Why are bloody teachers striking AGAIN?

[noblegiraffe]

Because, dear hearts, the government, when they offered us a pay rise of 4.5%, mostly unfunded for next September and all 4 teaching unions thoroughly rejected it, Gillian Keegan said that teachers would then have to take their chances with the independent pay review body and that there would be no further negotiations.

So teachers did. And the independent pay review body, who seem to have rather more of a handle on the current crisis in teaching than the government, recommended that teachers should get a 6.5% pay rise to introduce some stability into the system.

We only know this because the independent pay review body findings have not been published, but this figure was leaked.

Calls for the government to publish the report have been ignored. Most recently, a freedom of information act request to the DfE for the report was rejected, because the DfE says it's "not in the public interest".

Why is it not in the public interest to know what the independent pay review body has recommended? This report is published every year.

In the meantime, Rishi is briefing the press that he will reject the independent pay review body's recommendations, after making a huge fuss about how he always accepts independent pay review body recommendations.

Why should this matter to parents? Because headteachers are currently trying to write their budgets for September. The end of term is approaching. This job is currently impossible because headteachers don't know how much more they are expected to pay teachers next year, (6.5%? 5?% 4.5%?) and they have no idea how much extra money their school will be given to account for the pay rise (all? some? None??). This makes a massive difference as staffing costs account for the vast majority of school budgets. Should they be planning to cut GCSE subjects? Make staff redundant? Or will they actually be able to plan in some literacy support? That they don't know is intolerable.

A senior government advisor said that school budgets last year weren't worth the paper they were written on because of this same issue, and that it shouldn't be allowed to happen again.

Yet here we are.

The government are trying to drag this out to the summer before they make their pay announcement because then they'll be on their holidays and the 4 teaching unions' ballots will have closed.

I don't know any teachers who buy Cath Kidston frocks.

It would be a bit embarrassing in an area of multiple economic deprivation.

However, I have knowm teachers who dressed up as batman for World Book Day.

In a bin bag with a home made mask.

I didn't strike today for personal reasons and I feel so guilty. I did speak to my parents about how I support the strikes and hope they build in the autumn term.

I read about someone saying teaching isn't a stressful job compared to some. I was hit four times today by a child who is on a reduced timetable due to behaviour issues and violence towards staff. He is 7 and this is a mainstream state school. I didn't come into teaching to manage a child when we can't afford services and parents don't want other settings.

We have always been good and smiling and acting like everything is ok. Our world can be falling apart and we are there in front of the children making sure they don't have a clue how we are truly feeling.

Now we are speaking out because things are so bad. For us, for our colleagues and for your children. We can't carry on pretending everything is ok.

I cba to find Channel 4 News on catch-up and link it for you, as I watch it live. It is easily accessible, however. Tends to be preferable to biased BBC, which we avoid.
Books are great, but I find the delay between things happening and them being published tends to get in the way of keeping abreast of current events…

I wasn't suggesting that the Cath Kidston (thanks to the poster who corrected the spelling !) frock would be even remotely expensive, in fact, far from it, but rather a display of an airy-fairy Alice in Wonderland image.

Well done you.
You shouldn't have to put up with that.

I fully understand how this world may seem somewhat surreal for those who sit drinking their freeze-dried coffee in their flowery Kath Kitson dress and sandals from the comfort of their warm staffroom whilst complaining about how their rejected 4.5% pay increase is less than the current rate of inflation.

@Efficaciou5 - please help us understand. Why do you dislike teachers so much? Your username and general tone would suggest you may be a fan of our Gilly...

@Efficaciou5 who do you hate teachers so much?

Do you have said Cath Kidston frock available on ebay?
If so do pm me, at a reduced price I might be interested.

(For private and role play purposes only) nothing to do with 'real life'.

Don't feel guilty. I've had to work on all of the strike days because of the families I work with and the more complicated nature of my job, which I won't go into. I am not a classroom teacher, so it's different and not disruptive in the way striking in a school is supposed to be.

