Tags
Mr Gove and his DfE are considering phasing out Teaching Assistants in a bid to save £4 Billion a year. Here’s my response to his idea.
Dear Mr Gove,
I concede that I don’t know as much about education as you do as I’m merely a teacher but this is my plea to you. Please don’t take my teaching assistants away. They are the most valuable resource I have. They are unbelievably wonderful and I can’t do my job without them. Here’s a flavour of what they do.
My school is SEN and in my class there are 10 children with an ability split from P4 to NC2. That’s quite a large ability range Mr Gove, in case you don’t know. Much differentiation is needed. Each term we plan a new topic. I have 4 TAs plus myself. At the start of each new term we brain storm our new topic together. We plan all our activities together so that everyone has ownership of the plans and can see the bigger picture and what we are trying to achieve. That’s the best type of planning Mr Gove. My TAs are very creative and provide far better ideas than I can think of to keep my behaviour challenged children on task.
In my class there are 3 boys with challenging behaviours, 2 PMLD children working with sensory resources, 2 on the National Curriculum and 3 who are working around P7 level and need special access technology. My one and only girl in the class has very high needs and is tube fed. 8 of these children need therapy in the form of standing frames. Therapy, standing frames and tube feeding all continue during my lessons. Have you guessed who carries out all these specialised tasks Mr Gove? It’s my TAs!
Each TA has been specially trained for a certain role according to their talents and interests. The TA who does the special access technology has won national awards and spoken at educational conferences due to her high capabilities. She will attach a switch to any part of the body that the child can move independently and attach it to a high tech device in order to give a non communicating child a voice. She programs dynavox, eye gaze, Big Mac and any other AAC device you can think of. She is hugely talented and very highly trained and qualified. Another TA has been trained in therapy and is so highly qualified that she now trains other schools to do their own therapy. Several TAs in my school are trained to give tube feeds or administer oxygen to very poorly children. This is really a nursing job but our TAs willingly accept this huge responsibility since the removal of school nurses.
One of my TAs is a Level 4 and is in charge of the sensory curriculum for the whole school. Teachers seek her advice for their classes, so great is her knowledge. She can make my lessons accessible for my P4 children like no one I’ve ever seen. This lady is amazing. As I’m a senior leader I’m often taken out of class for various reasons. Guess who steps in as teacher during my absence Mr Gove? Yes, it’s my TA. Remember, she has helped me plan, knows the learning outcomes and will willingly stand in for me if required.
That’s a small flavour of the TAs in my class Mr Gove. I’ll move on now to the whole school, just to show you the impact the TAs have across school.
We have around 20 TAs who deal with children’s bathroom requirements. They are all trained, qualified to NVQ level 3 and carry out this job in a sensitive manner for our very special children. No child is ever made to feel uncomfortable or embarrassed. These TAs are fantastic as this is not a role to be envied.
Other TAs are specially trained in ‘Teacch’. In case you don’t know Mr Gove, this helps children on the Autistic Spectrum deal with their everyday lives and make sense of the world. On occasions these TAs have been physically assaulted and they are regularly verbally abused by children who are upset at a change in their routine. Do these TAs worry about that Mr Gove? Not a chance! They carry on regardless because they care about these children and want to help them.
We have TAs who are trained mini bus drivers. Who would drive the children on much needed outdoor experiences without them? We have TAs who are trained swimming coaches. Who would get in the water with these very special children if not a TA Mr Gove? It’s not the best use of a teacher’s time surely.
All our TAs are specially trained to work with the children on their computers. Most of our children can’t write. The TAs have specialist knowledge of clicker, board maker, pecs and countless other educational programs. Who would support the children as not one in my class can work independently.
Our Health and Safety rep is a TA. My assessment assistant is a TA and without her this aspect of my job would consume my working day. This is really a teacher’s job, but hey ho, we haven’t any money for that. Another TA has won awards for leading Enterprise and is instrumental in helping our children succeed with this subject.
One very talented TA is a gymnastics and swimming teacher in her own right. She adapts PE to enable our children to access games they would never otherwise have chance to join. She was instrumental in helping one of our students to become a Paralympian last year. Hats off to her and her talent!
The last TA I will mention Mr Gove is our Network Manager. What a girl! She keeps the entire network running. That’s no small feat considering every child in my school has their own PC or tablet. I can’t list the things the Network Manager does, her days are too full. I only know that she keeps everything tech wise running smoothly. This is vital for our very special children. This girl has won educational awards in her own right. Not bad as she’s merely part of ‘Mum’s army’! (DfE June ’13).
