The Department of Education think we are fucking idiots

[noblegiraffe]

In a week where we have seen the release of a report by the Commission on Teacher Retention making 10 recommendations that need to be taken to improve the retention of teachers because the profession is in crisis https://www.educationsupport.org.uk/media/bn2bk5a3/1970s-working-conditions-in-the-2020s.pdf

Where the EEF released research from 55 countries based around improving teacher retention in England because it's at crisis point https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/bonuses-would-help-tough-schools-attract-teachers-eef

And where the Public Accounts Committee criticised the DfE saying "We are not fully convinced the Department appreciates the pressure schools are under..." in its report into post-pandemic education recovery where it says a decade of progress has been wiped out from reducing the gap for disadvantaged children https://committees.parliament.uk/publications/40220/documents/196416/default/

When we know that the government is projected miss its target for recruitment of trainee secondary teachers this September by over 50% and teacher vacancies are almost double what they were pre-pandemic.

This is what they post on their twitter account. With shitty emojis like they've got something to be proud of. https://twitter.com/educationgovuk/status/1666732172034596864?s=61&t=U9XrcF693-JpMxeIueYG7g

Record number of teachers - teacher numbers have increased by 6% since 2010. Pupil number have increased by 11%. Maybe the DfE need some of Rishi's maths to 18 to be able to accurately interpret data.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/record-rate-of-teacher-departures-as-40000-leave-sector-last-year/

In other news, all 4 teaching unions are currently balloting for strike action in the Autumn - if you're a member, PLEASE use your vote.

So fucking fed up of this shower.

Using almost exactly the same words, over the space of a few hours.

Is this this crap they are turning out prior to announcing another poor offer?

It's honestly insulting. I'm struggling to make it by each month working as a teacher in London, and they just do not give a shit.

I'm planning on 7%, if it doesn't happen I have a buffer.

You understand that's 7% of an unfunded increase so that's TA's, books, building and enhancements fucked to the top of Fuck Mountain.

My calculator is a pile of molten plastic that begs me hourly to end its suffering.

The sad thing is that many people will believe their lies.

That was my first thought too. And teachers forced to go pt and survive on pt wages to keep their weekly workload under 50 hours.

Oh, more research published today

"More than a third of secondary school leaders (38 per cent) have made a reluctant appointment to a teaching position, while half have been unable to interview any candidate because of a weak field, according to a stark new report into the teacher recruitment crisis."

"We anticipate that the recruitment crisis in secondary schools will persist for several years as pupil rolls continue to rise. Of particular concern is the high level of dissatisfaction among teachers, which may lead to a greater exodus from the profession,” the report states.

While the people in charge maintain that there is no problem at all and in fact things are going great. 🤦‍♀️

[[https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/teacher-recruitment-crisis-intensifies-schools-make-reluctant-job-appointments

It genuinely feels like they're trolling us.

Same! I know so many amazing teachers who have gone part time for their sanity. I wonder how they are counted? In reality do we actually have few full time equivalent teachers? 🤔

Sorry! That should say fewer!!!

What jobs do they go do instead, nurses, teachers, doctors, etc. who don't manage to get retained in their initial profession. They still have to pay bills, what do they go do instead, I wonder.

I think they're aiming to leave the country in as bad a state as possible prior to the general election.

Loads of other jobs? Part of the problem is so many other jobs are looking for the same qualifications and can offer perks like WFH and not being shat on by the government all the time.

I'm.a secondary school.teacher in my 50s. Was full time up.till last year then dropped to 0.8. I just sick of the relentless pace and having to work weekends. Have been told must go full time nxt yesr as one member of staff is leaving and cannot be replaced. It's a shi* show. Education is in a mess. It takes over yiur life. Some of the kids are sweet. I.like my job I just don't want to work so hard.

I've been part time for over a decade, no way would I still be in the job if I were full time. But even working part time as a teacher is shit compared to other jobs where you might work three days then the rest of the week is your own.

I wonder how many of those teachers are also full time? I'm getting more and more requests for part time work as people have just had enough. They love to teach but don't love all the crap that goes with it.
I had a budget meeting earlier this week. Support staff costs have increased (and so they should!) but with no extra funding so what we are going to have to do is start making people redundant, putting more pressure on the remaining staff. My funding for children with SEND is going nowhere near the level and complexity of need we are seeing. It's a shitshow of the first order.

Schools are a fucking shit show at the moment and the government are fucking delusional.

We are struggling to recruit. We have classes on permanent cover and it's looking to be worse in September. We are going to hemorrhage more money on agency staff and add extra work onto the other teachers to write the cover for those classes. What a mess! Protected PPAs? Hahahaha hahahaha. 😭

Anyone got a magic wand?

We are three teachers short for September, just in my dept alone. At one of the best schools in the county, we are fucked. I have school age children and I'm really concerned about what's going to happen for them :(

Things will only get worse when the government refuse to offer a fully funded pay rise. The situation in schools is desperate. So many TAs now used as long term cover teachers teaching children with unmet needs as there’s simply no money left. I hope every parent with children in this system finds out the truth of what is going on. We have been papering the cracks for so long and now the walls are falling down around our ears.

Not exactly news is it?

Or course they don't give a shit

Well no, it's not news. But you'd kind of hoped they might have cottoned onto the fact that no one is buying their shit anymore when the independent pay review body that they told to recommend 3%, recommended 6.5%.

Still waiting to hear what they're going to do about that, given that they told teachers they would have to 'take their chances' with the pay review body when we rejected the government's offer of 4.5%.

Five supply teachers working one day a week each is five times as many teachers a one FT one.

Remember this a department that wants everyone and everything to be above average.

Exactly this. I've even found PT to be too much. Like thousands of others, I'm leaving the profession in July.
Used to love the job and be so proud of my profession but now it's unbearable. Lack of funding, a curriculum unfit for purpose which leads children to feel like failures and contributes to poor behaviour, unmet SEND needs (I've no issue with inclusion but must be funded properly), ridiculous workload and insane demands from ofsted.

Keegan is looking at DfE as a stepping stone onwards and upwards in the Tory ranks.

She won’t do anything that might jeopardise her career trajectory.

Thankfully her career trajectory is tied to that of the Tories which is doomed.

I just remembered that in her glossy webchat with Justine she used the same “record high” argument about school funding. Yes, but there’s a million extra pupils since 2010 and per pupil funding is lower.