I saw a job ad today in the Evening Standard. It was for a PA to the head teacher of a medium size secondary school (it stated around 1000 pupils). The wanted experience of being a PA and some experience of HR.

For this, they were going to pay between £32k and £38k!

Now I am all for people getting on in life and being paid a decent salary, but £38k would put that person into roughly the top 15% of earners in the UK. Do we really think that a PA to the head teacher of a mid sized school (or any public sector school for that matter) does a job that justifies a salary in the top 15% of UK salaries?

I gues it depends how you justify it. The current job market coupled with the decent salary means you'd have the cream of the crop to choose from so if someone of that calibre meant the school ran so much better giving an appreciably better eductaion to 1000 children then surely it's worth it?

you don't know what the job content was or what the job involved, you're just making assumptions based on the job title
.
anyway, that's similar to pay for the PA of a CEO/ MD
doesn't seem inflated to me

Do we really think that a PA to the head teacher of a mid sized school (or any public sector school for that matter)

What's that got to do with it ? What is the average salary for a PA in London ? ……..that's what counts. Otherwise, how do you expect them to get the vacancy filled ?

that is so funny have just read the above and the mrs has just come home with the london paper and is thinking of going for it the world is so small on stw

I remember when schools had secretary's and head teachers taught, seems times have changed and they now need PAs., yup, it seems inflated to me.

Do we really think that a PA to the head teacher of a mid sized school (or any public sector school for that matter) does a job that justifies a salary in the top 15% of UK salaries?

Two points, first, you can't really weigh London salaries against UK salaries, second, given that I couldn't think of a much more important institution than a school, I'm more than happy that they pay high wages to attract the highest calibre of candidates.

bakes +1

What would the PA of a CEO of a company employing more than 100 staff get paid?

I remember when schools had secretary's and head teachers taught

I've never known the head teacher of a secondary school to actually teach. What decade are you talking about ?

In my first year of 2ry school, I was taught one lesson a week by our head, in a school of 400.

It was his way of making sure he knew every child at the school, but that was the mid-60s.

Seems a lot but they will probably have to take minutes at all the mettings: governors, staff, health and safety,open evenings, suspensions, appeals, interviews etc. There are LOTS of meetings and generally they are outside the 'normal' working day and there's no overtime pay in education. You need to factor that in.

I've never known the Headteacher of school not to teach, although admittedly a token amount.

£38K would put them on more than most of the heads of departments, head of years and other middle managers of the school. Are you sure it was not a pro rata salary – most non contact staff jobs in schools are advertised as a pro rata salary to take into account the school is closed for the holidays.

It was true in the mid 70s too, in my 700 pupil secondary school. So I guess we can blame Thatcher for this too ? 😆

1: Head teachers (most of them) do teach. Ours does – just not a lot.
2: As stated, you want a good PA in London you need to pay competitively.
3: What do you think a head does? Deal with thousands of (buzz word alert) stake holders, manage a multi million budget, accountable to government, lead a team of hundreds and to be honest that is scratching the surface.

My school has "secretaries", receptionists, office managers, a site team, exams officers, numerous part time staff and these are non teaching and learning jobs. The head does a massive job and their leadership really does affect the school.

When I was at school our head used to do a lot of sitting in his office and walked his dog in the grounds.

£38K would put them on more than most of the heads of departments, head of years and other middle managers of the school. Are you sure it was not a pro rata salary – most non contact staff jobs in schools are advertised as a pro rata salary to take into account the school is closed for the holidays.

Good point – puts them on more than my middle leader head of house job. Still, in the London market I guess you're gong to get what you pay for.

I've never known the head teacher of a secondary school to actually teach. What decade are you talking about ?

1980s, and now my kids at school are taught by the head, for the same reasons as Moses said, to get to know the children and also to keep his hand in.

A few clarification points:

I think the role is in Milton Keynes not London.
The ad did provide a rough job description – it's a PA role to all intents and purposes. I am familiar with what they do and happen to think that a good one is worth their weight in gold.