I could carry on all day with this praise for our TAs and the roles they fulfil Mr Gove, but I think you get the picture. You should do, you’ve visited my school. I have pictures of you working with the children. That said, how can you possibly think of removing the TAs? You’ve seen them in action and should therefore know how vital they are to schools. The days are gone when TAs mixed paints and listened to readers in the corridors. They are now hugely talented, highly qualified and specialised people. This is not just in SEN schools but right across the board. Mainstream schools have these wonderful people too.
Lastly Mr Gove, I think you may have been misinformed. Most TAs are actually paid very little money. Many earn around £7 an hour for all their work and their qualifications. Fair enough some earn the princely sum of £9 an hour but its hardly a vast fortune. I don’t know any in my area who earn £17,000 a year as reported in the Daily Mail this month. Therefore they do not do their job for the money. In my school they do it for the special children because they want to improve their lives for them.
So there you have it Mr Gove. I urge you to think again before you embark on this mass removal of TAs. My school cannot run without them and I for one am hugely indebted to them.
Kind Regards,
Cherryl
Readers please sign the petition http://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/say-no-to-removal-of-teaching-assistants
nearlydead said:
Reblogged this on nearlydead.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you 🙂
LikeLike
Donna Lalla said:
Tas are valued and much needed in all schools. Removing them would mean that many children would further fall below standards and leave school underachieving. Tas are much more than teaching assistant, they also provide much needed help to the pupils and the school as a whole
LikeLike
madeinhornchurch said:
I had no idea that this is being planned. My daughter really struggles with her confidence as she had glue ear for most of Reception and fell behind on her phonics. Her TA is amazing, she spends extra time with her to help her catch up and always gives me feedback regarding her progress. I have never asked for this, she does it as she cares for my child. I am so saddened by this news. Well done for highlighting it. I have shared your link on my facebook page too. Kind regards froma fellow WordPress blogger –
http://www.anounceofme.com
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you so much for commenting. Good luck to your daughter. Please sign the petition if you can.
LikeLike
Voyager said:
One question: would/could he do his job without a PA?
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I doubt it! Please sign the petition which I’ve now added to the blog and re share. Thank you so much.
LikeLike
Keri said:
Having just noticed this page I would just like to say this. We have a son who is on the Autistic spectrum. He attends mainstream school and academically is a bit behind, not enough to get statemented though. He uses the “nurture” room a lot at school when he can’t cope with in the class and spends most lunchtimes in there, he see the ELSA and he now receives some help in classes. Teaching assistants and the help he receives from them, not just educationally, but socially and emotionally are what makes his day bearable at school and I know that without one particular TA that he feels very comfortable with he would be even more stressed and anxious than he is He would be so tense and ready to explode at the slightest thing that his behaviour both in and out of school would be very difficult to cope with. There are about 34 children in his class of mixed abilities, temperaments and personalities, More than enough for one person to teach properly I should imagine so throw in a few with “additional” needs and how on earth can one person really teach them all!!
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you so much for commenting. I hope your son continues to receive the help he needs. If possible could you please sign the petition I’ve now added to the post and re post Bethany you.
LikeLike
Cheryl Clarke said:
My son in year R considers his TA to be his third teacher (he has two teachers that job share and therefore his TA is the consistent face of the classroom). She does so much and is invaluable. Getting rid of TA’s is very short sighted when Mr Gove has the goal of improving education and results. The support from TA’s early on will no doubt have an impact on achievements and qualifications later on.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you for your response. They really are truly valuable. Could you please sign the petition and re share if possible. Thank you.
LikeLike
BeyondMusing said:
Reblogged this on Beyond The Blog: Musings, Observations, Randoms & Other Stuff….
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you 🙂
LikeLike
BeyondMusing said:
It’s excellent! My wife is an SEN teaching assistant and our AS daughter needs the extra help and support within the classroom. TAs are so valuable!
LikeLike
vicki said:
Ive signed & shared on my facebook & the local village facebook site, my child is in reception, Im a childminder, How they can say I can only have 3 children in the early years group but the week those 4 year olds start school they can be 1 teacher to 30 children in beyond me, ridiculous, my sons teaching assistant is amazing & if it wasnt for them the teacher cld not give her attention to all 29 children in his class to help them to learn to read & write
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you for your reply you’re re so right in everything you say. We need our TAs.
LikeLike
BeyondMusing said:
My wife is an SEN teaching assistant and our AS daughter needs the extra help and support within the classroom. TAs are so valuable!
