Teachers : what's the worst thing about the job now?

So true, I’m terrified to let any altercations go unresolved in case the kids go home to their parents and tell them about it and say ‘well I told Ms LoveDogs but she didn’t do anything.’ Then, you’re fucked and being spoken to by SLT.

The pupils have no resilience and can’t sort out minor disputes without adult involvement and everything has to be written and recorded incase the parents ring and complain after school hours and SLT don’t want to look clueless about it.
It takes up time which should be spent with the children in the classroom.

Behaviour is shocking and it’s constant crowd control. Also, trying to keep them interested in what you’re saying but not so excited by something that they’re whipped into a frenzy.

Watching what you say ALL THE TIME, it’s exhausting. Second guessing yourself, ‘was I kind enough?’, was I compassionate enough?’ ‘have I given that child the best support I could?” ‘If I did, what about the other 29 of them?’ ‘Did I ignore them while I was helping the child who needs the most support?’ etc etc etc .

*team

Behaviours and parents.
I had a parent blame a teacher in my teach for the fact that their child had used Ai on their work. It's exhausting.

Behaviour for sure. It's so different to pre-pandemic. I look back on children / classes I considered "difficult" back then and they seem so tame compared to what we face now.

Partly I think it's the trend towards Therapeutic Thinking type behaviour policies, where "all behaviour is communication" and consequences are almost taboo. It all sounds great and progressive, but also makes it seem like bad behaviour is the fault of the teacher and causes a lot of confusion for teachers / support staff / children around what behaviour is and is not acceptable, and what the consequences for poor behaviour should be.

I'm waiting for all the non teachers to comment on this thread and tell us that we have an easy job, to stop moaning because other jobs are hard too (we know that) and to leave if it's not for you. And we are leaving, on our hundreds.... Who is going to be doing the job in ten years? Not I, I'll be retiring before then.

I'm teaching in special school now after a long time struggling with lack of support with SEN teaching in mainstream. Desperately wanted to make a difference for children with additional needs.

It's no better.
School is run like a corporation. No support, despite there being several thousand SLT. They sit in their offices doing fuck all while we get our throats grabbed, bitten, kicked and punched on a daily basis.

It's ok though, cos they give us sympathetic smiles occasionally as they walk around the school with the latest group of governors/local councillors, crowing about how wonderful we are and how we are a beacon of SEN provision for the local area.

The complete lack of resources to support children with severe levels of SEND. Staff are regularly being bitten, kicked, punched, and having furniture thrown at them. It's a rare day when someone isn't called a bitch and/or told to f*ck off.

These are 5yr-old in a mainstream primary school. I think parents would be shocked if they could see what goes on.

Behaviour coupled with parents, sanctions have no effect as they are not backed up by parents. Kids are suspended for serious behaviour incidents (think violence, swearing and threatening staff, racist or homophobic abuse) - they have a day or two off vaping and watching video games and the parents blame the school for victimising their child. Kid gets removed from class for disruption and parent complains that the teacher is incompetant… and so it goes on

Former teacher here. Behaviour has nearly always been an issue in many schools, but has it got worse most schools and why has it got worse? Has it got worse in, say, middle class areas?

The parent direct access to teachers is crazy. We have directed access but we've only used it once to email head of year and form tutor to set up meeting to discuss low level bullying of DC, which was nipped in the bud pdq.

Honestly- I still love it 30 years in. I’m lucky though. Great school, great department, supportive parents (generally). Pressurised and stressful but very satisfying.

Apologist parents

Just the workload. I'm lucky enough to work in a school with virtually no real behaviour problems. I'm just sick and tired of never feeling like I'm doing my job properly how ever many hours I put in.

Not a teacher but I feel for you, kids behaviour these days is out of control. There's no discipline you see it on here all the time don't punish them, don't take their phone, don't ground them, don't smack them, dont shout at them. So basically just let them do what they want. So many kids have never heard the word no so can't handle it.

Without a doubt, behaviour. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to deliver curriculum whilst managing the frankly dreadful behaviour of a significant minority of pupils. Soul destroying. I’ll be gone within the next 12 months.

I teach little ones and they are wonderful. Yes the workload or at least the expectations from SMT and parents is a lot but that's any job. I'd say the behaviour and attitude of the older ones.

And parents asking what you did, how you reacted first rather than dealing with the behaviour.

Behaviour

Im secondary and the worst offenders are impossible to exclude… SEN makes them untouchable but yet they constantly swear and verbally abuse staff and other pupils

How is this inclusive teaching helping staff wellbeing and the retention of teachers?

This is going to drive the teaching profession into the ground. It’s impossible to recruit or retrain teachers… who wants to be sworn at and treated like a piece of dirt on a shoe? Of course this isn’t the child’s fault… they have SEN

Behaviour. Some of which is caused by poor parenting, lack of aspiration and an unsuitable curriculum.
Workload / staff shortages / unreasonable expectations from SLT.

THIS. Absolutely spot on. The level of entitlement is insane.

I'm assuming the parents? I am not a teacher but do have interactions with them professionally, plus friends / family who are teachers

A head teacher l know suspended a student for attacking a teacher. Parents went ballistic, stalking and harassing the teacher. Teacher ended up trying to commit suicide but luckily failed

Oh my god this. This in spades. Children in reception cannot interact. Scream and rip classrooms apart. Almost non verbal. Only thing that calms them is an IPad/tablet. Parent never makes eye contact with them. They can’t have a conversation cos they have never had one. Don’t read to their kids. Never been played with. Don’t go anywhere or do anything. Treated as an inconvenience. Then parents shout SEN…it is like an epidemic of distracted disinterested parents and the children cannot function in an educational setting. Been teaching for a long time but this is staggering.

Parents.

Lack of Human Resources - I have a child in my class that desperately needs support during unstructured parts of the day. Every break time and lunchtime I have to make the choice between supervising them myself or dealing with the inevitable issues caused if I don’t (lost teaching time to deal with the issue, contacting parents, dealing with the other parents who will pile in to complain).

Lack of physical resources - we are not allowed to print in colour. We have 60 pens issued at the beginning of the year and 6 glue sticks. Recently had a book scrutiny (a whole other issue in itself). I was criticised that some children were writing in pencil and that some worksheets were in a file, rather than stuck in books (let’s apply some critical thinking, shall we?)

The lack of/ poor quality of support for safeguarding issues. Where social care do get involved, cases are almost immediately closed because horrendously poor living conditions are considered to be the ‘lived experience’ of the child and therefore good enough.

@Thedownstream
It's probably only about ten percent of the parents, but it's just too many. They want a bespoke program for their child 'Pete needs visual learning' 'Sarah is a little anxious, could you talk to her' 'Tom has a sore toe so can't climb stairs today' and on and on and on. All probably perfectly reasonable, but no thought that if every parent had a bespoke request, that absolutely zero teaching would be happening. I think in the past, people just got on with things more even if they weren't perfect. And so the cohort could move quicker.

Behaviour and the amount of pupils with high needs is so draining on classroom resources. Schools need more funding to help meet the needs of all pupils.

Parents complaining about ridiculous things, and not reading with their child (primary) as they "don't have time".