To think droves of teachers will make the decision by husband made today- to leave

The state spends 7.5k per pupil on education. Hands out 1.2k a year on child benefit. Provides tax credits for those on low incomes. Provides housing benefit to pay rent for families. The state spends about 20% of it's total expenditure on welfare payments. It further hands out loans for university study which never need to be repaid if you don't earn enough and ensures UK students pay 9.5k a year capped versus foreign students who pay the true price of circa 40k a year. It compels universities to prefer students from under privileged backgrounds with weaker education results over higher results from children with better off parents. If you piss your benefits away it provides free food for you to have too. If you don't feed your kids they get free school meals and cover for holiday clubs with free meals out of term time. It provides a free healthcare system (not over the moon about quality of this) and free prescriptions for those on benefits. It mandates discounted lower water bills for low earners, it forces energy companies to pay for insulation and energy saving devices on houses for low earners (paid for by other billpayers paying more). It discounts council tax up to the extent of 100% for low earners and those on benefits.

To do this it taxes some middle class earners at marginal rates of tax of over 60% (in fact over 90% marginal tax between 100k and 120k). The so called austere "tories" borrowed 1.6 trillion pounds to fund this situation.

What exactly was so shitty and unfair that you think people should be paying more towards? Who do you think should be paying for it?

This. Appreciate this may not be the “norm” but there’s enough of it around to understand why parents who are able to cover the fees by any means possible make that choice.

I taught for 40 years and have a good qualification in English but never learned all the type of grammar stuff that's part of the English curriculum. I have never needed to now this stuff.

Since I was at school in the 70s, Scottish children used the phonics approach to learn to read and spell. I could never understand why English schools didn't adopt the same method as, when we got pupils in from England, they were very often behind their peers.
then phonics was the magical solution to everything, but instead of just using it simply, they have these awful phonic assessments and whatever.

Same with maths, wasn't one of Rishi's grand ideas to make every pupil study maths till they were 18? The vast majority of the maths I learned - algebra, geometry, trigonometry etc has been on no use to me whatsoever.

I don't think pay is the complete answer. Personally, I'd have been happy with the same salary but a safe working environment. Why do the rules of society go out the window as soon as people go through a school door? What teachers have to put up with is beyond a joke - it isn't a case of "move to a different school" I live in a rural area with little coastal schools of 20-60 pupils. My friend is a PSA and gets called a c* on a daily basis.

Teaching as a career now is shit. Too many kids with needs in mainstream schools and not enough staff to help them.

Go for it!

Indeed. Unfortunately, the issue here is the kids behaviour so that will not change unless people are ok with being spat on if the get better pay? I think no

I don't think pay alone is the issue is it? It's crap government targets, crap management working teachers to death to reach these targets and a generally disintegrating society.

Pay. Teachers. More.

Can depend on the demographic of the deprived area, some cultures have a better attitude to education whatever their income.

Children have, on the whole, 0 respect for adults, fuelled by parents who have 0 respect for anyone.

This is a fact and a very big part of the reason we are in this mess.

No, I’ve lived in some very deprived areas actually.

You’re very angry and not able to accept someone else’s opinion as having any value. Best we don’t discuss it.

Well how lucky for you. I’ll bet the demographic around the school had something to do with it. I’ve been a primary TA for 17 years now. The behaviour has changed so much since I started.

I love my job, but it’s wearing me down. Children have, on the whole, 0 respect for adults, fuelled by parents who have 0 respect for anyone. No matter how much we try, and put things in place, there will be complaints and criticism. Damned if we do, damned if we don’t. It’s soul destroying.
And that’s before all the management expectations and paperwork it generates. We are time short as it is, without having to turn our time and attention to tick-box exercises because it looks good for OFSTED.

My daughter is in her 4th year as a teacher, in a secondary school. She is forever having to break up fights. She got hit in the head by a 12 year old a week ago. And she is considered one of the ‘cool’ well liked teachers. She knows it could be different at another school, but feels the children where she is need help, but at the same time she is being exhausted by the relentless bad behaviour, and the lack of parental support / verbal abuse she gets, quite apart from the lack of management back-up. She says the staff turnover in that school is horrendous. Absolutely no continuity.

just because you haven’t experienced it, doesn’t mean it isn’t rife.