LikeLike
Pingback: Letter to Mr Gove re Teaching Assistants. Please RT. | advocate4pda
Random Tangents said:
I’m halfway through a BA (Honours) History so that when my children are all (I have 3) in full time education, I can start teacher training and do a job that’s actually needed rather than back to a thankless admin role which bored me rigid and had no real meaning or purpose other than to make money for somebody else. Is there going to be a job once this clown has finished destroying state education to the point where the only viable option is privately education for our children (It wouldn’t surprise me, They tried it once during the 80s and 90s while I was at school) What Gove has done so far has proven he isn’t qualified to so much as boil water. His own lack of basic British history proves he should not be legislating the curriculum (so much for ‘small government’), especially his ignorance that the first English bible was NOT the KJV but was written by John Wycliff and followed 150 yearrs later by William Tyndale. Even Tyndale’s version predates the KJV version by almost a century. (The money wasted on making sure ‘every school had one’ amounted to £370,000. How many special education units would that have funded? Or maybe, replenished School library facilities? http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/educationnews/9267291/King-James-Bible-21000-copies-sent-to-every-state-school-in-England.html). They also plan to fast track ex-service men into teaching positions. Where will that leave those who have an actual calling and see it as more than a highly paid babysitting role. Gove want’s military discipline in the classroom? in . 1933, so did someone else. Servicemen will follow their orders whereas teachers fight back when something is going to be harmful (http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/why-should-soldiers-be-fasttracked-into-teaching-8651058.html).
Despite his obvious lack of historical knowledge, he wants a 1950s style of rote learned facts (with no understanding of context because due to the quantity there won’t be time to teach it) which promotes a pro-imperial nationalistic version of British history. He wants a romanticised version of school life which probably never existed. He wants to return to the style my parents endured which is completely unsuited to a modern Britain and he MUST be stopped. His new history ‘curriculum will not include the effects that Britain had on the rest of the world, because that ‘isn’t British history (obviously, that renders context and effect irrelevant). Instead of the broad critical analysis and skills – skills which, once learned, will last them a lifetime and accross all aspects of their life- based history, he wants rote learned facts. (He doesn’t want informed freethinkers because they won’t grow up to vote for the Tories once they’re 18).
Going after History in particular was a political strategy and going after TAs is another: he doesn’t want teachers to have the time or resources to circumvent his plans. Schools like yours are vital to give children with specific needs as fighting chance to an education and a life, rather than just an existence in an institution. What he is doing will destroy the progress special education has made in the last 13 years. He is showing his true colours and his ignorant, bullish approach and glib attitude to those qualified to teach, not to mention the children who will suffer so he can follow a political agenda for the future of his party, has sickened me to the core. He has no empathy, no consideration for the real effects and, more importantly’ no qualification in teaching or child development and as far as I am concern those should be the very least required for the position of Minister for Education, or we’re going to keep getting accountants who fail to see ‘value’ in people. Anything you want me to post on my own blog or help with you have me at your disposal. I have signed and shared your petition and reblog your letter.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Wow! Thank you for replying Such a comprehensive reply too. Have you thought about ensign him yourself? You should! You know your stuff and you should tell him. The more the merrier. Thanks again.
LikeLike
Random Tangents said:
You’re welcome. Might just do that but tonight I am doing some last moment revision. (got a module exam tomorrow eeek) Not that Gove listens to anything but his own monotone. I am getting so sick of the attitude the Tories show about, and to, anyone who isn’t them and theirs. They have already made it nearly impossible for people to go onto further education by jacking up fees and removing financial support for middle income households, and even the OU has been closed as an option for many. Each of my OU modules is now £730 (thats 7 months of self-motivated work study materials and one tutorial a month. If I had not signed up in 2006, and was a new starter, they would have been £2.5k each for the same thing.
Fast-tracking (already malleable) people around the impediments to gaining teaching qualifications which they put in place for everyone else is beyond corrupt and duplicitous. It’s not just me is it: it does scream ‘agenda’ from all directions? If they were forced to send their kids to state schools etc, they would make sure they had the best facilities going and soon stop making trying to destroy or make harmful changes to public services if that had to use them too. (I do think MPs should be made to live on no more than £40k a yr, place their children in the state schools they ‘regulate’. I also think they should be made to use the NHS and be barred from using private schools or healthcare but that’s another post), This lot definitely need reminding that they are basically highly civil servants and work for US (elected to do the admin when you boil it down), not vice versa, because they are behaving like they think they are our masters, and we have gotten out of line… (For some reason I now feel and urge to play the Les Mis soundtrack)
Also GCSE and A’Level exam results have been consistently improving but in the heads of the Tories, it has nothing to do with the quality of the teaching. To them it’s always exams getting easier. Gove is, and always will be, a poisonous influence on society and should never have been given that job. I’m not sure why I’m surprised though, as they gave Theresa May the job of Minister for Equality of all things, despite her stance on the LGBT community among other issues…
LikeLike
Pingback: Getting rid of TAs will save £4 billion, says Gove. One Teacher has this letter to Mr Gove re Teaching Assistants. Please RT. | A System of Random Tangents...
