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

They will still blame teachers.
Too Lazy
Couldn't cope with the job.
Chased all the new and possible teachers away.
Some people are not prepared to shoulder their portion of the blame or think that their children could possibly be part of the problem.

There's always been naughty behaviour I don't think that's anything new I still remember kids throwing chairs around the classroom when I was in secondary school and my mother remembers the boys in her class knocking a teachers wig off!
Difference is now you can't properly punish the little shits, I've heard expelling children (even extremely naughty dangerous violent ones) looks bad on Ofsted's, you're supposed to wave a magic wand and the child turns into an angel! If not I guess it's just not a good school.

I read a story on here about a pregnant teacher miscarrying because a student attacked her then a week later she had to sit in a meeting with him to talk about his "feelings"

To finish safeguarding thing - lots of parents will be worried to shout at their kids these days or tell them off in case child mentions it at school and then SS get involved.
I'm not saying kids need to be shouted at, but the whole 'darling we don't hit' said in a quiet, meek voice isn't doing kids any favour.
My SEN child (autistic) was told very strongly from young age to not hit. It took him a while but.. he doesn't hit. I do know quite a few other autistic kids his age and almost all of them do, because 'they are autistic', which is just an excuse for bad parenting.
If we don't parent them properly, they get away with stuff. He is 'behind' his learning, but he should be able to function in society and hold down a job.

Recent example... we sold his Lego set for £250. He helped with ad, someone came to pick it up. In the excitement of selling it (he has ADHD too), he grabbed cash, ran upstairs and threw it in the air. Person left but only handed over £230. Son was a bit upset, but don't think he will make the same mistake again. I wasn't about to bail him out, but lots of people would.

I'm a parent, with SEN child, now home ed, originally from abroad.

I feel for the teachers in this country, the big class sizes, the very long days.
My SEN (now 11) child couldn't cope with class sizes that big, there were no SEN school spaces so we home educate. I don't see how the 'inclusion' can work specially for 'high functioning' autistic kids who need much smaller classes, but mainstream curriculum.

Where I'm from (Eastern Europe) school day is 4 hrs long, so teacher can do prep/marking straight after and then just go home. Class sizes are generally 18 max until 11, then generally 20. Schools are much smaller, secondary will be 300 normally. School is compulsory, so no one can be excluded. Yet bad behaviour or SEN isn't widely known at school/catered for. I think because kids start at 7yo, they are more mature, are able to spend more time playing for longer. I took this approach with my other home ed child (no SEN), who had no interest in learning till quite recently, but was able to pick up several math concepts in an afternoon - we now do more structured learning, surprisingly he learned quite a lot of math via play and whatever he didn't finds easy to fill.
Because of more varied curriculum and also because parents don't really have much interest in day to day school things, kids just get on. There isn't that pressure of reaching x amount of GCSE's, otherwise you are failure. There are different types of school available in secondary, so kids who aren't interested in general learning can pick coding and specialise in that at 14.

I think part of blame needs to be laid at safeguarding and Social Services.
Parents are terrified to let kids do any of the stuff they ought to do at their age, due to possibility of injury and/or being blamed if something happens to them.

For example, kids abroad quite often walk to school at 7. They go off out and play independently of parents.
My nephews are the same age as my kids and they are much more independent. My sister laughs when I say they have to wait till 10 plus to walk to school.
My SEN child was able to drive petrol go cart (can do at 6), go summer Bob sledging and do various other activities, which in UK aren't accessible till much later because of 'risk'.

I agree, but the DfE make us use it

MEG sounds like more bollocks, sorry.
Teachers shouldn't need exam results from a 10-11 year old to know what their targets should be at 16 years old, class assessment should be sufficient.
I have to do the government baseline test for reception in the autumn term and it's a waste of time. I should using that time to talk to the kids, play maths games and observe them during activities. That would tell me all I need to know.

Unfortunately this is true. It's really hard to get a place and while on a waiting list your dc will have to go to mainstream school. I took a year off to home school but it didn't do mine any good: he learnt more but he needs to train social skills as well.

It seems like only the very disruptive kids (: violent) get the fastlane to send schools but I admit that I only got anecdotes to back this up.

Parent of 2 DC secondary school. One NT that teacher describe as polite, serious, hard-working. Other ND who is no fun to be around. He's polite and has never been rude to any adult ever (except his parents) but he's hard work for himself and for teachers. The thing is there is a lack of send schools: the ones around here cater to major cognitive dysfunctions whereas my son has a normal iq but his ocd and immaturity doesn't make him fit for mainstream. He repeats the same joke 20 times and laughs and he can't concentrate if he's not interested. He ought to be in a Send school but they won't take him because he's too intelligent...well no he really isn't no matter what the test scores say his theory of mind and executive fonctions are not those of a 15 year old. I have apologised to all teachers for him interrupting the class by making weird noises or flapping but I'm not there to soothe him and his 1:1 is a young, nice girl but who is not qualified to help him.

