Utterly disastrous teacher trainee applications for next year

[noblegiraffe]

Analysis on twitter of the current state of play of teacher training applications for September shows that the figures for secondary have barely changed from last year when the government only reached 59% of its target for secondary recruitment. This is despite massive increases in bursaries.

Really worryingly, primary teaching applicants are down 15% on last year.

twitter.com/jackworthnfer/status/1630150284683911171?s=61&t=oXSFDbmiMqnRpz_ijYIZlQ

We do not have anywhere near enough teachers. Teacher trainee numbers for last September (who schools are currently hiring to fill vacancies in September) were awful. Even school who previously didn't struggle to hire many well find themselves without teachers in September. That the year after is looking similar is unthinkable.

Classes are having different supply teachers each week. Unqualified teachers. TAs are teaching classes in primary school. A recent thread on here had classes logging into computers and watching videos of lessons instead of having lessons. Exam classes are having to teach themselves due to no teacher or no specialist teacher.

And what has the government done? Just announced another massive pay cut for teachers next year, scrapped the fee-funded schools-based training route and massively reduced the number of accredited teacher training providers for September 2024.

What. The. Hell?

Teachers are leaving in droves. I'm one of them. The job is simply too much I was on the point of a breakdown.

This isn’t the case in Scotland- I’ve been qualified for 4 years and still in perm supply, being posted to schools within my local authority. I should be able to apply for permenancy this year, however there have been no permenant jobs advertised for the last year, so doubt that will be happening anytime soon.

Of those who I attended uni with, I’m actually in a good position- many of them are on 6 month contracts, have taken bitty fixed term contracts across several schools or have quit teaching because they couldn’t survive in just short term supply work.

What’s the situation like in teaching in Scotland? Are a lot of the issues similar to England? Workload, insane primary subject expectations for inspections, expensive teachers being managed out, too much content in the curriculum etc? Is the pt better? If people can’t secure permanent jobs, is that because they are training too many people? Nobody is leaving? There are still strikes in Scotland though? Am I right in thinking?

Sorry-too many questions!!

Workload is definitely an issue in Scotland too. We have the wonderful 😏 curriculum for excellence which is very full and impossible difficult to get through in enough depth.

Im no expert but from what I hear and see on Social Media it seems like there are too many teachers being trained, LAs are employing more probationer which means they aren’t employing qualified teachers, qualified teachers can’t get secure employment and so the cycle begins again.

Yes, we are on strike today and tomorrow in Scotland.

Wondering what would happen if teachers just announced they are going on a long-term “work to rule” strike - refusing to do large chunks of what’s currently considered part of the job (paperwork, displays, most marking, trips, setting individualized detentions, phoning parents, dealing with parents’ emails).

I’d support them!

Agree with this. I found the attitude from 'mentors' and the whole atmosphere in school toxic. Never did do the NQT year after qualifying.

LAs are employing more probationer which means they aren’t employing qualified teachers

How does this work? Aren’t the probationers qualified teachers a year later? Are you saying that they let them go after a year?

We’ve tried working to rule before. As teachers have to basically do whatever hours are needed to get the job done, WTR doesn’t work.

If we stopped marking completely and replying to parent emails/phone calls home, MN might implode!

Yes, the probationers are fully qualified the next year. However instead of advertising vacancies for the next year, the LAs take on even more probationers the next year. This years probationers are out of contract, and no jobs are advertised for them to apply for.

There was a freedom of information request to councils with showed that that councils take on almost twice as many probationers now as they used to.
So all these teachers are being trained, qualified and then can’t get a job to work!

I’m still confused! So, the LEA recruit probationers but there aren’t any schools for them to work at? Who is paying them?

In England, if there is a position, the schools advertise it and the schools fill it. The LA isn’t involved at all.

It’s part of the PGDE programme- one year at uni/ on placement then a years probation before you are fully qualified.
The LAs give a years contract and they are paid by the LA I assume, but it’s only a single year contract. Once you have qualified and passed your probation, you have no contract with the LA and need to start applying for jobs.

it’s crazy that the systems are so different in different parts of the UK- sounds like neither system is perfect!

I'm one of the ones who changed career to go into teaching later in life.
I got my NQT year done and left.

The most shocking thing to me was the utter lack of professional respect given to teachers, by the senior management. I had experience of the adult world of work, having been in many workplaces. I knew what normal workplace standards of respect and management behaviour should be like.

SLT treat new teachers like naughty over-grown sixth formers, or bully them. They have no idea how to treat adults in a work environment. SLT don't seem believe teachers are capable of being reflective and improving themselves, like a professional adult who wants to do the job properly.