Kay said:
It begins to look like Mr. Gove doesn’t just want to return to the pre-1970 world of O and A levels, 11-pluses and technical schools; he also hankers after a time when children with disabilities were deemed ‘ineducable’ and were not allowed to go to school.
Click to access 1970-education-(handicapped-children)-act.pdf
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
You are so right. I can’t imagine how he would cope in a class without help. Or what would the lives of children be like if they didn’t have extra support when needed. Thanks for replying. Please sign and share. Thanks.
LikeLike
Hazel Atkins said:
I worked in Special Needs for many years and then some know nothing big wigs decided to close them and put the pupils in main stream schools and look what happened. These children got left behind and didnt have the support that we as TA’s were trained for.You are A DISGRACE if you do away with TA’s
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thanks for commenting. Would you also please sign the petition and re share if you have time. We are doing so well with this. He may be forced to listen now. 🙂
LikeLike
Iona Hevican said:
Great save money at the expence of our Children in this country. Allow the OFTED Inspectors to stay in top hotel etc. At no expence….. The Teacher’s have 30 or more in their class, all with individul needs. They could be the best Teacher’s in the world. And Trained to the highest standard. Would not cope. Is Mr Gove on another planet…. Remember cuts on RAILWAYS???
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
You’re right. How much money could be saved by slimming down the Ofsted machine. There should be some inspection but its out of control. Excellent point. Thank you.
LikeLike
Ralph said:
I wonder if Mr Gove would be kind enough to point out to everyone as to how many members of his personal team, including security, advisors, aides, etc. that he has got rid of to help save money? They may be essential to the easing of his workload but they are costing money as well.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Excellent point! I wondered about this too. Could you please sign the petition at the bottom and re share. It’s doing well. Thank you so much
LikeLike
Andrea Leach said:
If Mr Gove really wants even more performance than what is already being achieved, halve that expectation if he gets rid of ta’s and then double the budget for education in the next government to correct the mistakes he is making!!!!
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Excellent idea. I agree. This is a false economy of the highest order. Thanks for replying. Hope you signed the petition.
LikeLike
Emma Niblock said:
Brilliant letter, truly inspiring people. I’m a teacher and TA’s are amazing people and worth their weight in gold!
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you for replying. I agree. Worth their weight in gold. Def worthy of £17 000. Just wish they got it.
LikeLike
Karen Spence said:
As a supply teacher in mainstream schools I really can’t believe he is even considering this. TAs are vital in all classrooms not just in SEN situations. They are a the best resource a teacher can have, the Teacher/TA teamwork results in better learning for children of all abilities.
TAs certainly make a huge difference to me and the standard of teaching I can provide when covering in classes.
Without the TAs working with teachers, the system will collapse as will most teachers!
petition signed and passed on
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you very much for signing and sharing. I agree with your thoughts. Classrooms would be very difficult without our TAs.
LikeLike
Kathryn Lowe said:
In response to your letter to Mr Gove – I agree with everything you say with one exception. The exception is this – you NO NOT KNOW LESS than Mr Gove about education. He does not work at the heart of education as you do and he has no intention of listening to your reasoned arguments. He does have every intention of telling those who work in education that they are FAILING constantly – he has little sense of the care and commitment we give to the children we serve. Educating is a vocation – Mr Gove treats us like we have a disease named “useless”. His arrogance astounds me.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I agree with your answer. He seems determined to ruin our education system. Teachers and TAs are a fantastic team working together for the children. Hope you found time to sign the petition. Thank you.
LikeLike
Abi Pascoe said:
I have been a TA for a few years. I have just been promoted to include being the SENCO assistant and still only earn £15,000, that’s £13,000 take home (a lot more than my colleagues) You’ve got to do it for the love of children and passion for their education. I also have a child who has special needs. She couldn’t have achieved half of what she has without TA’s.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I wish you good luck in your new role. That’s a tough job you’ve taken and I’m sure you’ll be a success. As long as #Gove allows you to do your job. Thanks.
LikeLike
stacey downey said:
Just wondering How this ridiculous approach will save the government so much money? When I along with fellow TA’s all have to sign onto the dole and claim other benefits for being out of work.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
It’s beyond me too. Maybe he forgot to do the Maths. There’s something wrong isn’t there. Thanks for responding.
