Do you think teachers are paid too little?

Depends on how highly you value your children’s education? Do you want the best to become teachers? Do you want them taught by experts in the subject or are you ok with A level chemistry students taught by someone who didn’t get a science A level?

"f they were striking for better pay for everybody they'd get more support."
What a stupid idea - apart from the fact that it would almost certainly be illegal "secondary action" as defined by the anti-strike anti-union laws we have, how the fuck could Teachers strike for a pay rise for everyone?

No, I don't think so. I think in some cases, it is more working conditions that are the issue and I do believe that should be addressed. It is also a fallacy that all teachers, in every school across the country are overworked and put upon.

I’m more concerned about the fact that teachers are expected to take on so much work that it’s impossible to do it all and remain sane and healthy, no matter what pay is being offered. And the fact that far too few are being trained, so you’re guaranteed to be taking on more than your own workload in one way or another as non-specialist cover supervisors need a lot of help.

^This.
The kind of race to the bottom views in the OP are the reason we don't make any progress - people have swallowed the Tory lies and are in a weird "shaft us some more, we are all scum" mentality where one poor wage is compared with an even poorer one as proof we are all serfs who deserve poverty because we are not Sir Bufton Tufton.

Haha can tell you've never been a teacher. Even the thought of a second job while teaching 🤣

You do realise the primary years are the foundation for future learning and if they aren't done well we'd have far less nurses, doctors etc as people just wouldn't have the qualifications to do jobs such as that. Please don't diminish the importance of primary teachers.

The earn similar to a nurse but without shift work, responsibility but have massive holidays, lots of moaning for no reason, it’s not like they haven’t got the time to have a 2nd or 3rd job.

I don't think teachers specifically are underpaid. They earn a decent amount compared to many people. The problem is wages have stagnated since the Brown years. People are about 40% worse off now in real terms. We all need a pay rise, the minimum wage should start at about 35K.

So I don't support teachers, rail workers or nurses in their strikes. If they were striking for better pay for everybody they'd get more support.

ECTs don't start on 28k.

I'm an ex teacher. I don't necessarily think teachers are underpaid but are massively overworked. Personally, I don't think that can be compensated. Changes are needed to workload.

However, I've seen many experienced teachers at the top of the pay scale managed out because they are too expensive. When they get a job at another school they can drop several spots down the pay scale so are no longer well paid for their experience and skillset. They can lose thousands. It happens more and more often especially in larger MATs.

I have worked as a TA and I have worked as a teacher, and I was paid more per hour as a TA. One of my friends is a SENCO, and has said to me he needs more teachers in his department and fewer TAs, because he can get more hours out of one teacher than 2 TAs

My sons walked out of university and were earning more a week later than I ever have in teaching, even after 30 years, so yes, they are gobsmacked now, that I have accepted so little for so long. So am I when I compare myself to them! But I have other jobs too, or I wouldnt have been able to manage mortgage and child care.

Being on the upper pay scale doesn't really help. I never wanted to go up, and begged not to, but was made to anyway. Loads of extra work and responsibility, and no financial benefit - children lost bursaries worth more than my pay rise, for a start, and immediately lost job security, as schools normal look at expensive teachers when they need to cut back.

I had to leave that job as they were culling expensive teachers, and took a pay cut in another school. Very much happier, as there is less admin, less record keeping, and less hours, on main scale, and of course job is much more secure - this year the most expensive teacher in my department has resigned, having seen which way the wind is blowing, and knowing she is going to be made more and more uncomfortable until she does. I know that wont be me. |If I leave, it will be my choice

But that’s the problem. Not enough people are training to be teachers.

To be fair, that’s only part of the problem. Teachers already in the classroom leaving in their droves, with huge shortages in specific subjects, is another part.

Not to mention that even of the paltry percentage of target for teachers to train who apply for the courses, many don’t finish the course and of those who do, many never work as teachers.

Teaching is a hard job so I would say yes.

Other people may earn less, but that's not really relevant to the question of whether teachers are paid too little. Plenty of people earn much more for less demanding jobs.

You also need to consider the qualifications etc that are required to become a teacher

Teaching is a really important job, they shape our children. Yes oarents do that too, but I still remember the good teachers I had. The ones that built the kids up, made learning fun while trying to get them all engaged.

Yes they are underpaid. I think its more than that though, its resources and generally being treated like shit that makes it a difficult job too

From what I understand the pay a few years ago was really good but they get very few pay rises so it now feels like a lot less in real terms. The teachers I know seem to accept that as they get good holiday and pension packages etc. However what they are frustrated with is all the targets they have to meet and the extra work they are expected to absorb within their roles. One of my friends is a primary school teacher but many of her class can't speak English so she has no chance of meeting targets and it makes her day to day very difficult. Funding for school supplies also keeps getting cut so it's hard for the ones I know to so much creative learning. There also seems to be big differences in pay for primary and secondary school teachers, headteachers seem to be on a decent salary with I think also causes some frustration.

No, teachers aren’t paid enough, but, as has been said times without number, it’s all the other issues, like massive workload, Ofsted not fit for purpose, limited and vanishing resources, too few staff etc etc.

It was my career, but it wouldn’t be if I was starting out now.

I don't think it's too low in reality, but it's not representative of the workload and therefore perhaps it's not that the salary is too low but they're expected to do much for that money, over and above. Schools need better funding and more staff!

But that’s the problem. Not enough people are training to be teachers.

Our education system is falling down around us and they keep going as best they can with limited resources and ever increasing demands. And they are vilified for it. I support the strikes.

This would be reasonable IF teaching pay had kept in line with what it was worth when that person trained, or in line with inflation, or in line with pay for jobs that were comparable at the time of training.

As none of those things have happened, it is unfair to say that a teacher today should have realised years ago, when they made the decision to train, that their pay would be massively eroded and thus they should have made decisions accordingly.

I think the pay of teaching assistants is far more shocking. Nowhere near enough to live on, and for pretty much minimum wage they’re often teaching whole classes to cover teacher absence/PPA time, or working with the kids who have the greatest needs and behavioural challenges. It’s shameful (like care worker wages… don’t get me started on those either).

Maybe teachers should be paid more but the salary is completely transparent so everyone knows it before they train.

What if you trained before there were 13 years of real terms pay cuts?

Also, given that pay scales are transparent, it should therefore be a concern that the government is only projected to recruit 47% of the needed secondary teacher trainees for September. Maybe the pay isn’t enough?