SLT themselves are driven slightly insane by the pressure of Ofsted - real or imagined. Most of the excess workload comes indirectly from this fear of Ofsted - such as the obsession with data, instructions from on high for how and when to mark pupil books, how to show you have planned lessons, etc., as if qualified teachers haven't a clue what works for them and their classes.

If I had been left to get on with teaching, marking, and planning as I saw fit in my professional judgement, I might have stayed. But the degrading and humiliating experience of SLT coming to 'observe' my lessons, sitting at the back and writing notes on how well I was doing, then being given a 'grade' afterwards, was just too much. That is something you would never, ever get in another professional workplace.
(Of course I was 'observed' during early days of training, but during the NQT year the whole process was punitive, instead of supportive.)

My solution: scrap Ofsted, scrap lesson observations after the first year unless the teacher requests them for feedback, scrap the data and monitoring of the pupil's progress, and trust teachers to be professionals.

@Stillcountingbeans I agree with everything you said besides scrapping lesson observations.

As nerve wracking and annoying as it is being observed, I think it is really important that all teachers, irrespective of their position in school, are observed.

We have an open door policy at my school. It is so so so common for people to walk into your classroom. It could be someone above you (SLT/HOD) or someone with less experience just looking for new ideas. Equally, you are able to roam into anyones classroom whenever you like. You don't need to let anyone know beforehand, it's just the expectation that anyone can see you and you can see whoever you like.

Pay and workload aside, it seems that some parents will complain about their child’s teacher just because their voice isn’t cheery enough!

That's a troll tbf.

An informal open-door policy would be okay. It was the being graded as if I was a pupil myself that was so insulting.

Regardless of whether I was 'outstanding' or 'good' or 'satisfactory', which was always a lottery depending on the class and the day.

Then Gove changing 'satisfactory' to 'requires improvement' was adding further insult. All teachers require of themselves to improve, all the time. That is what a professional attitude and pride in your work entails.

Ofsted don't grade teacher observations anymore and I think most schools don't either.

Ofsted shouldn't grade schools either.

There are so many problems with the profession. It can be a very nasty and toxic work environment depending on where you work. Half of the cohort on my PGCE course felt bullied by their mentors who were clearly on a power trip. It really was a complete lottery with placements and staff.

Lesson observations are very subjective. I found it patronising having one of my lecturers come into school to observe me and pick out the most ridiculous of things, speaking to me as if I was one of her young children (I was 34 at the time) and not much younger than her.

The workload is insane. The pay is shocking. It is a completely thankless job.

I left teaching in 2019 for all the reasons already mentioned. A selfish point perhaps but I’m planning to take retirement this Summer. Just hope there’s enough teachers left to pay my pension! This is a serious point as teacher pensions are paid by the teachers currently working. What effect will the lack of serving teachers have on the pension scheme?

I worked in an Outstanding school and a Good one. The Outstanding one chewed up unqualified teachers and spat them out about 3 years later, replacing like for like. The Good one had excellent staff retainment and morale but a more challenging intake due to reputation. And because they retained their staff they had to pay them more, which diverted funds from resources.

Workload at both was insane but manageable pre-kids. Just. No way I could have gone back after having my disabled son.

There's a difference though in having lesson observations to tick a box, and having lesson observations to actually give support.
Last time I was observed I received no feedback whatsoever, it was just a paper trail (and to be fair I would only have half listened as our head isn't even experienced in my key stage ).

I left after 13 years in primary similar issues to everyone else I retrained as a social worker (with bursary) still stressful but I can work flexi time, work from home on occasion and the pay is better. Not amazing but better...people are genuinely shocked when I say the work life balance is better than teaching!

Also agree, and the focus on placements in training doesn’t help - you aren’t really training in most places, you are paying to work, and only if the teacher likes you will you pass. There’s a rather obvious danger in allowing individual teachers that kind of power - who guards the guards?

I find that disgusting tbh. (Not aimed at you - just at the system).

My work-life balance is in shreds because of all the social work I have to do on top of teaching because there are no social workers! It pretty much needs to be risk to life to even get involvement.

Actual teaching plus ppa and daily teacher tasks I could easily have done and dusted by 4:30pm. But I spend more time after work on social care than I do on teaching tasks. Admittedly, I work in a very deprived area so this is probably a lot more than an average primary teacher.

Recruitment drives to poach Scottish teachers away to England used to be held here. We would be invited to a conference and be 'sold' a career in England. I only ever knew of one teacher who gave it a try but she only lasted a couple of weeks. Her predecessor had been raped in her own classroom by a pupil at the school. Horrendous. She was glad to get back to Scotland.