Staffing crisis in schools - teachers/school staff, what's your school like?

[noblegiraffe]

Discussions with fellow teachers about the current crisis in school staffing has raised the issue of whether parents know how bad it is. I guess they won't know if we don't tell them?

My school - struggling to recruit teachers. There are subjects at A-level where students are currently teaching themselves, and with no prospect of a teacher on the horizon. Last year we had similar issues, pupils went into exams not fully prepared, and coursework was a huge problem. At GCSE where we couldn't recruit, there was a teacher in front of the class, but not qualified in that subject and pupils complained about the syllabus not being taught.

TA provision has been cut to the bone. There is only in class support if a child has an EHCP, this support is then spread to other children who need help. Due to backlogs with EHCP applications, and applications routinely being rejected (the assumption is automatic rejection, then appeal) some very needy children get no additional help in class. In addition, we have bigger classes due to leaving teachers not being replaced, so teachers are spread even more thinly.

There are huge concerns about teacher recruitment for next year as the number of trainees on local PGCE courses has collapsed.

And I know my school is in a relatively good position compared to others.

But instead of the school being honest about this they did not tell me and had to find out through my child.

There is a lot of this going on in schools. Not just children not getting the EHCP provision to which they are legally entitled, but children who haven't got maths teachers for months on end, or whose GCSE teacher doesn't actually know what they are teaching, or in primary who are being taught by a TA.

Schools don't tell parents because they don't have the resources to deal with the inevitable complaints, and what can they do about it anyway?

It would also be better, if the focus is to remain on 'Inclusion in Mainstream' if every state school has a 'hub' for the children who don't qualify for SS but also are unable to cope regardless of support in a mainstream classroom.

We have a hub for the 8 primary schools in our area but parents have the final say and if they don't want their child to go to the hub then they have to be in mainstream, often with staff who have had no training in their needs.

If they won't sit there and use the online resources then they will just have to leave the class and be dealt with just like disruptive kids are now.

Right now, low level disruptive students don't leave the classroom in most schools. They receive a sanction such as e.g. a detention, which they may or may not attend, but really not much is done about their behaviour. We're not talking about kids throwing chairs or swearing at staff or being aggressive. We're talking about two boys, sitting at the back of the room, choosing to do no work, and just talk to each other instead.

Okay, maybe they could be sent elsewhere- to presumably do no work in the new environment?

In this sort of learning environment, any child who didn't have a lot of personal motivation and drive at, let's say, 13-15 (which is a lot of students) would presumably be allowed to fail completely? Which isn't actually good for anyone.

Good teaching is about a lot more than delivery of content.

There's also an assumption that these pupils will all be seated at a device with reliable internet access.
Sadly another misconception that this actually exists in the majority of schools.

I'm sure the majority of people could come up with solutions to the crisis but if you haven't worked in a school and see the reality of it, you really have no idea what it's like.

@inthemarblejar

But it's the same amount of work for schools, whether the parent applies or the school does, we have to fill out exactly the same paperwork!
I can only write EHCP applications in the holidays because they take days, if not weeks to compile. And my authority has now told us NOT to apply at the beginning or end of terms as they have too many coming in and can't cope!

At my previous school, I felt under pressure to not tell parents the truth about the staffing situation. Parents of children in my tutor group would ring and ask why they'd had 3 or 4 DT teachers that term, and I'd explain that they were cover, and Mrs Y is on maternity leave, but we hadn't manage to recruit maternity cover.

So then they'd escalate beyond me and complain e.g. to the Head- who would then have a "quiet word" and suggest I pass questions like that on to her in the future.

After that, I wasn't really honest with parents until I knew I had a job secured elsewhere. When your head is your reference, you can't afford to upset them too much.

I'm sure it's the same with some primary teacher re e.g. TA provision.

@noblegiraffe
I would prefer if they were honest.

Yes parents would complain but ultimately the LA are responsible for making sure this does not happen. Maybe if schools were honest parents would complain to the LA and then direct their anger to the government.

I would have far more respect for schools and support them much more if they were honest with me and other parents I know who have exactly the same concerns.

I would prefer if they were honest.

If schools were honest with parents, parents would be absolutely horrified.

Schools need bums on seats for funding. The school that is honest would lose pupils to the next school who is probably in the same situation but not honest.

