The report, Routes into teaching for teaching assistants, by researchers at Oxford Brookes University for the Department of Education and Skills (DfES), has found that although around 40 per cent of teaching assistants would like to become teachers, fewer than one in 12 apply for teacher training because they see the pressures teachers are under, especially with paperwork.
Among the report's aims were to identify obstacles which currently prevent teaching assistants from training to teach; to obtain a profile of teaching assistants and their work and aspirations in the primary, secondary and special education fields; and to recommend measures designed to remove obstacles confronting teaching assistants wishing to train as teachers.
Almost 3,700 questionnaires were sent to teaching assistants in Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire. Of the 1,548 who responded, they said they felt their work and in-service training were neither fully appreciated nor recognised in terms of their status and pay. They also complained about the lack of a career structure 'which could provide a career ladder to teacher training'.
Most teaching assistants are middle aged and are reluctant to devote up to six years studying to reach qualified teacher status. Many would prefer two years' full-time study in order to gain a non-graduate qualification that would enable them to provide classroom support through supervised teaching.
The report noted that many teaching assistants have taken courses and gained qualifications directly related to their work with children. But they are frustrated because their schools insufficiently acknowledge such in-service training with regard to improved status and pay.
It said, 'Many assistants complain that they are over-qualified for their status and pay. A substantial number wish to become teachers but cannot do so because of obstacles in the form of pay, personal circumstances, length and cost of training, and the availability of courses.'
The report said a nationally-recognised career structure, with expertise and responsibility recognised in pay and status, would not only encourage teaching assistant career development but also encourage them to train as far as qualified teacher status.
Among the letters sent by respondents was one by a nursery nurse studying for an Advanced Diploma in Child Education. She works in a school nursery class and shares responsibility for planning, assessing and teaching equally with the nursery teacher, but is in charge when the teacher is absent and is assisted by a teaching assistant. She said that due to difficulties in recruiting another teacher, the nursery teacher may have to teach in the school, leaving her to run the nursery.
She added, 'I have looked into training to be a teacher but have concluded that it is an impossible aspiration. I would like to teach, ie to receive a fair wage and recognition of the job I already do.
'Can it be right that I can cover for a teacher because of the teacher shortage but there is no career pathway for me to train as a teacher myself?'
Alison Johnston, senior professional officer at the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT), said, 'This project was designed to look at routes for teaching assistants into teaching. It has found that there are a number of support staff who feel their work is not being recognised and we will be calling on the Government to look at this.'