LikeLike
Rich Lowe said:
Well said! Petition has been signed and shared.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you very much. 🙂
LikeLike
Helene said:
I have signed and shared as this is something that cannot be allowed to happen. I cannot believe that they could even consider something so extreme. They clearly do not understand the consequences such a move would have. As a parent to a six year old who has SEN because of ASD and Social Communication disorder his classroom TA is the only reason he is slowly progressing. Her help is vital for him when the classroom teacher is dealing with the other pupils in his class, the teacher alone could never provide the support he requires. And thanks to the cut backs that our local education autority have already been hit with my son doesnt quality for a 1 on 1 teacher even though his classroom TA is already helping him 20+ hrs a week. If TAs were to be removed my son wouldnt stand a chance and that b is a scary thought x
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I wish your son all luck in the world with keeping his TA. Fingers crossed he/she won’t disappear. It’s sad that we have to resort to petitions to try and help vulnerable children. Thanks for replying.
LikeLike
Peter Davies said:
What a fantastic letter….I will use this in our campaign to fight for every TA job in Sheffield. Brilliant!!
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Be my guest. Thank you. Please sign and share the petition if you will. Thank you.
LikeLike
Jo said:
I work in a special school too with a class of 9 PMLD children. I couldn’t do my job without my fantastic support staff who always go the extra mile and are paid very little for their efforts.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Just like me. I can’t do my job without my TAs. Thanks for replying. Hope you’ve signed.
LikeLike
hannah entwistle said:
Some kids need the extra help like my son
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Indeed they do. Hope he can keep it.
LikeLike
Kim said:
I really wish the profession was listened to. I really wish our pupils would not be damaged by these ideas that are not thought out with the passion and devotion we have yet get so little recognition for. I don’t understand why the publication of such ill thought through ideas have to be so appallingly discussed out in the open like a battle with someone who won’t listen whatsover, rather than through mediation and discussion and putting sensible ideas on the table first.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I agree with you. Mr Gove should open it up to more than just one opinion. It’s ridiculous to listen to no one except one think tank. Thanks for commenting. Hope you can find time to sign and share.
LikeLike
liz cooper said:
Is he for real ?????!!!!!!
I’m a HLTA ,working as a cover supervisor in a local county primary school. The school would not be able to run successfully without support staff who all work as a team along side the teaching staff. People assume that it’s fantastic all the holidays we get but in reality don’t see the true picture, All the hours (unpaid) preparing and resourcing, giving feedback, after school clubs, school discos, displays to name a few!
You know what though, I wouldn’t have it any other way, Mr Gove…..I LOVE MY JOB!
The job satisfaction is truly amazing, please don’t deny me. We are paid pro rata , so not what we fully deserve but ask any TA and I guarantee you they would agree with me!
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I couldn’t agree with you more. Interesting that you love your job and do it often without pay. Mr Gove needs to listen to you. Thank you. Hope you’ve managed to sign and share. Thanks.
LikeLike
Tina said:
I signed your petition and shared on Facebook. I am a TA and have been for 9 years I certainly don’t earn £17,000 a year if only I earn less than £14,000 but I don’t do this job for the money I do it to make a difference in the lives of the children who come to the infant school I work in. I cover lessons when the teacher has to step of the class, I plan lessons for my Read, Write, Inc group and my intervention groups. I am the main first aider in the school. I plan and organise our once a year residential trip. I work on a one-one basis with children on the autistic spectrum to name but a small percentage of my duties. A lot of work we TAs’ do are usually often happens in our own time without payment : marking work, displays, organising equipment for lessons etc. We have many children in our school that have SEN, physical, social, behavioural and emotional needs all of these needs could not possibly be met by a single adult in each class.
Maybe Mr Gove should concentrate on the people on benefits that are wasting valuable tax payers money – a point in fact only this week in the news was a woman on benefits who says she can’t cope on her benefits amounting to £2,000 a month and of course this doesn’t include her housing benefit, council tax benefit, free children’s school meals, free dentist, free prescriptions, free optical prescription etc. which she receives on top. These are the people he should be targeting not tax paying TAs and lets see how he can do his job without the help of a PA, secretary and rest of his entourage.
The strain on the country’s benefits budget would go sky high with the numbers of TAs’ that would be out of work maybe Mr Gove needs to go back to school to re-sit his Maths exams!
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Wow! You should contact him yourself with your info. I saw that programme too and thought what a false economy he is making. Putting TAs on benefits is going to help no one. The children will also suffer. Thank you for your brilliant comments and for signing and sharing.
LikeLike
Joe Phillips said:
Sadly Gove is only interested in high fliers, teaching assistants are mainly an advantage to ordinary youngsters who need attention to get the best from them.
