I am a qualified secondary music teacher and have decided to become a classroom assistant, as I have a diploma in childcare as well as a BEd. I plan to open my own nursery at some stage, and am gathering experience at two primary schools. I work for a teaching agency that obviously has its own pay structure and am being paid nursery nurse rates. I have had to accept that supply staff do not receive holiday pay in any shape or form. I have assessed and analysed the role of the support assistant and, even though the responsibilities are nowhere near that of a teacher, specific knowledge and skills are in abundance. Recently one teacher was frightened of supervising a meningitis injection morning with her Year Two pupils, and needed me to support the children both psychologically and physically, as she had not been through the process before - yet she had four years' experience.
I am a qualified secondary music teacher and have decided to become a classroom assistant, as I have a diploma in childcare as well as a BEd. I plan to open my own nursery at some stage, and am gathering experience at two primary schools.
I work for a teaching agency that obviously has its own pay structure and am being paid nursery nurse rates. I have had to accept that supply staff do not receive holiday pay in any shape or form. I have assessed and analysed the role of the support assistant and, even though the responsibilities are nowhere near that of a teacher, specific knowledge and skills are in abundance. Recently one teacher was frightened of supervising a meningitis injection morning with her Year Two pupils, and needed me to support the children both psychologically and physically, as she had not been through the process before - yet she had four years' experience.
I believe support staff need a threshold pay structure to tally with their skills, experience, age and any additional qualifications they may have. Holiday pay and sick pay should be mandatory because of the working environment and necessity of the support assistant.
Lisa Whelan, via e-mail
