Asking teachers & doctors...

[PolkaDotMankini]

Would you rather:

a) Be paid more
b) Have your working environment fully resourced, with enough time to do everything well in standard hours, the right number of staff, decent equipment, computer systems etc.

The rules on strikes seem to force strikes to be about pay when actually pay would be ok if it wasn't for the awful conditions. Conversely, IMHO no amount of dosh is going to make up for a terrible working environment and ridiculous hours.

Obviously both would be best, but am I right?

Teacher here - absolutely B for me. I still think we deserve better pay but I’m in the lucky position of OH earning well enough that we can manage.
Lack of time and crap behaviour from students - the culture at our school has just gone to the - are the two biggest stressors by a million miles.

Whilst A would be nice, definitely B. I think that the unions have got it wrong allowing the public to think that it’s about pay. Work is incredibly stressful and having a massive negative result on both my mental health and family life.

I left teaching recently, my decision was made because of the working conditions I was happy with the pay.

I work for another Public Sector organisation and my experience is like chalk and cheese. Ive taken a paycut but now work flexi so can do my hours anytime 7am-7pm with up to 2 hours for lunch. I've been able to take my DD to much needed medical appointments for important but not emergency issues which I could never do before. I lost the holidays but half term came and went whereas normally I'd be absolutely exhausted and run down by the time it arrived. Any resources I need IT, PPE I ask for, get the OK and order it with no fuss. I'm told that after my hours are done to put my laptop away, anything else will wait and phone is to be turned off unless on call. I'm trusted to do my job without constant micromanaging.

I miss working with students but just volunteer at DDs sports clubs instead. I would never go back to working in a school because UK working conditions are so poor.

100% B (teacher)

The unions haven't done that though.

(allowed the public to think it's all about pay)

Teacher - A thousand times B!!

Absolutely B but since there is no political interest in even engaging with the real issues in education, then the only option is to raise pay to reflect the difficult working conditions.

B definitely. Ex teacher here. A pay rise would not have kept me in full-time teaching.

Teacher here, and B.

A

I am probably quite fortunate though as I work for one of those big academy trusts and while it isn’t a brilliant place to work, it is not short of money.

Unsure of the rules re strikes. I keep reading here we’re only ‘allowed’ to strike for more pay but a school I know of went on strike in protest against the headteacher.

B

B would cost the taxpayer much more than A, unless the intention is a drop in teaching/healthcare standards.

Ex teacher here - the reasons I left were 100% to do with the working conditions and I would have taken a lower paid job to get out of it so definitely B.

Absolutely B. B would be the reasons I would leave. Obviously A would be nice but it's the lack of B that grinds you down each day.

B

I have no pencils, whiteboard pens, glue sticks, a modern IWB that doesn't glitch a;; the time, a guillotine that cuts, a reliable photocopier, any laminator, enough staff to manage SEN, a laptop, up to speed wifi. The list goes on and on. The mental load and stress of this is more damaging than the pittance per hour I get paid.

B with the proviso that all current and future pay rises (for inflation, to encourage more applicants etc) MUST be fully funded - ie if the Government says ‘5% more’ then every school’s budget must be given all the money needed to pay the 5% more, in advance of the point when those increases have to be paid.

So no huge pay rises is ok, but any pay rises that are paid by ransacking schools’ already stretched budgets must be outlawed.

I think the two issues are connected though - we have a government that treats the public sector with total and utter disdain. This manifests itself in severe underfunding, which includes pay.

Pay feeds into recruitment and retention issues, and a severe shortage of staff is a direct cause of many workload issues in schools.

You cannot fix working conditions without fixing staffing and you can't fix staffing without improving pay (and I'm not just talking about teachers, school support staff can earn more as a shelf stacker in Aldi, so huge recruitment issues there too).

What we actually need is

C) a government that values education (and health).

B

No question

Definitely B.

I've just put out requests for resources for my class on social media!

Individual schools can strike over individual school issues like a bullying headteacher or poor behaviour, but if you want a national strike you have to strike about an issue that affects members nationally. Pay is an obvious one. Very hard to strike nationally about workload when individual schools manage workload very differently.

Senco here and definitely B. It is very disheartening working with children and knowing what they need is out of financial reach. We are failing them.
I am happy with my pay. If I was offered a pay rise I wouldn't turn it down of course, but my job is a passion, but one which I cannot do fully due to lack of funds in school.

That makes sense - thanks.

If inflation was at a normal amount, I'd say B.
But the mortgage company and the utilities care not whether my workload is ok.

A because B will never happen.

B. So I don't end up at home an exhausted shell.

1 hour a day prep time.

A class set of scissors and colouring pencils. If I need or want something cheap for work to be allowed to buy it. Eg a homework set stamp, whiteboard pens a dvd. Pens for students who don't bring their own. Enough furniture so don't have to store books on the floor. Coffee and tea would be very nice. A sink so we don't have to fill out the kettle from the tap in boys toilet (because we dont have time to go to the staff room). If we want a fridge we have to buy our own.