The next thing is, the money saved will be used to create an elite grammar system and all other children will attend secondary modern schools of the type which existed when I left school 60 years ago, which were warehouses to turn out low paid fodder for employers.
Thankfully my many kids were all educated in “bog standard” comprehensive schools and are very successful.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I’m pleased to hear yours are fine. Thanks for taking time to respond. We need our TAs and this mustn’t happen. Thanks again.
LikeLike
Sarah Melrose said:
Hi Cherryl, on the petition, 2nd paragraph down where you’ve put Dear Mr Gove, (2nd time) its actually come up as Dear Mr Grove, just thought you may want to amend that, especially before you send it to Gove. Feel free to delete this comment.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
The petition people rang me and said it was the fastest moving petition they’d seen. They asked if they could alter it a bit to help. Changed the pic and I hate it. Cut out some if my words and spelled his name wrongly. I’m going to ask them to restore it in the morning. People are signing still which is good. Thanks. I’ll make sure it’s done ASAP. Thank you again 🙂
LikeLike
Paul Mattlock said:
I thought education was supposed to be protected, and it should be. You need the assistants they are a valuable asset to any school!
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Absolutely correct. Thanks for your thoughts. Hope you signed the petition. 🙂
LikeLike
Joe Phillips said:
Sadly Gove is only interested in high fliers, teaching assistants are mainly an advantage to ordinary youngsters who need attention to get the best from them.
The next thing is, the money saved will be used to create an elite grammar system and all other children will attend secondary modern schools of the type which existed when I left school 60 years ago, which were warehouses to turn out low paid fodder for employers.
Thankfully my many kids were all educated in “bog standard” comprehensive schools and are very successful.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thanks for responding. I think you’re correct. This man just isn’t interested in children who need extra help. Sad but true.
LikeLike
Sue Petty said:
I actually didn’t think this was a genuine post ,,,,,that someone was being provocative on fb,,,again!! It worries me deeply that a man with such blinding ignorance of our schools combined with breath taking arrogance can really be “in charge”. I have yet to hear one word of anything approaching a sense that he even knows what really goes on in our schools.The team of ta’s in the my school,yes my school Mr Gove,,where I work as a nursery nurse/ATA are almost beyond definition,,to say they are dedicated,loyal,unconditionally reliable and totally non-negotiable is just the start.SCHOOLS do NOT function without them,,children’s lives would be immeasurably poorer,the parents too,, inclusion of every child in our schools means equal opportunity for every child. Every child matters Mr Gove or did you not get a copy of that poster??? A single teacher cannot achieve this alone,,and I am appalled that he thinks this is the way to make cuts. We take on more and more responsibilities year on year with no financial rewards,,work with the most challenging pupils,do hours of unpaid work, and you think our schools will cope without us. This is an open invitation to you Mr Give,come to my school,spend a day here,meet the children and the glorious team who make this school the fabulous place it is.We will welcome you and educate you too,some one has to.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you for responding. Another challenge to Mr Gove? He needs to spend time with classes to see what life is like in schools. You make lots of valid points. Hope you’ve signed and shared. Thank you.
LikeLike
Bev Bell said:
Not a clue – we challenge the esteemed minister to spend a month in a classroom of 30…..SANS assistant! So so silly! 😦
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I agree with you. He has assistants for everything! Hope you found time to sign and re share. Thanks for replying.
LikeLike
Marilyn said:
Brilliant
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you. Hope you’ve signed and re shared. We need lots of signatures for this one.
LikeLike
bernadette said:
hi I have had two special needs children who have now left school and are in college and if it wasn’t for their teaching assistants they would have really struggled teaching assistants are a god send and help in many ways I have certainly signed and shared
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you very much. I wish you lots of luck with your children. Fingers crossed they keep their TAs.
LikeLike
Lucie said:
As a Mum of a dyslexic child TA’s are worth their weight in gold. Especially during SATS week, when Joe had one read and write for him in his maths, because the stupid questions they write are more appropriate for an English exam than a maths one. My son in maths and science is described as being above average and if you speak with him you can tell this straight away. This isn’t me just being a proud Mum this is a fact, hence why his school pushed for him to have a reader in his maths SATS. By getting rid of TA’s effectively the government are writing off my son as his reading and writing aren’t up to standard. Anything which I can do please let me know. Kind regards Lucie
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Hi Lucie. Thank you for your comments. Your school attends a good school as they’ve spotted his talent and found help where he needs it. Please sign the petition and re share. I wish your son good luck for his future. Best wishes Cherryl
LikeLike
Steve Wells said:
If the government want to save money then get rid of those twits in the house of lords and get rid of half of those even bigger twits in the lower house !