There is no benefit to the school in being honest with parents and as I said before, it just generates complaints that the school can do nothing about.

Speaking of legal duties, schools have legal duties to their staff- they are supposed to follow legislation around health and safety and working time, including breaks in the day. If their teaching staff are employed under school teachers pay and conditions, then they are supposed to follow certain rules around PPA, directed time and performance related pay.

There are definitely schools who don't do this, either.

Ultimately, I think a lot of heads see it as their duty to keep the school open no matter what. I think we'd be better off if they said "actually, given the current circumstances, we can't meet all our legal duties, so we are going to be closed today".

A few days of that would get schools funded properly, I think.

I think it's really important that all parents are aware of the situation in schools especially the SEN support inadequacies. EHCNAs as people are quite rightly saying are through the roof and Local authorise can't cope. Partly because the SEN support is so crap that schools/parents are forced to apply for an EHCP because it's the only way their child can (sometimes) get adequate support.

SEN parents are making noise about this. There is a growing body of protests and legal action being taken against many local authorities. But non-SEN parents either don't know or don't care about this. They care when little Ellie has been walloped by 'naughty little Johnny' again sure, but what they don't realise that if all parents got behind the 'this is not good enough things must change' then that would benefit all children (and schools). Schools hands are tied - they can hardly be out there protesting against their employers, can they?

Recent action:

www.lawgazette.co.uk/commentary-and-opinion/threat-to-legal-accountability-on-send/5114377.article

www.itv.com/news/meridian/2022-11-09/council-and-nhs-apologise-for-failing-to-meet-needs-of-send-children-in-kent?fbclid=IwAR1tq6tev5Clg4ik2E3gBxomdTi91GwZY9DkruYmqpI3Ji2lv-Fa7ZZ-JqI

www.suffolksendcrisis.org

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001dsnk

www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/they-must-be-held-to-account-send-families-to-take-legal-9280022/

twitter.com/alisonlmercer/status/1583718446269108224?s=46&t=oYL-051B6TXXGNhSipRrFQ

We had staff losing PPA last week to cover absent staff because we can't get supply. That is fairly normal now. We know we're not meant to be used for cover but what can we do?
Ofsted apparently care about well-being. That's a fucking joke.

I'm a senco for early years and the amount of external services we've had removed is a joke. Early intervention cannot be fulfilled so these poor young people are dragged through the system without their needs being met. Each year the struggles becomes bigger and makes the next teachers year even harder because their needs are still not met.

Needless to mention the volume of children forced into mainstream because special schools have zero places!

The thing is, if applications from parents are widely encouraged, then that entrenches the disadvantage experienced by SEN pupils with disabled parents, or non-English speaking / refugee parents, or simply parents of children with SEN who are just about keeping their heads above water.

It advantages SEN pupils with educated, better off parents who are capable of engaging with the system and employing professional help if needed. Hence my point above that it is already true that ‘child with EHCP’ does not necessarily mean ‘the most vulnerable child in the classroom’.

Ideally, SEN teams within schools and local authorities should be funded to a sufficiently high level that EHCP applications (as well as other levels such as MyPlan and MyPlan+) should depend only on the needs of the child, not their parental background.

This happened at my previous school before I left. In terms of "what you can do", we went down the union route, ultimately threatened action short of a strike (NEU and NASUWT members together). The situation was ongoing for about a term, to be clear, not just one week.

Somehow, supply were found for most of the year after that...

I'm happy to discuss further via PM.

The school also lost a LOT of staff that year.

Another local school closed for a week last year when they genuinely "couldn't get supply". Other schools have send year groups home etc.

I know none of these are really nice, or acceptable options, but I genuinely think the more we put up and shut up, the more schools/MATs/whoever will take the piss. If we give these things up "in an emergency" then we'll never get them back.

We are primary and can't get supply and, if we can , we can't afford it! Which means our TAs are having to cover. We have 2 class TAs to cover 5 KS2 classes, if a teacher is absent, the TAs are out of their class covering another. It's unfair and unsustainable but it's happening because, for the first time ever we have a negative budget. Salary costs account for the greatest percentage of funding so that is where the impact is felt the most.

I agree with your last post OP.

And yours, @Postapocalypticcowgirl

I'm a union rep: I know we can refuse.
But like we don't want to tell the parents how bad it really is because if the knock on effects, we don't want to push the school further into deficit because no one wants redundancies.

