To think change is desperately needed in schools?

Sure Start was expensive and taken over by people who shouldn’t have qualified and not used by those who should.

You can’t force parents to use services they don’t want to or can’t be bothered to.

Sure Start did not make neglectful parents more responsible.

Cutting the very successful Sure Start program set up by New Labour has had terrible consequences for struggling parents and by extension, schools and teachers.

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2024/mar/23/angela-rayner-roots-rough-edges-ready-for-power

I am so sorry you were hurt, OP.

I had retired before lockdown, so was only doing occasional bits of supply. Given the advice re the vulnerable, I stopped doing supply a fortnight before lockdown in order to shield my late husband.

I'd already lost a child to my job. There was no way that I was going to lose my husband to work too.

I know that teachers with certain medical conditions or with family with conditions were reluctant to go in, given what we were told about the need for distancing.

Newbuild schools in my area have tiny classrooms for some subjects and no opening windows - a significant problem at any time.

Nevertheless, schools here stayed open for the children of frontline workers and for vulnerable children - at least in my area. Teachers took it in turns to man the schools while those who needed to shield provided the online work.

I can't imagine that the parents of physically vulnerable children would have wanted their offspring to go into school.

As for the complaint about pushing for children to wear masks everywhere - surely that's something that should be taken up with the medics and scientists if you think that the advice was wrong?

After my husband died I returned to supply. I recall that both vulnerable staff and pupils were wearing masks to school. Indeed, I still see some children and a handful of non-teaching staff choosing to wear masks.

No, not children with SEND. Obviously working when you have a child with additional needs can be incredibly challenging, if not impossible.

it's almost never the children with two working parents who I see struggling. If anything, they are often more independent and organised than children with SAHPs who do a lot for them

Parents of more independent and organised children find it easier to go out to work than parents of children with SEN shocker!

In Scotland at least, it was the teachers unions who were pushing for lockdown, pushing for not having to provide live lessons in lockdown, pushing for children to wear masks everywhere. If teachers unions are telling children their education doesn’t matter then why should it come as a surprise when they believe teachers or resent them?

Ha. If only any of that were true wouldn’t it all make more sense.

As a teacher of a lot of years, it's almost never the children with two working parents who I see struggling. If anything, they are often more independent and organised than children with SAHPs who do a lot for them. I really don't think two working parents are the problem at all. We have incredibly low expectations of parenting, and saying anything critical is seen as mum-shaming. In particular, there is far too much screen use from both parents and children. Y2s do not need their own phones.

On a separate note, the number of cases of ASD and ADHD is believed to be increasing; it's not just a greater number of diagnoses.

I wanted my child to survive her secondary education. As it is, she has been out of school for months and now needs alternative provision via an EHCP.

Do you want your child to do well or not?

If so, then yes, they have to start planning and preparing for their GCSEs at least a year beforehand.

The school are entirely right.

It's about time that pupils (and their parents) realise that the entire educational/school system is for their benefit, not the benefit of the teachers, government, or someone else. It's ALL about getting the kids to do the best they can, get the best qualifications they can.

Education/qualifications are the key to a successful and productive/prosperous adult life.

Of course, if a pupil (and parent) are happy living on the dole scratching a poor standard of living, then feel free to constantly fight against the school!!

@benefitstaxcredithelp
Bull shit. It is down to shit parenting.
I bumped into a teacher (whose kids I taught incidentally) last week and she told me she'd finally had enough. That a change had occurred after covid in which kids felt like they could behave any way they wanted and were supported by their parents. She was punched and called a fucking cunt by a FIVE YEAR OLD the day before and she couldn't take it anymore.

@Lougle
Yes it's called expecting students to take some responsibility for their own learning and for parents to have SOME involvement in their child's education. Shock horror. Which of course in the modern world of gentle or helicopter parenting should no way be allowed. Don't do well in your exams..well of course it's the schools/teachers/next door neighbor's cats fault isn't it.
DH is a secondary teacher, I have lost count the number of kids who could do well in exams but can't be arsed..they either come to a startling realization a few weeks before their GCSE that's doing fuck all for a few years is possibly not going to get them a good grade and then DH is on the receiving end of phone calls from concerned parents who ignored emails/phone calls like the one you received but then expect DH to pull revision sessions out of his arse in his already overcrowded timetable. He recently had to call 24/30 parents for kid who didn't turn up to GCSE revision, why should he have to?!
Or they carry on doing fuck all and DH gets it in the can because they were more concerned about tik tok, vaping, etc than their exams and future, which is of course everyone's fault but their own despite the fact that he provides countless revision sessions IN HIS FREE TIME.
Unsurprisingly I am an ex teacher and would not set foot in a classroom again under any circumstances.
DH is an excellent empathetic teacher who was recently observed by ofsted and highlighted as outstanding, but he can do the fucking exams for them can he.

The pressure has got insane though. This is an excerpt from an email sent to year 10 parents in our school:

"As you can see from the above [The above being a breakdown of the grades required in year 10 mocks in order to be entered for higher level exams/further maths/single sciences], the importance of the Year 10 summer examinations will be even greater now as these will determine your child's path in Year 11. Pupils must begin a revision schedule when they return after Easter as the summer examinations, beginning on 17 June 2024, will impact which tier your child will be entered for in Year 11. A pupil response of 'they're only mocks, so I didn't bother to revise' could have huge repercussions for their Year 11 sets and courses. I am keen to ensure that all parents/carers are made aware of this now."

