Secret Teaching Assistant

Voicing what it’s like to be a Teaching Assistant in a UK state primary. Undervalued, underpaid unrepresented... but I stay for the kids.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@VoicesOn_TA Agree this has been such an exhausting term. And the next one looks to be even harder. So sorry for your loss.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@invisible_ta Hope you managed to enjoy your weekend and I’m sorry to hear your first week was so stressful. I hope things improve for you.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@robin_w_f Stop testing. Keep children off school if they are ill. End these isolations - this is all too awful and cruel and unnecessary.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@SSiggs Pay attention to mean looks being shot across the classroom. Hard to spot while teaching - ask a TA to watch for them.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@secretHT1 The teachers I work with have often become disheartened and don’t believe they make a difference. As a TA, I observe them making a huge difference in so many ways - I just wish they knew it!

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@michael_merrick Enough is enough: government need to stop making kids pay for this. They have lost so much and they continue to lose out because they have no voice. We must fight for them.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@Illwriteitdown I don’t initiate a hug but I ALWAYS return one.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@secretHT1 Schools are inherently hierarchical - this can cause resentment. SLT and DofE need to be aware of this, and demonstrate gratitude for every member of staff.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@DavidNautilus1 Beacause teachers BRING IT every day 👏👏👏👏

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@GoodhopeNot It’s not the school’s fault but a suggestion could be that the parents organise something themselves such as an outdoor BBQ/silent disco. With 50% adults fully vacc’d there is no reason why kids shouldn’t enjoy these important rites of passage if they are responsibly organised.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

Yet another blow to kids - #transition cancelled, even though visits would have been Covid safe and in current bubbles. I do wish people would stop claiming kids are resilient. Might as well just say ‘I don’t care’.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@Thinkingschool2 If you need to shout then you have lost control. Educating is hard and exhausting and no one is perfect - but if you have shouted you should examine why and research better strategies for next time.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@MissStanleyYr6 This is one of the most difficult things about interventions - you are taking them out of something enriching or important in class. I don’t know what the solution is. I always try to avoid making them miss something fun/creative/social. Those things are so important.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@FakeHeadteacher It’s absolutely right to push back and either say no or ask for extra pay for the time spent teaching. TAs need to have strong boundaries in place. We are so poorly paid we shouldn’t be doing an iota of extra without extra pay.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@benniekara Time spent with children is the best. I can find something to smile about every day at work. Sounds cheesy but it’s true!

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@reallynearly @GuardianEdu Have to agree with you on that!!

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

R E C O G N I T I O N ☺️🙌👍👏
Most schools would not have been able to offer key worker places if it weren’t for TAs who worked in close contact with children at the height of the pandemic. Let’s not forget their contribution. https://t.co/I9kCwLDrqo

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@londonteacher_ @MissKhan__ This is basically my life. Might just record myself and play it back on a loop.

[Secret Teaching Assistant @SecretTeaching3]

@PaulGarvey4 Possibly some attachment issues. He needs adults to notice him and to ‘hold him in mind’; try to notice and reward anything positive; let him see that you see him. Positive relationships with other adults eg TAs will help. No easy fixes here.