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thanks for your amusing comments. If only they would listen, that would be a start. Please sign and re share if you have time. Thanks 🙂
LikeLike
Bass said:
I’m afraid that I don’t think that the petition will have very little impact, if any, on Gove although I will sign it.
I will, however, be making my feelings known to my local MP (Conservative) who holds a marginal seat. Maybe Gove will take note from his colleagues?
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Excellent idea. I fear you are right about the petition. I only started it as I was urged to do so by so many people. MPs are a fab idea. Thanks for commenting.
LikeLike
Marie yoh said:
Does he fully comprehend what role a TA fulfils or does he have preconceived ideas that we are just their to wipe noes and put up the odd display or two? I an a special support assistant and work with a team of dedicated people in an ASD resource base. We are already under threat of closure due to the change in SEN funding and this news is making moral even lower. The only thing that keeps us coming to work each day is the children.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I think you’re right bi think he believes that TAs are still part of Mum’s Army. TAs are far more talented and skilled than that. Hope you’ve signed and re shared. Thank you.
LikeLike
T Farlow said:
Without a ta my son would not be where he is today, leave well alone do not cut ta’s out..
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
I agree. I hope you’ve managed to sign and re share. Thank you.
LikeLike
Karen Legge said:
I trained as a teacher a few years ago because I love learning myself and wanted to share my enthusiasm with children. I was also hugely motivated by wanting to make a difference in children’s lives. It soon became apparent that a teacher teaching more than 30 children has little or no chance of making a difference to the under achieving children’s lives so I now work as a Teaching Assistant in the Learning Support Team of my local authority. I work with small groups of children in different schools, delivering different programmes of work, or I work with individual children to help them to overcome a specific challenge. With all the children with whom I work my main focus is on developing a relationship and improving confidence before even considering the educational reason for me being there. So many of these children by the grand old age of 7 have been made to feel worthless by a system with so many children in class that their needs are overlooked. When there are more than 30 children in class with no teaching assistant it is very easy to not notice the child that has not even written the date in their book because writing is such a challenge. It is these children that need the support of teaching assistants to help them to keep up, to access the curriculum in their own particular learning style and to manage the behaviour of the children who struggle to do these things. I have been a class teacher and know that my teaching assistants were my most valuable resource but now that I work as a teaching assistant I know that I make a difference in a way a teacher cannot and it is the most amazing experience to build a child up so that they are able to participate in class with enthusiasm and confidence. I feel desperately sad for those children who need their teaching assistants to get them through each lesson when they find themselves floundering with no support.
Has Mr Gove been in a class when the children that cannot access the curriculum decide that the way to overcome their embarrassment is to become the class clown? That happens to a degree now even with teaching assistants to help keep a lid on behaviour. What will happen when the teaching assistants are not there and all the children who need their support are left high and dry, I dread to think. Teaching and learning will become impossible and the teacher’s role will become one of crowd control.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Hi Karen. Thanks for your wonderful reply. I think you should send that to Mr Gove yourself. You have stated your views clearly and explicitly. It’s certainly worth a try. Hope you’ve found time to sign and share the petition. I will also try and send him over 450 comments from worried teachers, TAs, parents and governors. Thanks again.
LikeLike
burghill said:
get rid of the man – he’s caused nothing but blunders -schools missing out on essential repairs getting rid of TA’s who work harder than he has and cause less blunders!!!
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Good point! Thank you for responding. Hope you’ve signed the petition and shared. 🙂
LikeLike
Sally said:
I find it offensive that any politician should de value the work I carry out as an LSA. I have a university degree,(and had the intention of undertaking teacher training at the end of it but decided to get some life experience and then got caught in the “I’m earning so don’t want to go back to being a student” mode.) and 20 years experience working in the field of my degree (Arts Marketing and Admin) before being made redundant – due to cuts in funding and have now spent two years working as an LSA and love it! I take an enormous amount of pride in my job and know that I make a difference. In many ways I work harder now than I ever did in the Arts world and yet my pay is a fraction of what I used to get (and that was low!) Unlike an army officer / serviceman I wasn’t offered any financial or emotional support to retrain. I have looked at teacher training courses now but just cannot afford to do it. In the class I mainly work in there are 5 children who are either statemented or are on school Action Plus, there are also a couple who are Gifted and Talented. Without the input of an LSA / TA these children would either take up all the class teachers time or get ignored ( as they did 40 years ago when I was at school) . Although our school has its own HTLA system this is new and as a recent recruit I will have to wait my time before being accepted onto the course. Rather than cutting the “Mums army” (by the way my children never attended the school I work at – I underwent a formal interview process including being observed working with a group of children and in a classroom situation – so this wasn’t offered to me over a garden fence!) Gove and his minions should be harnesssing the talents of his worksforce to create a new middle rank – who can take some of the pressure off our teachers, use the relationship they have built up with the children combined with the teaching skills ( because after all that is what LSA’s do…) and life skills they have acquired to help deliver the outstanding package he so wants for society.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Hi Sally. Thanks for your fab letter. Have you thought about sending your letter to Mr Gove. There are some wonderful replies on my blog and I think he needs to see them. I aim to send them to him if I can. Think about it. I sincerely hope you keep your job. You sound incredibly skilled. Just like the TAs in my school. Good luck. Hope you signed and re shared. Thank you
LikeLike
Jane Ullyott said:
I think Mr Gove should utilise his time by asking the students if we are valued. I have spent 10 years assisting students with SEN and the numbers grow every year. What does he suggest happens to these students when they need assistance with their learning and behaviour? What about when these vunerable students need feeding, changing, toileting; these students are in mainstream secondary school. Should we forget they exist too?
