The Tories STILL don't give a shit about your kids or their education

[noblegiraffe]

One in a long running series of threads of failures on the part of the government to put any money into schools.

Earlier this year, the government-appointed covid-catch-up tsar resigned in disgust when they refused to take his recommendations on board for a £15 billion programme of recovery for children, including extra sport and extra-curricular activities. They instead pledged about a tenth of that, with the main focus to be on catch-up tutoring.

The DfE then made the inexplicable decision to award the tutoring contract to Randstad, a Dutch HR firm because they were the cheapest by far, and about £40 million below what the DfE had budgeted. (Where did the rest of that money go?)

Randstad's woefully inadequate systems led to catastrophic failure: “They’re doing it on the cheap and the quality of what they’re doing is very poor — completely under-resourced, and shambolic,” the leader said. “I’m absolutely in favour of the profit motive, but this is the worst sort of bargain basement capitalism.” twitter.com/samfr/status/1465239826534440964?s=21

Leading to only 8 percent of the targeted children receiving tutoring since September. www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/covid-catch-tuition-92-adrift-year-end-target

Remember, this is the government's BIG PLAN to help children recover from the educational damage caused by the pandemic. So basically, most kids are getting fuck-all extra support.

The Head of Ofsted said that that majority of catch-up would happen in classrooms in normal lessons with the class teacher. Presumably instead of teaching them new content? Won't that just create gaps that need to be caught up?

And the people in government who should be kicking off about this are instead trying to get a bill to force schools to stay open even if all the staff and most of the kids are off with covid.

How? By asking retired teachers to come back and work for free. Seriously. "Mr Halfon also urged the Government to mobilise an army of volunteers to keep children in the classroom if teachers are off sick. “The Government should set up an army of education volunteers of retired Ofsted inspectors and former teachers who are tasked with going round the country and fill in where teachers are off sick,” he said. “The vision has been there for the NHS with volunteer-run vaccine centres so why can’t it be done for education?” (From the Telegraph)

There were so many outraged threads about school closures and poor education provision. The government is doing nothing to fix those issues.

YABU: The government cares about children and education

YANBU: This is a scandal

YA definitely NBU!

Why would a retired teacher want to volunteer?

The quality of education would also be woeful- despite best intentions. As usual, this is actually about childcare, not what is best for the children.

Not exactly surprising though is it? Still, the tories will remain in power.

God knows, Twinkle. If we can't get paid supply teachers to do it because there's a severe shortage, why do they think people will do it for free?

But their children are in private. So why the fuck would they care?

@LetterBug

But their children are in private. So why the fuck would they care?

They ought to be concerned that it will stop people voting for them.

I don't believe a thing they say ever.

Didn't our dear leader promise us some sort of summer school catch up thing which never happened? Or did I imagine it?!

@Comedycook

I don't believe a thing they say ever.

Didn't our dear leader promise us some sort of summer school catch up thing which never happened? Or did I imagine it?!

Yeah I don't think they could staff that either!

The tutors that do exist have also not being doing what they thought they would. Instead they have been being roped in to do emergency cover for lessons because so many teachers are off with Covid.

It's no better in wales. In fact I think our educational outcomes are worse. There's no good option

I would love it if Ofsted inspectors turned up to do a week or so of supply.

The failure to provide urgent catch-up provision for Y11 and Y13 (which some badly need, in particular Y11 which data shows has been the year group worst hit by covid absence and isolations) will be hidden by the fact that the pass rate is pre-set to be higher than in 2019 and so the grade boundaries will be on the floor.

So people will be kept oblivious.

You need to change your title, it makes people think at one time the Tory's ever gave a fuck about education.

Also with regards to your comment about people voting for them, they dont care. People are always going to vote for them, they are always going to be the winning people, till either Labour get a backbone and sort their shit out.

As much as I hate to say it, this is not a problem just with the Tory's the opposition don't give us anywhere else to go and I say that as someone who doesn't vote Tory

@needmoreshinys good point, I wish there was decent opposition to give us some choice.

@LetterBug

But their children are in private. So why the fuck would they care?

And when they are in state they get criticised for taking a place for a poor child. So come on.

People are always going to vote for them

Polls this week suggest otherwise.

I would also dearly like Labour to get their shit together and come up with some decent education policies. In the meantime I'd like people to petition their Tory MPs to ask what the actual fuck they think they are playing at.

It's so depressing.

Fair play @noblegiraffe for keeping on beating the drum.

Why do we all just accept it? Why do we vote them in time and time again? I just can't understand it.

The Head of Ofsted said that that majority of catch-up would happen in classrooms in normal lessons with the class teacher. Presumably instead of teaching them new content? Won't that just create gaps that need to be caught up?

SLT at my school assure me that I can teach my Year 2 class all that they have missed and everything that they would ordinarily cover in Year 2 on my tod in the classroom by the time SATs roll around in May. We're a school in a deprived area and this is a year group that has not yet completed a full year in school. I have even less support than previously in terms of intervention etc because some LSAs have left and have not been replaced due to finding restraints. The meagre amount of funding for tutoring that the school is getting is planned to be spent only on Years 5 and 6.

@fournonblondes

The people who are outrage about state schools. Do you welcome open borders? Would be ever catch up? The schools near where I live are ever so full of new arrivals.

Wow. This is a new low. Are you genuinely blaming immigration for the situation in schools?

But their children are in private. So why the fuck would they care?

They’d be a bit stupid to assume their children are OK in private schools. Last time I checked, covid wasn’t stopping at the front door of any high class establishment used by an elite few. As a private school teacher I can assure you that covid has stepped over our threshold and has infected just as many of us as those in other schools. True, we have less of an issue getting supply than some of our neighbouring schools so we will probably limp along a bit longer than some state schools but if we are all sick simultaneously, the plan is very much to close for as long as is necessary.

SLT at my school assure me that I can teach my Year 2 class all that they have missed and everything that they would ordinarily cover in Year 2 on my tod in the classroom by the time SATs roll around in May

Well that's just mad, isn't it?

10% of voters on this thread think that the government do care. Perhaps they could post their evidence for this?

@noblegiraffe

People are always going to vote for them

Polls this week suggest otherwise.

I would also dearly like Labour to get their shit together and come up with some decent education policies. In the meantime I'd like people to petition their Tory MPs to ask what the actual fuck they think they are playing at.

much easier to have your morals in a poll than at the voting booth.

Also you ever done one of these polls? I do surveys all the time and those yougov surveys are tailored to be answered in a certain way or sent out to a certain demographic.

There is also little to no point in writing to my MP, I have a great relationship with his secretary as that is who writes back to me, I doubt my MP even reads anything I send, the political system is broken and the sooner people realise that and start doing something to change it, the better.

They work for us, we pay for them to do a job and yet year after year after year we allow them to do what the fuck they like.