A good PA working for the CEO of a medium to large company, that employs perhaps 5,000+ will earn that and be worth that. PAs to CEOs of a FTSE100 will probably earn a lot more and be worth that.

My point was that this is a small organisation, it's 1000 pupils, it's not a large massively complex orgnisation so I am questioning the complexity of the role, not the value of a good PA. Especially in these difficult times when you don't need to pay as much as you once did.

I am the first to agree with the need to have well paid employees in the education system. But think of it this way. This PA will be earning more than most teachers (starting salary for teachers is around £22k I think and it goes up by something like £1000 a year?)

Also, the ad stated that it was a full time position for a full year role. I am guessing that that means they are expected to work during holidays?

the school is in milton keynes not london

I remember when schools had secretary's

& a school nurse 😀

I went to three secondary schools, and none of the head teachers taught – that was before the 80s btw. They all had between 1000-2000 pupils. Still, according bangaio most head teachers now teach.

EDIT : In fact in one of my schools, the head of year teachers hardly did any teaching. Mind you, that school had 2000 pupils.

I was at secondary school from '84 to '91 and yes our head teacher taught us. He was brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. Welsh as they come (surname Jones and a major rugby fan) but still brilliant.

Let's move the discussion on then as this is an interesting issue in itself.

Can a head teacher do a good job in that role if they are not teaching at least part of the time?

bangaio – Member
1: Head teachers (most of them) do teach. Ours does – just not a lot.
2: As stated, you want a good PA in London you need to pay competitively.
3: What do you think a head does? Deal with thousands of (buzz word alert) stake holders, manage a multi million budget, accountable to government, lead a team of hundreds and to be honest that is scratching the surface.

Spot on. Heads are essentially CEOs of multi million pound businesses these days.

geetee1972 – Member
Also, the ad stated that it was a full time position for a full year role. I am guessing that that means they are expected to work during holidays?

School support staff don't get the same holidays as teachers. Most will get four weeks.

Ernie, you mean you were not personally taught by them or as a 12 year old you were intimately familiar with their weekly routine and time table and the running of the school? I suspect the former. It's funny how most people think they are experts about all things educational because they once went to a school 😕

I am guessing that that means they are expected to work during holidays?

The holidays are for the children. All the staff will have to do loads of other working the 'holiday' period. Most teachers I know work 60 hours a week or more. All will have to bring work home. So they get more holidays than other jobs; so what? They **** deserve it.

Why the jealousy over what other people earn? People working in education do some of the most valuable jobs in society. I'd be happy to see them paid double, and people working in banks etc having their wages slashed substantially. They only spend it on Coke and stupid cars anyway.

It's funny how most people think they are experts about all things educational because they once went to a school

I get where you're coming from here; I get the same comment from my mother-in-law who is a teacher.

I think the reason is that all of us have had extensive (at least 12 years, sometimes 14 years) first hand experience of the education system. That does qualify us at some level (and I mean only at some level) to comment, i.e. we aren't completely ignorant of the issues and a lot of us are now or will be customers.

I've never known the Headteacher of school not to teach, although admittedly a token amount.

+1

The head-teacher at the school my wife teaches as still takes some classes and that's a massive school (one of the biggest in Scotland and including a primary, secondary and nursery).

I'd be happy to see them paid double, and people working in banks etc having their wages slashed substantially

Basic economics, where do you think they get the money from to pay the public sector It's the **** bankers paying their **** salaries! You want to screw the banks? – great, they'll reposses everyone's home. Happy with that? Want to tax them out of existence, great, that puts several million out of work and an even bigger whole in the public coffers.

Besides, I am talking about a PA, not teachers. I agree teachers should be paid better. Perhaps at the expenses of the PAs.

Gee – good point.

