first to look at the violence and aggression faced by teaching and classroom assistants in England, Scotland and Wales. Extensive data already exists into pupil-on-pupil violence and aggression towards teachers and senior managers.

University of Roehampton criminologist Dr Amanda Holt led the qualitative research that involved in-depth interviews with 16 teaching and classroom assistants.  UNISON helped recruit the support staff who took part in the research.

All described being the target of student aggression in a range of ways, including being hit in the face, punched, kicked and bitten. Researchers found that in several cases staff reported receiving death threats from pupils.

Physical injuries included cuts, a black eye, a dislocated thumb, a broken finger and ripped ligaments. Staff also reported a range of psychological problems, including stress, anxiety and depression. Two workers were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The report also noted that the response of schools to attacks was sometimes inadequate. Teaching assistants felt the message from their employers was that it was their job to manage pupil violence. This, combined with their low status, normalised violence against them. ?

The report includes guidance on the steps schools should take to better protect teaching assistants in future. UNISON is rolling out the new advice about dealing with violent behaviour.

Dr Holt said: “For the first time there’s an understanding of the ferocity of attacks on teaching assistants and their devastating physical and mental toll.

“This knowledge will help schools better understand and improve their response to violent behaviour by pupils. Setting out the steps every school should take to protect staff and support them in the aftermath of an attack is an important first step.

“The shocking experiences described by staff who took part in the research reflect a much wider problem highlighted in an earlier survey by UNISON. This found 53% of teaching assistants had experienced physical violence from students in the previous year.

“This raises big questions about the expectation of schools, and in some cases insistence, that teaching assistants should be the first line of defence against pupils who display violent or aggressive behaviour.

“With the profession dominated by women, forcing them to become classroom enforcers could do long-term harm. Combined with the role’s lack of professional status, this risks creating an environment where violence becomes normal, particularly towards women. As pupils become adults this worrying development could have serious ramifications for society.”

UNISON head of education Mike Short said: “Teaching assistants are the backbone of every school, but their wholly unjustified, low professional status is stopping some schools from seeing their true value and vulnerability.

“Schools seem to have forgotten that without teaching assistants risking their health, and that of their families, during the pandemic, schools would have been closed to vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers.

“Improving the reporting process around attacks, providing staff with medical and psychological support and ensuring they don’t have to continue working with the young person who’s just assaulted them must be adopted as a matter of urgency. This would also be helpful to pupils given the stress and disruption to learning that violent behaviour can cause.

“Low pay and high stress are already fuelling an exodus of teaching assistants. Expecting them to put up with attacks and assaults will force more out of the door, and that’s bad for pupils and schools alike.”

Notes to editors:
– The following case study shared her experiences (the name has been changed):
Hannah said: “The first assault was in 2008. I was left with nerve damage in my spine after the full weight of a boy who was fighting two other lads landed on my shoulder. I live with chronic pain. My family had to support me financially. I was assaulted for the second time in 2017 when a boy karate-kicked my crutch away, aggravating my nerve damage. I retired due to poor health.”
– The full report can be read here.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
– The University of Roehampton, London, is an established international higher-education institution providing a high-quality learning and research experience with the aim of developing personal growth and driving social change.

 

The article School staff face violent attacks from pupils, with some receiving death threats, new research finds  first appeared on the UNISON National site.

Headteachers fear losing increasingly vital teaching assistants as cost-of-living pressures bite?s

Teaching assistants are still filling the gaps left by specialist staff ?during the pandemic and providing vital emotional support to students and parents, ?according to a UNISON-commissioned report ?published today (?Thursday).

From Covid to the Cost of Living provides a snapshot of the way ?Covid has fundamentally changed the role of teaching assistants, says UNISON.

The report also captures headteachers’ concerns that chronic low pay is driving more teaching assistants out of classrooms to better paid, less stressful jobs ?in other parts of the economy.

The report challenges Liz Truss’ government to do more to acknowledge, support, reward and ?train teaching assistants whose responsibilities and workloads have soared as schools struggle to help pupils catch-up in the wake of the pandemic, says UNISON.

?For the research, University of Portsmouth academics interviewed teaching assistants, teachers and school leaders at five primary schools in England. They found that teaching assistants were delivering a range of vital services and informal support to families, on top of their normal duties.

The report describes, for example, how teaching assistants regularly help parents complete benefit application forms, while others have helped set up food and clothing banks for families in financial difficulty.

Researchers also heard that teaching assistants calling parents during the pandemic to check how they were coping, were often greeted by distraught parents struggling with the stress of the lockdowns and isolation.

Teaching assistants took on specialist roles – such as delivering speech and language therapy – when expert staff couldn’t go into schools due to the lockdowns. Despite restrictions being scrapped, teaching assistants continue to carry out these roles, as demand for specialist staff outstripped supply when schools reopened.

The report also chart?s the devastating impact the cost-of-living crisis is having on teaching assistants and ?makes the ?case for staff to receive decent pay, says UNISON. ?

Support staff mentioned the high cost of fuel ?as a particular strain on their finances, ?to such an extent some said they could no longer afford to drive to work.

Headteachers are aware of the financial hit teaching assistants are taking and the impact ?on schools if staff continue to leave, says ?the report. One headteacher ?said they had been ?constantly advertising for teaching assistants since the start of the year but had only been able to fill one out of eight positions.

To halt the exodus of teaching assistants, the report recommends ministers take an urgent look at better rewarding teaching assistants, says UNISON.

The government must also invest in the workforce by creating opportunities for professional development that build on the skills staff already possess and the new responsibilities taken on since Covid struck, says the report.

UNISON head of education Mike Short said: “Teaching assistants stepped-up during the pandemic and repeatedly proved their worth, as they ?were doing long before the crisis struck.

“But chronic low pay is threatening to rob classrooms of dedicated, experienced staff, just when schools need them most.

“The report highlights the value headteachers place on teaching assistants, and the important role training ?p?lays in boosting skills, status and pay.” ?

University of Portsmouth researcher Dr Rob Webster, who co-authored the report with Dr Sophi?e Hall, said: “Schools are facing many challenges, but the consequence of the loss of teaching assistants is the most catastrophic.

“Without these staff, schools will struggle to provide adequate support to children with additional needs. Teachers’ workloads will also skyrocket, driving yet more from the profession and deterring others from joining.

“The report makes it clear that while there are things schools can do to boost staff morale, a properly funded effort to support and retain teaching assistants is urgently needed.”

Notes to editors:
– The full report, From Covid to the Cost of Living: The crises remaking the role of teaching assistants, can be read here.
– The report was commissioned by UNISON and conducted by the Education Research, Innovation and Consultancy Unit based at the University of Portsmouth between March and June 2022.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.

 

The article Headteachers fear losing increasingly vital teaching assistants as cost-of-living pressures bite?s first appeared on the UNISON National site.