So, I'm a TA now

Just before Christmas senior management gave the go ahead for one technician to start working and training as a TA. We had a technician meeting and neither bio or chem tech wanted the gig, so it fell to me by default.

I've been given a timetable and all my teachers know that during those periods I won't be available to help them out unless it's an emergency. They've also all been asked to be a bit more organised with their requisition sheets so I have plenty of time to plan my week. I'll believe that when I see it!

The school want me to get a qualification, so I'm being enrolled on a competence-based thing called 'supporting teaching and learning'. A lot of the stuff I do as a technician will count, but when the assessor comes to visit she will need to see me supporting in Maths, ICT and English.

Maths and ICT are no problem. Plenty of both to be found in physics. English on the other hand is not so straightforward and I've been told I will need to do 1 lesson of English a week.

So far I'm starting to quite enjoy the physics lessons, but I'm dreading English. It was one of my worst subjects at school and I don't know what possible use I could be in a bottom set year 11 English class. Apparently the English department are delighted so I hope I don't disappoint them too much!

HLTA - the next chapter

HoD is still keen to pursue trying to get me trained as a HLTA and last week he got the HR manager to present the proposal at an SMT meeting. We didn't hear anything for a couple of days, but now HR have got back to us with some feedback from SMT including some questions/concerns that they want answered.

Some of their concerns are the same as mine, namely whether the technician side of my job would be adversely affected and how we would organise the workload. I think we can manage if everyone gets properly oragnised and my teachers learn to plan a bit better. Obviously they also have concerns about the costs, but that was to be expected.

Apparently the Headmaster's main concern is that this could become a 'conveyor belt for technicians to train and leave'! To me that seems very short-sighted. Is he honestly saying that he wants untrained, unskilled technicians because then we are less likely to find jobs elsewhere? From my point of view, if this additional training leads to a pay increase I am far more likely to stay.

At the moment I am struggling financially and the fact that my daily commute is a 55 mile round trip does not help. A job closer to home would reduce my costs significantly, but a pay rise here would make all the difference.

The other aspect is career progression. The way our school is set up, we have 3 individual technicians each servicing 1 science and working independently of each other. It's not the kind of system that needs a senior technician so if I wanted to become a senior or team leader, I would have to move. What's currently being proposed would be a chance to progress without leaving. Don't know if we will be able to convince them. Watch this space!

To HLTA or not to HLTA?

When we have our termly technician meeting with the Head of Science, chem tech is always full of ideas about what 'we' or 'they' should do to improve the science department. One such idea, which he has brought up periodically over the past few years, is that all 3 technicians should become Higher level Teaching Assistants (HLTA) The idea is that this should (in theory) get us more money and might also get us recognised as academic staff, rather than support staff.

The previous HoS used to listen politely and then completely ignore 95% of everything said at these meetings, but things are changing. Our new HoS is also my HoD and he listens to technicians! At the last meeting he seemed quite interested in chem tech's suggestion, made a lot of notes, and then went to speak to HR.

Unbelievably HR are really keen on the concept and we have been asked to put together a cost/benefit analysis so they can decide whether it's worth pursuing. I thought they'd lose interest the minute pay was mentioned, but apparently not. They have said that they would only want to go forward with one technician initially but then include the others over time and the one technician they want to trial the idea with is me! Apparently I've been selected because I'm the youngest tech here so I guess they think they'll get more back long term if they invest in me.

The thing is, I'm not sure if I want to be a HLTA.

I'm a technician. It's what I've been doing for the past 12 years. My prep room is my comfort zone and the idea of having to teach even small groups of students terrifies me. Quite apart from the fear factor I'm also concerned about what this could mean for technicians in general. Is being a technician not good enough? We are skilled people with specialist knowledge and I would never want that role to be seen as second rate and for teaching to be viewed as the only viable career option. After all that was surely the point of RSciTech - to get people to view technicians as professionals.

I need the money though. At this school there are no support staff pay scales and no additional money for taking on extra responsibilities so I am stuck on my current salary for ever. The only way I can earn more may be to go down this path, but I am really conflicted about what is the right thing to do.

It may be that HR decide the costs are too great for the potential benefits, in which case I am worrying unnessecarily. Watch this space!