My retort would be that for most of us our "consumer experience" was long enough ago that it's historical rather than current. It is also rather distorted by being seen through a pair of adolescent eyes, and also often rose tinted glasses through the passage of time. My other point would be that I was a kid too and my current experience allows me to realise how befuddled my schoolboy preconceptions were so I have no reason to believe yours(well not yours per se, but those that profess great wisdom but have not stepped into a school since they were 16) are any different 😛

Being a parent is a good call though, which is why I think it's important that a teaching staff has parents and past parents in their midst to get a view from another perspective, but it is another perspective and often single-minded in its rather one sided focus on a single pupil.

Basic economics, where do you think they get the money from to pay the public sector It's the **** bankers paying their **** salaries! You want to screw the banks? – great, they'll reposses everyone's home. Happy with that? Want to tax them out of existence, great, that puts several million out of work and an even bigger whole in the public coffers.

WTF..?

So… reducing the wages of bankers will screw the economy will it? Considering the fact that teachers will then be paying more tax, surely that will even things out, no?

Tax the banks more heavily, put the money into paying Public Sector workers better wages, attract better people into education, improve the educational standards of every child in Britain, create more intelligent, more productive people, level up the playing field, reduce social inequality, make Britain a better place for ALL.

The only ones that really lose out are the super-rich. **** 'em- they won't starve. They can eat cake.

I'm not an economist, but I know this will work, as it was revealed to me in a dream. 😀

Are you going to apply for it then?

No it's in Milton Keynes. I went there once and didn't like it.

Ernie, you mean you were not personally taught by them or as a 12 year old you were intimately familiar with their weekly routine and time table and the running of the school? I suspect former. It's funny how most people think they are experts about all things educational because they once went to a school

When did I say I was an expert 'about all things educational' ffs ? I know **** all about all things educational.

I said, quote : "I've never known the head teacher of a secondary school to actually teach"

And yes, by that I meant I 'was not personally taught by them'. I also meant that I wasn't aware of them teaching anyone else.

And no, I wasn't "intimately familiar with their weekly routine and time table and the running of the school". But don't you think that if they had regularly taught other pupils I might have been aware of it ? I did after all go to the schools everyday, I also "spoke" to other kids. Plus one of my schools had a massive central timetable with all the lessons, classrooms, and teachers, on display, so everyone knew what lesson was happening where and who was giving it.

However yes, heads very occasionally took lessons, specially to fill in for a teacher. Although never in my 2k pupil school, but then as I said, in that school the heads of year teachers only gave "token type" lessons.

I did after all go to the schools everyday

Ernie,
we used to get Saturday and Sunday off, what sot of school did you go too?

I work in a smallish infant school with around 250 pupils.
My head does absolutely no teaching whatsoever…she won't even cover when staff are absent for whatever reason. She will split a class between the other classes rather than do it herself.
She also pays a bursar to do the finances…this bursar is also a full-time teaching assistant…she earns about £38K!!!!!

Well I'm glad you were so popular at school that you spoke to everyone! A typical head might keep their hand in by teaching an A level English set or two – so in a school of 2000 that's about 2 or 4% of the NOR.

For the record, I never realised that my head as a sprog taught until years later I went back and had a chat with him.

Anyway, this is a petty internet forum bicker – I'm more interested in when Talkemanda is going to be made head honcho and I get my pay rise!

I'm not an economist, but I know this will work, as it was revealed to me in a dream

I think the debate is important but thanks for not letting it get too carried away!

As for the bankers, the idea that reducing bankers salary will damage the economy isn't too far fetched. It might not be quite so directly cause and effect, but it might just happen like that.

But this isn't about bankers and it's not really about teachers. It's about PAs earning more than heads of department etc.

what sot of school did you go too?

Borstal. No weekends off. 🙁

but £38k would put that person into roughly the top 15% of earners in the UK

Really?? I am struggling to believe that!

Ernie,
we used to get Saturday and Sunday off, what sot of school did you go too?

One which failed to teach me how to appreciate pedantic humour.

Although it did teach me the difference between "too" and "to"

.

.

😉