County council impotence. What are we paying council tax for ?

[gaba]

It seems there are over 700 people employed in educating children in my local council. NOT ONE OF WHOM ARE TEACHERS. (You can find the list on line or I can PM it to anyone who wants to see.)

They have all given themselves fancy job titles and vague responsibilities, but it seems to me that none of them do sweet Fanny Addams. They just swan around all day trying to busy themselves with meetings and lunches all at our expense.

Not only do they do nothing, but they couldn't not do anything if they wanted to, since none of them have any power whatsoever. They are neutered, scared of responsibility they have let go of any power they may have had.

For example I had one of the many different layers of 'truancy detection officials' on to me the other day, wondering why my kids have been off school for 5 months. So I told her ' there isn't any schools for them'. She then said "oh, well, ok then I will send you a home schooling pack" that was her job done for the week then. 'a well spent 50,000 plus salary there' I thought.

The problem in my local area apparently, is a serious lack of schools. That may be true but could there also be a glut of management layers above. I bet you could build and staff 3 new schools by cutting half the useless management out. That would be the problem solved.

[LineRunner]

Have you ever thought of standing for election?

[Northernlurker]

If your children have been off school for 5 months and you haven't been educating them at all then I would say her time was well spent following up with you and sending you an appropriate resource.

Council workers are like NHS managers (which is what I do). Nobody has the least idea what we actually do but when we aren't there you will miss us believe me.

[WestmorlandSausage]

you do realise that your council tax doesn't pay for schools right?

and thats 700 staff between how many schools? You know your probably talking about TAs, receptionists, school admin, lunchtime staff, SENCOs caretakers and inclusion officers etc don't you? You know, all the people that support teachers to get on with actual teaching.

and you really think a truancy detection officer will be on 50k plus?! Try half of that. Social Services managers aren't even on 50k plus.

As for lunches? Ha! You realise councils won't even fund staff biscuits/ tea/ coffee etc any more?

What decade are you living in?

[LineRunner]

The OP is on her other thread saying how she will be photographing parents to uncover corruption.

[gaba]

Northernlurker.

We did fine without the management in the NHS before you guys appointed yourselves, now the whole thing is crumbling...

All these petty officials can do is pester people with annoying letters and parking tickets. This is the problem, the same as NHS management cant cure sick people, education management bods can't educate anyone.

Too many cheifs and not enough Indians, that's this country all over.

[gaba]

Sausage,, I know my council tax doesn't pay for schools, if it did I wouldn't be complaining. The 700, doesn't include any school staff, only office bods at the county council (when they are even there).

So I have to feel sorry for the truancy ticket warden, because someone has taken the chocolate off her biscuit?

[LineRunner]

Seriously, your campaign literature would be awesome.

[gaba]

Thanks, I can count on your vote then!

[Northernlurker]

Have seen and posted on the Op's other thread. You're talking nonsense on both threads tbh Gaba. Being so woefully uninformed just makes you appear absurd.

[K8Middleton]

Impotence you say? How terribly disappointing. Do you think it is stress related? Have you tried just cuddling?

[tethersend]

Gaba. Gaba. Hey...

[difficultpickle]

Why are you having a rant about paying council tax and the amount of people employed in educational services? The two are not related at all

How old are your dcs? I assume from your other thread that you must have turned down school places due to the difficulty of getting them there (although as other posters have pointed out the difficulty may not be as great as you think)? Have you looked at the home education section of MN? You should be able to find a HE group locally that would help you. Unless your dcs are in their first couple of years of school I would be very concerned about them missing five months of education, whether at home or at school. What are your dcs doing all day?

[LittleSiouxieSue]

OP... How do you know none of them are teachers? I worked for many years in educational management and many of my colleagues were ex teachers. They were educational advisers, specialist subject advisers, SEN advisers and so on. All were trying to improve the quality of schools. These people were reasonably well paid but the ordinary people were not. Schools are not Islands. They need support and back up. This can be curriculum, legal, school governance support, teaching advice, admissions, SEN, psychologists, planning, financial, attendance, human resources etc... The list is endless. Many councils are now run on a skeleton staff so I suggest you campaign for all schools to be academies and then there would be no local authority at all, except possibly for admissions. The remote Government could then do the whole lot. Do you think that would be any better? Many people don't get the schools they want but blaming the staff who had nothing to do with the shortfall is hardly the answer.

[gaba]

I'm just going on my personal experience. I am sure you would need a few admin staff for all the admin, and I certainly don't think that the power should be with the schools, that in fact is the problem.

With all these academy and foundation, and so on schools, the people who could offer some sense and judgement have abdicated there power to govern important issues such school places, and left it in the hands of some 'free market'. This being quite evidently the case, what is the need for the legacy staff, that pretend they still have an important job to do.

[gaba]

Or here is another way of looking at it...

When tho government wants to put Atos in charge of the education department... Not long now!

Who is going to care?

We still wont get any education, but at least we will be paying the lowest rate for it.