So they're putting the pressure on from Easter of year 10 for the year 11 exams.

I work in a secondary school. The other day, a teacher told a 15 year old that she couldn't go to the toilet at a given time. This was the right shout, as this girl is known for vaping in the toilets ... and encouraging others to do it too.
The girl phoned her mother from the classroom and the mother phoned the school.
This is the shit we're dealing with on a daily basis, and that is far from the worst of it.
Many, many entitled people out there (and this mother has never worked a day in her life, hence being able to take the call. All she does is churn out more badly behaved kids).

Schools will/can never admit that THEY are the problem. They will gaslight families into feeling that it’s them always. As an ex teacher myself I know that school staff are usually very institutionalised and cannot see the madness of the very systems and structures they work in. It’s very sad for all involved.

Im sorry your DD is going through this. It’s shocking that she’s only 9.

This is nothing to do with what is going on today in schools. Perhaps a tiny tiny percentage of families are like this but a much bigger issue is that the system itself is totally out of step with the modern world and is unsuitable for our children.

Add to that the lack of funding, teachers leaving in droves due to the issues, crumbling buildings, no SEND provision, post pandemic issues and the super academic, highly pressured environment which suits a minority of kids. Not to mention the attendance farce.

My dd has high anxiety in school. School said she's never a 7/10.

Yet no ones ever spoken to camhs. My gp told me to ask school. Who are still sitting on it.

She's fine at home.

They send the well behaved kids to a therapy farm. But my dd gets no help and blocked from seeing camhs.

It's the cost cutting everywhere and no joined up thinking.

What actually is camhs remit I keep wondering?

If your a good engaged parent you still can't prevent everything nor can you get help. I'm going private for mental health support for my 9 year old. But what do you do if your poor? Why is a 9 year old so distressed at school? School just keep on saying what happened at home. Nothing happened at home.

If they do, then theres consequences, i grew up in the era of the cane, whilst i do not support its return there was a fear if you did wrong.
No wonder some kids are out of control nowadays, if schools can not punish in some form for bad behaviour.

WTH?

Am quite shocked to read these posts hadn't realised it was so bad, i do not believe it is all SEN, government should govern, schools should be given a guide line, kids start school able to use a toilet, feed themselves, know that no means no, also can not hit /hurt other people. If they do, then theres consequences, i grew up in the era of the cane, whilst i do not support its return there was a fear if you did wrong.
No wonder some kids are out of control nowadays, if schools can not punish in some form for bad behaviour.
Had a neighbour, 3 children, husband went to work wife chucked kids in back garden to play during school holidays, aged around 5-9 yrs old, kids would play on the garage roof throwing stuff over into neighbours including mine gardens. One neighbour was hit on the head with a space hopper, i went round and said its dangerous there playing on the roof, cushions balls toys everything being thrown over, mum said well what do you want me to do? I replied parent them.
That night husband knocked on my door very threatening and angry, very aggressive, this is where the children learn behaviour.

I wondered this but guessed then it was meant to be “out of control “

I'm sorry, what exactly do you mean by "out of country children ruining school"?

I'd add that nowadays with content on tab 24/7 and parents including SAHMs interacting with screens signifiant amounts of time rather than being in the 'here and now' interacting with the actual things around them and the actual people .e.g. their dc around them it is probably better for kids to be at day care as that is largely screen free time.

The more screen free time the better for the child's development. Times have changed, staying at home until 5 means a huge risk of adverse effects of family screen time, this includes parents and children. These children will largely also be less socialised.

On holiday abroad this summer, in a culture where large, extended families traditionally socialise I saw 1 year olds propped up at the dinner table at restaurants with phones and tablets in front of them to shut them up. The village that raises the kids is no more, it's been replaced by screens.

This is ridiculous,we need discipline,and consequences for bad behaviour.I hear this all the time,out of country children ruining school

I think this is much more the case in the last year. Our school seems to have an extraordinarily rapid turnover of teaching staff this year.

From a non UK perspective. The biggest thing to stand out to me when I talk to teachers working in UK is there isn’t enough staff in a UK school.

Children are entitled to two years of preschool before starting primary. They start preschool the year they turn three. They can start primary at 4 but that’s increasingly uncommon since the free preschool system began. The expectation is that children be potty trained for preschool.
Teachers job is to teach. There would have to be either a medical or SEN reason for a child not to be toilet trained. A Special Needs Assistant (SNA) would be assigned to either an individual child or group of children depending on circumstances. They take care of the care needs of children assigned to them.
Depending on how many children in school have SEN needs there will be Special Education teachers/ resource teachers in the school. The children that qualify for these resource hours might go out in a group or by themselves to work on an area they need help with. The school does have some discretion on how to use these hours as long as the children get their allocated hours.
When my eldest started school the school used to use the class teacher, an SNA and some resource teachers to break the children into small groups so the children could do their phonics and then when ready their reading. Once the teacher got to know the children they were sorted in their groups based on ability. They used to call it the power hour. The principal said that since they introduced it into the school the standard of reading within the school shot up.
Now I can assure you that we have plenty of problems within our education system but teachers aren’t expected to handle a class of 30 children including children with additional needs without help and support. In fact the cuts made during last recession were never undone.