The duties of the teacher, but not always the salary
Teaching assistants and teacher support staff regularly stand independently in front of the group to replace a teacher. This extra responsibility is not always rewarded. While that should be the case according to the collective labor agreement.
Rens van Kooten is a teacher assistant and teaches independently four days a week. He is also paid as such and also receives a supplement for each day he works as a teacher. (Image: Stijn Rademaker)
Rens van Kooten (29 years old) walks across the playground. A sunny day, school is out, he has already waved goodbye to group 5. He has then completed a parent meeting and will immediately start preparing for tomorrow's teaching day. His duties are that of a seasoned teacher. His job description is: teacher assistant. “Several times they had no solution for a teacher who had dropped out,” he says. Last year he ran group 6 independently after a teacher went on maternity leave and the duo teacher suffered a burnout. This school year he was asked to join group 5, because the self-employed person who was in charge of the group quit.
The difference in responsibility is big
Van Kooten is happy with it. “It's a success story,” he laughs. He is enthusiastic about education. He previously worked as a manager in a supermarket. He now studies at the teacher training college one day a week. He is now a second year and teaches independently four days a week. His salary matches his duties, albeit with a U-turn. He is paid as a teacher's assistant and receives a supplement for each day he works as a teacher. “The difference in responsibility is big. As a teacher, I prepare the lesson independently and do everything that needs to be done outside of class. I'm often still busy in the evenings.”
HR policy that fits today's times
The primary school where Van Kooten works is in Veenendaal and is part of the Christian Primary Education Foundation, to which thirteen regular primary schools are affiliated. André van der Blom is an HR advisor. He is proud of the policy that his foundation has created for educational assistants. According to him, it suits the times. “Our school foundation has designed its own policy from HR in collaboration with the directors of our primary schools and the joint mr. We felt that something needed to be done for educational support staff.” The financial policy is as follows: teaching assistants are divided into categories a, b and c, which include scales 4, 5 and 6 respectively. Teacher assistants are divided into a and b, with the corresponding scales 7 and 8. A teaching assistant from group a is furthest removed from the teacher scale, says Van der Blom, and therefore receives the highest allowance if he replaces a teacher. The allowance is 750 euros per month based on full-time work. The compensation then decreases for each scale. Scales 7 and 8 receive 350 and 250 euros. Van der Blom: “In terms of job content and payment, this group is already closer to a teacher salary.” You are paid for the number of days you work as a substitute.
Not every support worker wants to become a teacher
In the Netherlands, the number of teaching assistants and teacher support staff is growing rapidly. Since the 2018-2019 school year, primary schools have been allowed to spend money on a structural basis to relieve teacher workload. If the team wishes, it can opt for a teaching assistant. After corona, NPO funds have been added, which will continue until 2025, to train students. This is also why the number of educational assistants is growing. With the growing teacher shortage, it is becoming increasingly common for these assistants to work independently in the classroom. The AOb views this trend with mixed feelings. The union wants a qualified teacher for each group. But if support staff do work independently in the classroom, support staff must be rewarded for this.
We are increasingly faced with a shortage of replacements
The shortage of teachers and substitute workers is greatest at schools in the Randstad. Silvia La Grand is a human resources policy officer at the Albero foundation in Zeeland with 25 primary schools. “But here too we are increasingly faced with a shortage of replacements,” she says. In an emergency, they also ask an educational assistant to teach. She takes a quick look at the numbers. In the previous quarter this happened 18 times at 25 schools. The school foundation has a policy that each replacement is financially rewarded. A teaching assistant receives an additional 20 percent for each day and a teacher assistant receives 10 percent. Taking over a lesson for an hour or a few hours is part of the duties of an educational assistant, says La Grand. Above 4 hours it counts as lesson transfer.
A gift voucher as a reward
Within the group of educational support staff, it is not difficult to find people who would ultimately like to become teachers. But there are also those who do not want that, who do not want to stand in front of the classroom and are very happy as a support person. Van der Blom's school foundation takes this into account. “The school and management look critically at who we approach to take over a class,” he says.
Gioia Aarden is a teacher assistant and has taken over a class ten times since January because a teacher was ill. Last year she received an extra Christmas package and a gift voucher for the times she stood independently in class in 2023. (Image: Stijn Rademaker)
Things are not so well organized everywhere. Gioia Aarden (32 years old) is a teacher assistant at a primary school in Woensdrecht. Today she worked with a group of students on fractions, arithmetic and vocabulary. She completed her teacher support training in 2020. She does not want to become a teacher, she actually enjoys guiding children who need extra attention. “I come from special education myself. The individual attention I received helped me, and I want to give that back to students.”
The collective labor agreement states that you must be rewarded if you stand independently for the group, and that must be adhered to
Although she does not want to be a teacher, she still regularly stands independently in front of the group. Since January, she has taken over a class at least ten times because a teacher was ill. The other teacher assistant at her school also fills in regularly. They do not get paid as teachers for those days. “I would like to agree, but I believe that if the collective labor agreement states that you must be rewarded for it, then that must be complied with.”
Last year she took the initiative to contact the school foundation and organize a meeting for all educational support staff. The meeting was intended to get to know each other, the school foundation has approximately sixty supporters, and to support each other in consultations with the directors. “There are only two of us at school. What strikes me is that teachers often do not know that taking over a class for a whole day is not part of our duties. They are happy with us, but we must always try to stand up for ourselves in that regard.”
Sometimes I just don't know
If Aarden replaces a group, it can be groups 1 to 8. Sometimes that is quite exciting, she says. “The control over the group is different as a substitute. Fortunately, I am really in the right place. Sometimes I just say that I don't know something or that I need to read up. I am not your own teacher, I say, you have to help me, because I don't know how you normally do it, then I will help you with questions. Then they immediately know that adults sometimes don't know either.”
It is important to start the conversation
The director rewarded her, and the other teacher assistant, with an extra package and a gift voucher at Christmas. That goes a long way, she thinks. “He appreciates my efforts.” Formally, a director acts in accordance with the collective labor agreement when he hands over a gift voucher for taking over a class. The collective labor agreement states that you must reward extra when an employee is willing to temporarily perform work that actually belongs to a 'higher' position. And rewarding is not the same as paying, but the AOb thinks the gift voucher is a weak interpretation of the collective labor agreement. “Every school should have a policy on this and payment should be recorded in it,” says collective labor agreement negotiator Anton Bodegraven. “If an employer refuses to make policy, you can enforce it with the collective labor agreement in your hand. Of course, an educational assistant does not have to solve all of this alone. For example, they can ask colleagues in the participation council whether policy can be drawn up. It is important to have that conversation.” Does the educational assistant still get nothing done? Then he can ask for help AOb switch.
De AOb organizes a 'Day for assistants and support staff' on May 17. The reward for support staff who work independently for the group is one of the collective labor agreement topics that will be discussed on this day. Subscribe!
