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 why? Why do you assume parents don't know what's going on?
Because very many parents - especially at secondary - don't have a clue.
We aren't advertising the fact that we've employed someone we didn't even consider to teach their own subject to cover a mat leave in another... because that's clearly insane. But it's happening.

What do you want parents to do? Sympathise? Try to make you feel better about your shit working conditions?

March on parliament? Demand better for their kids? Not vote Tory? Email their Tory MP and ask them WTF is going on? Set up a campaign group? Become a school governor? Support teachers when they go on strike instead of believing shitty Daily Mail articles about how they're a bunch of lazy, overpaid arses? If they're well off they could donate to their school.

I'm assuming here, that parents have some interest in improving their child's education.

Mine seems ok on terms of staffing levels at the moment but a lot of people are thinking of leaving and changing that because of the levels of abuse, it’s constant and grinding and not coming from the kids.

@Winterfires but that's the same for the doctors receptionist who has to triage patients, or the shop floor worker when there's no eggs on the shelves. We all have to put up with shit from our 'customers' sometimes, and I don't believe this happens to you daily

Parents should be outraged with the Government, it’s despicable, why should only those that can afford to pay be guaranteed a decent education.

You can disbelieve all you want but it’s true, I’m not a liar and I wish to god it wasn’t.

Honestly - there's only so much money in the pot, and frankly I would be happy if my child gets an adequate education but my mum gets lifesaving treatment from the NHS. And i don't believe a Labour government could deliver anything better quite frankly

frankly I would be happy if my child gets an adequate education

Wow. Others would hope for better.

and I don't believe this happens to you daily

You can refuse to believe it, but it's the reality for many school staff, and it's often more than once a day. 😔

Race to the bottom, at least Thunderpunt wouldn’t care enough to ring with abuse 🤭 Oh sorry ‘imagined abuse’.

Honestly - there's only so much money in the pot, and frankly I would be happy if my child gets an adequate education but my mum gets lifesaving treatment from the NHS. And i don't believe a Labour government could deliver anything better quite frankly
Why should average citizens scrap for crumbs when there's been over a decade of deliberate decisions made by people who don't give a single fuck about us, our parents or our children?
There's always plenty of money to funnel off to the chums of those in power

That said, I would not describe the current situation in education as 'adequate'.

There's another thread on MN at the moment talking about the impact of the pandemic on children and how they are still feeling the effects.

It should be pointed out that this is affecting schools who are expected to pick up the pieces but with not only no resources or extra funding, but fewer resources. Per pupil funding levels are still lower than 2010 when we hadn't just had a pandemic.

How can we support children in recovering from the impact of the pandemic when they are coming into dirty and cold schools (at least mine is), to be faced with cover teachers, or inadequately qualified staff, or huge classes with various needs that we do not have the staff to deal with?

CAMHs has also basically collapsed.

We have a list of parents who are only to be dealt with by the senior team, such is the vile abuse they've dealt out to staff. Several are banned from the school site. No one deserves to be abused at work.
Sadly we can't ban the students who behave in the same way. No one should be invited to "suck my dick, bitch" and then be expected to keep teaching the child. And yet we are.

The point I was making is - the money isn't there.
If it was a choice between who to give the money to, I'd choose the NHS.
How do you propose the money is raised to employ more staff? Tax increases for everyone? Better management of school funds?
How do Labour propose to make the education system what you'd like it to be?

@Thunderpunt if you heard the way many parents talk to teachers and admin staff, the demands they make, the emails sent at all hours, the turning up in reception demanding to see someone RIGHT NOW. Yes parents need to know.

Except it isn't adequate at all, is it?

The point I was making is - the money isn't there.

I understand that the Liz Truss interlude cost the country (i.e. taxpayers) £30 billion.

Should the country just shrug its shoulders and go 'oh well, I guess my kid will just have a shit education then, no worries?'

Jesus, this is appalling.

How do you propose the money is raised to employ more staff? Tax increases for everyone?

There's not been any money to fund schools for the last 12 years, and yet funds have always been found to fund Tory projects. It's extraordinary.

The money needs to be there.

I think what has appealed me most, out of all the awful things that have been mentioned in here, is that school staff are subject to so much abuse from parents.

That's awful. I go out if my way to remain courteous even if there's an issue, and to say thank you when staff have offered my child help. It is such a damning indictment of where this country is headed that this is an everyday occurrence.

Frankly I wouldn't blame you all for just quitting.

Yesterday I issued a fixed term exclusion to a child who had been throwing chairs and tables, hitting and kicking staff and using the most abusive language you can imagine. He is SIX. He has been waiting for nearly a year for a specialist school place but there aren't any. His SEND caseworker refuses to take my calls- probably because she hasn't anything more she can say. He has been refused support by the GP, the community paediatrician and CAHMS, the Early Help worker has closed the case because she has carried out her allocated 6 visits, he has already spent time in an intervention placement but with no real change. His mum is at her wits end, we keep him in school as much as we can just to give mum some respite. But the only way anything will happen is if we permanently exclude him. That would mean washing our hands of him when everyone else seems to have done so already. He has had 3 1:1 TAs in the two years he has been with us, all have left because he is impossible to manage ( he had been excluded from his first school three times in 2 months before joining us) - and we had to go to appeal to get the EHCP agreed in the first place as apparently we were " managing"
Unfortunately, his story is not an isolated one. The services, ALL the services are at breaking point and it is the children who suffer.

Parents and students. And not just in secondary. Some of the things that happen are shocking, even to those of us who deal with it.

What is important for all Parents to know is that the recent 5% pay rise that teachers have been "awarded" has not been funded by the government. It also wasn't announced until July, after school's had set their budgets for this year.

We budgeted for a 3% increase, and will have to find the 2% extra from reserves or by cutting spending elsewhere; bye bye TA's, infrastructure improvements etc.

When Teachers strike in January, and they absolutely will, this is the reason for most of them especially Headteachers. So if you talk to other Parents, please tell them this.

There's not been any money to fund schools for the last 12 years, and yet funds have always been found to fund Tory projects. It's extraordinary
Exactly this.
There IS money.
Unfortunately the health and education of your average citizen hasn't been a priority for over a decade.

Just because some people are happy to fight for crumbs, doesn't mean the rest of us are happy for children to have a substandard education, lack access to proper psychological support, and see children with SEN systemically failed.