So I know it must be hell to teach when you got students who are not acting like students and who shouldn't be in your classroom but as a parent I have to tell him to go to school. Finally in September he can leave the school system and go into protected work scheme with other SEN teens. It will be better for everyone.

That's so sad...back in the 1970's mum {a teacher} said the Stationery cupboards were filled with boxes of aromatic cedar pencils, lovely exercise books, boxes of pritt sticks and cow gum and copydex and rolls of sugar paper and paints, drawing pins and other goodies.

When you are complaining about children swearing remember alot of adults are also unecessarily swearing too.
Children learn it from somewhere.

Years ago parent would have believed you and had it out with their child.
Why would you make that up?

How sad.
Phones definitely have a downside. This is proof.

@LoztWorld I'm so sorry you're in this position because you shouldn't be, and neither should your little boy.
He's very lucky to have a lovely mummy like you making the best decisions you can for him.
There's no easy answer or solution and you're right - the children I support at home have to have another adult present at all times for safeguarding (and this is usually a parent).
Do you get financial help with regards to his difficulties?

Thank you for replying. This is awful. That poor little girl. The state is just completely ignoring its duty to provide for all children then. How is this happening in a rich country in the 21stC?!

I don’t know how we will cope if he has to go to mainstream or be tutored at home. The former would be utterly unsuitable. It would just be a complete farce and so far from the kind of education he needs. And the latter would likely require one or both of us giving up our jobs.

When there's no teachers left.
Parents will have to.home school. Then they will be moaning
Why don't they think before they give teachers a hard time.

@LoztWorld Unfortunately, yes and it is unfair on everyone. I'm a EOTAS tutor now after leaving mainstream class teaching after 20 years and it is wonderful to be able to work with those "lucky few" who are being funded by the LA to have some home tutoring.
I have just finished supporting a beautiful little girl who is of Reception age but completely non-verbal and with many additional needs. She has been allocated a place at a specialist provision for children with communication difficulties. I was delighted for her at first...until mum informs me she won't be able to start until Easter 2026. No schooling until then.
It's not OK.

Teachers complaining about kids with SEND who wouldn’t be in mainstream 10 years ago… how bad is it?

My 3yo has moderate to severe intellectual disabilities. People with his health condition are almost always nonverbal, may not ever be toilet trained, and are intellectually similar to babies/toddlers even as adults.

My health visitor has said he’ll be unlikely to get a place in a special school and will probably need to go to mainstream.

Are there really children like this in mainstream school now? I’m terrified for him and have been hoping she’s wrong.

As a parent it's so depressing reading this thread, I'm sorry you all have to put up with this sort of environment. I have 5 kids and I think I've only ever emailed a teacher on two occasions, I would feel ridiculous emailing them over tiny little issues, and that's with two of them having SEN. Please know that there are still parents out there who appreciate what you all do.

Has anyone mentioned the cheering word 'compliance' yet?
It caused such a reaction in my school that it was changed for consistency - but it still means compliance.

They ought to be excluded if they disrupt learning for others. They are welcome to fail the subject if they wish, on their own.
I can see the benefit of not letting someone do it if they showed no commitment before.

Some don't but the threat of it is there.

Gove took out most of the vocational subjects and streamlined them reducing them further.
He introduced more academic work even in the vocational subjects that remained.
He forced a requirement for lvl 4/5 math and science in to the subjects meaning that the higher grades are no longer based on skills shown but on academics instantly removing higher grades from 20% of the cohort and reducing what the subject should be for the rest.

It's learning facts by rote now. But, more worryingly, the defunding of the arts. Also, the baffling science curriculum where pupils only do about 6 practicals in total for the whole gcse course (2/3 years)

It makes absolutely no sense (unless your own dc will never set foot in a state school and go to lovely private schools who don't have to follow the not fit for purpose National Curriculum gove)

By Y11, my experience is that pupils who have fallen behind (or who like the current Y11s) have huge knowledge gaps due to the covid lockdowns) just give up.

The content of subjects like history, or science is just too vast to ever catch up without natural talent in the subject or extra curricular tutoring.

I really think that this year's gcse grade boundaries will have to be pretty low 😕

The tories gove have destroyed any real love of learning, and the curriculum is SO dry. Even the best teachers struggle to make it interesting.
/
In what way? Is it ridiculous stuff like doing times tables and fractions at 6 y.o. when they arent developmentally ready? knowing the full tables by heart aged 8/9 in y 4?
I can't remember starting to learn the first ones till after 9 back in the day of dinosaurs.

This years Y11 cohort has been badly let down by the DfE.

They didn't do KS2 sats ,so schools have no idea what their MEG should be. Most of this Y11 have been labelled as MPAs when they really aren't.

As a pp said, it's all about maths and English now - so much so my Y11 dd has another set of English and maths mocks next week.

I'll be glad when my dc is done with education tbh.

The tories gove have destroyed any real love of learning, and the curriculum is SO dry. Even the best teachers struggle to make it interesting.