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Spot on? What exactly will we do with the children who sometimes need extra support. It’s unfair to deny them their best chance at education. Thanks for your thoughts. Hope you’ve managed to sign and re share. 🙂
LikeLike
Lucy C said:
Although I can’t currently find what Mr Gove has actually said, I can not imagine he would be considering taking away SEN TAs that are there to support the needs or the children you work with who have such complicated need and need that the type of care and stimulation that they do, and I assume have statements detailing this care and the funding needed for it. However I do think that there are some schools that have TA just for the teachers benefit that aren’t needed in the same way for a mainstream class room. In that respect I have to agree with Mr Gove, that they can be unnecessary. Now I don’t mean to say that they should be completely removed, but cutting back the numbers shouldn’t do any harm and may be beneficial to the student who end up using them as a crutch when they are struggling academically and socially in primary education and then get a shock when moving to secondary where they aren’t as prevalent. I would like to stress that I have signed the petition as from the sounds of some of the comments his plans may be rather drastic and if anyone has a link to his statement I would really like to take a look.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Hi Lucy. Thank you for presenting such a reasoned and balanced argument. We don’t know his true intentions yet. All we know is that he wants to save £4 billion and he thinks TAs are a good way of doing it. It may not be my TAs who he is referring to but if budgets are slashed then, like other schools ours will disappear too. I had the document but I have lost it under literally thousands of tweets and 400 comments. Thanks for signing.
LikeLike
Darren Palmer said:
I can’t believe that you would for the life of me would remove teaching assitants.most classes who have them benefit greatly from them being there.when I was at school I had problems with reading,I was embarrassed to stand up in front of the class and read.that doesn’t happen now because of the extra help given by teaching assitants to children who need a little extra help.removing them would be a great loss to learning.they are a benefit to every school that has them.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you for replying. I can only agree with you. Many children’s education would be far worse if it weren’t for these dedicated people. Please sign and urge others to do the same. Thank you.
LikeLike
Ann Ward said:
I am a TA and I did not become a TA when my children started school as it was convenient for family life etc. I started the job after 14 years of working in admin roles, that paid much better, at a time when my children were at an age that they could walk home from school on their own and didn’t need me at home 24/7. Mr Gove should ask why I took a serious pay cut to change jobs. My answer would be because I love working with children and I love the TA role.
After changing jobs I took on a part time foundation degree in Childrens Workforce which I will graduate from in September. For two years of this degree I took unpaid leave from work to attend tutorials, so have lost money. I do receive a grant because I receive tax credits but that pays for the course only and does not cover loss of income. Mr Gove should ask why am I doing a degree that will not give me a higher income, has caused financial difficulties at times and certainly won’t give me government recognition as a trained professional. My answer would be because I love my job and want to do it to the best of my ability. In order to do this I need to understand about children’s individual needs and issues, Something that Mr Gove clearly does not.
As to this non existant salary that I would love to be earning, budget cuts have meant my current hours are being cut by 8 hours per week and I can no longer afford to work at my current school. I would suggest that Mr Gove looks into the number of TA’s who receive tax credits and who will end up on future unemployment statistics, claiming far more, if he seriously decides to get rid of TA’s in schools.
I will be signing the petition and I hope for all children’s sakes that Mr Gove takes note, before he commits what can only be considered as an unbelievably ill thought out policy.
LikeLike
cherrylkd said:
Thank you for your well thought out reply. I don’t think Mr Gove has given much thought to the real economics of his actions. People like yourself have already list hours. If you lose more hours you will then need benefits. I wish you lots of luck.
LikeLike