Very unlikely, most teachers enjoy the holidays too much. U don’t go into teaching thinking it’ll b a breeze, sounds like it just wasn’t the correct job for him as the students didn’t respect him.

Disrespect doesn’t come from students, it comes from parents.

Please go and volunteer for a week and say it’s about the children.

I left, don’t miss the holidays. If fact most are too long, too expensive to go away and I have had more holidays abroad in the last year than I’ve had in the previous 10. Because I can afford them and we go outside school holidays.

Actually, I didn’t go in to teaching for the holidays, I went in for the children and the pension. I stayed for the former when the latter went out the window. 20 years ago when I started, students still knew what the words please and thank you meant and how to use them, there was always the odd little sod who would kick off and swear, then get a clip round the ear from dad when the parents get summoned. My most recent convo with parents was to explain that if their child is sending and receiving unfriendly text messages at 3 am, that is not the schools issue to deal with. Perhaps you could take the phone away overnight? The response was that they didn’t think their child would like that. WTaF?!

I have huge sympathy for your DH. He shouldn’t have to put up with this. My first school 40 years ago was tough and put me off classroom teaching for life. Fortunately I was able to retrain as a dyslexia specialist and have had a wonderful career teaching one to one. There may be ways your DH can use his talents outside mainstream schools. I wish him good luck.

My autistic son is always being rewarded by his alternative provision with an iPad. When he was at school they did the same thing. I've sad so many time not to give it to him!! He struggles to transition off of it and it will overstimulate him. If you give him an iPad you have wiped out the whole day and will likely be dealing with a meltdown that gets him sent home. But will they listen to me?! Absolutely infuriating. I know it does regulate some kids but I think for many it just keeps them entertained so they are not exhibiting the challenging behaviour all day and not needing the higher levels of support while they are on it- but it saves it all up for when they come off and really isn't helping the child. But so many parents and teachers say it helps regulate so my son is given it against my fucking consent then I'm told his behaviour is too challenging to attend a school. Absolute joke

Well there is always hope that someone will actually listen us and take note at ground level, actually no I am bonkers , the other poster was right, that’s never going to happen 🤣

And Labour want to ensure all but the very wealthy are schooled in this environment!

Well if I’m bonkers, it’s only as a result of watching someone party while telling millions of people with dying relatives to stay at home. I wonder why I think the conservatives are disproportionate in all areas, including education 🤔🙄

Don't forget 'Progession in Phonics'. Released in 1999. Was my bible when I started teaching.

My DC attended a leading four-form Grammar School. While not common, each year would have some children with 5 A A-levels to add to their 14 or 15 A GCSEs.
The expectation was 2 hours homework each night, 5 or 6 nights each week. The majority of those with the highest results were typically doing 3 or 4 hours each evening and were usually children of Indian, Chinese or African heritage - every parent was desperate to keep their children there.
I'm dyslexic, which makes reading and comprehension much slower than for others so I understand what it is to be disadvantaged, there was never any prospect of me going to university, but feel that in some respects, my most useful education occurred before I left primary school.

Obviously a Tory voter

Are you on the right post? Absolute bonkers post if you are..

iPads iPads and iPads

I feel like I spend my days just being the custodian of the iPads now. Do a bit of work reward is iPad time and by work I mean a meaningless scribble. It’s as quick as they can get anything done to get on an iPad. Supposed to be educational games only but you can’t get YouTube off them and the little darlings are so tech savvy they can get on YouTube no problem no matter how many times you disable the WiFi. I’ve seen children aged 10 sitting with 2 iPads plugged in (they are terrified they lose charge) watching utter rubbish on YouTube for hours.

Some talk like a YouTube channel cannot even hold a conversation. It’s been proven that because their brains are going so fast flicking and they are so hyper stimulated once they are in the slow real world they cannot cope.

I have seen children handed an iPad the minute they come off the school bus until they fall asleep they even eat watching it. Apparently “to regulate”

Im not saying it’s all iPads faults but there’s a whole generation growing up absolutely addicted to screens. No fine motor skills, cannot turn a page or hold a pencil but can get on YouTube.

Gentle parenting has backfired...

That or its neglect and no role models at home.