If the school closes, that doesn't cost anyone any money. And it focuses the minds of parents.

Obviously it depends on how your staff body feel about it, but long term doing this really damaged staff mental health and a lot of people left- overall the school is in a much worse position than it was before.

I do think it's a fight worth having.

Can relate to so many of these posts.

you only have class support if there is a child with a EHCP.

we haven’t had ANY supply’s in school since the start of covid. Our 2 lovely HLTAs cover classes who are stretched to their absolute limit and poorly paid.

Staff absence has risen. I’ve notice more so teachers are off sick than ever before.

morale is incredibly low.

parents are really expecting too much. Lots of anxieties from them. and not much support.

we can’t even afford pritt-sticks.

mental health in our staff isn’t great either. All totally burned out and have had enough.

when hiring teachers they are only taking on ECTs as they are cheap.

@cantkeepawayforever I can't disagree with you there. The parents I work with perhaps lack the know how to do everything in a very tricky system but they have the base knowledge/ability and impetus to seek support for their child. I would say the vast majority of my parents have been able to access things like private diagnostic assessments.

It's creating (who am I kidding has created) a two tier system. I also volunteer in my spare time offering my services free of charge through an organisation. So that helps me sleep at night. But still, if parents don't know how to access those services, or even that they exist, or worse if they aren't bothered and don't have the impetus to advocate for their child then it's those children who are sadly left behind. They're the ones more likely to end up permanently excluded, bounced around schools etc etc.

It's not right.

Dd2 primary in the suburbs. HT has quit and school have failed to recruit replacement. No HT until at least sept '23. Severe staff shortages across the school. Only new appointments are NQ. Dd2 being taught by NQ who thankfully is great.
SLT don't seem to know what the f is even going on in the school

we currently have shortages across the board. core and non core subjects.
We are looking at more shortages soon as more staff are leaving.
we have very few TAs, most are taken for 1-2-1 (as it should be) but there are no free members of staff and we are starting to lose PPA due to struggling to get cover.

But on the brightside a single PowerPoint that can take in all of the differentiation for my classes written by a super teacher is something to look forward to.

This thread is huge now, but has anyone mentioned the children who don't have SEND, or don't exhibit extreme behaviour?

What about the children who are so. nearly. there? They won't be by the end of the year if all energies of adults go on children who shouldn't really be in mainstream. What about the children who are doing brilliantly and need to be challenged? They aren't getting any of that, certainly nothing they do 'beyond' can be supported in any way. What about the children who have a quiet SN? They don't get noticed until later than they should have been.

Everyone loses out. I'm going to leave education because the unfunded 'inclusion at all costs' approach is not one I want to be involved with.

No, it's hardly been discussed which is notable in itself isn't it I made reference to it earlier.

All children are being let down. All of them.

I don't blame you.

To pick up the point several pages ago about children arriving in reception with speech and language delays unrecognised until then, it's linked in to lots of support services for preschoolers essentially disappearing.

DC1 had glue ear and speech delay 6 years ago. His regular ear infections came up in his 1 year face to face check with a health visitor who referred us to audiology who identified glue ear. At 18 months, we got a face to face appointment with a speech and language therapist who 3 months later came to visit him (and a couple of others) at nursery to see how they were progressing. The glue ear cleared up by age 2 but we'd had not one but 2 appointments with ENT by then. Talking to friends, there are quite a few children about his age who had grommits fitted between age 2 and 4 for hearing issues, identified because of speech delay.

DC3 is 4.5 years younger and the difference in available support is astounding. There is no speech and language therapy support other than a couple of phone calls now unless you go private, health visitor numbers have been cut massively because of budget cuts, and waits for ENT are enormous. Talking to other parents of similar aged children but who didn't have experience from older children, several of DC3's friends also have speech delay but it hadn't occurred to them there were support services - not only have the services mostly disappeared the signposting to them seems to have too. We knew what support to ask for because of DC1, and when faced with enormous ENT waitlists were lucky enough to be able to go private and DC3 got grommits fitted a month ago. Given how long wait lists are, and that the only posting to services now seems to be when preschool or school identifies a problem - the rest of his peers with speech problems won't will get far enough to get any solutions in place before they start school.