What I've done instead is pay into the hardship fund on every day I can't strike. So I have supported the strikes in a meaningful way even if I'm not on a picket.

I can’t think of any profession I hate - and to an embarrassing degree to boot. It’s just weird. And to come on a thread just to bash them too - well, that’s surely just like wanking?

£90 for a nightdress - not even remotely expensive. https://www.next.co.uk/style/st671316/u16365#u16365

I have never heard of a school with 10 deputy headteachers! We have 2.

That sounds nice that "real world"

Reality is I'm working in a sector where redundancy is likely. I was called in to a meeting earlier this year, told they were making cuts and 15 minutes later someone called me and deactivated my computer in a 3 minute phone call.

AI is taking over and shocking way the tech sector behaves has meant that letting people go with 20 years experience is as easy as deactivating their computer at 5pm on a Friday. Bastards!

The pension is crap and flexible working requests was met with a firm "no". We still have a bad gender pay gap. And I'm still paying an eye watering amount for all the childcare I need (less than 30 days doesn't cut it)

As I say it's not all rainbows and unicorns out there!

Teaching has its pros and cons but honestly, you guys need to at least recognise you don't have it that bad.

I don't dislike teachers. Not at all.

But I do dislike how many of those in a certain publicly funded sector think that it's OK to simply fail to turn up and do the job they're being paid to do because they'd like to be paid more and have better conditions.

Everyone would like to be paid more and have better conditions, but the vast majority who fail to turn up for work in protest would be sacked.

I'm not familiar with whoever your "Gilly" is, and so no suggestions there.

Bloody hell Remus. 90 quid for a nightdress.
I'll stay with the avon catalogue.

I didn't strike today, but I would have done, had I not retired. I remember the last round under Thatcher. She smarmed her way about the awards, and the back pay. I was over thirty, and one lot of back pay bought me a B&W tv, and the other a washing machine. I had a house then and enormous mortgage repayments.* And I thought how dare she? Conservatives think that being a public servant is being a public slave, we aren't worthy of respect let alone a living wage - not salary.
*So I benefitted from that in the end, but I remember.
My parents went to a church which had a gate memorialising a Mr Geddes. Back in the 20s he proposed a cut in teachers' pay to help the country, the Geddes axe. It would be paid back when things were better.
It wasn't.

@MrsHamlet I genuinely think it's a ToryBot. Definition of efficacious - producing or capable of producing a desired effect. Designed to disrupt the thread and waste our time. Tories hate us because we're educated and capable of critical thinking. They want everyone to doff their caps and swallow the three-word soundbites. Probably worth ignoring from here-on in even if it is a human being behind the posts tbh.

And the first thing Thatcher did after the 1970s public sector strikes was put everyone’s pay up by a considerable percentage, I believe. There was no money then, but a general election makes a huge difference.

I 100% support the teachers strike. Although could home learning be optional please? Trying to do fractions with my 12 year old child who has adhd is giving me lockdown flasbacks.

Who is making you do this?! This shouldn't be happening.

Striking teachers are not setting home learning. Don’t worry, there won’t be any when everyone is on strike in the Autumn.

😆 Gillian Keegan, the current Education Secretary! You're entertaining, I'll give you that! 🤣

@twistyizzy

"If the government valued education they would find a way of funding it. They don't value education or educators so they choose not to fund it."

+++
Sorry but there really is no money- Government debt after Covid is now sitting at £2.5 trillion and we pay more in just interest on that debt than we do on the entire education budget.

There are only three ways of funding additional spending on education:

1. Raise taxes - no party ever got elected promising tax increases plus every other government department is screaming for more funding from Defence to NHS - they will argue any additional funds should go to them. Plus as per my previous post 1% of taxpayers contribute 30% of all income tax, 50% pay no income tax at all.
2. Cut spending- the only two areas to make real savings are moving the NHS to a private health insurance model and rapidly raising the state pension age. No Government will ever get elected on these policies- it will be electoral suicide.
3. Borrow more money - post the Covid splurge this is not an option as Liz Truss found out the hard way.

Lastly it will be no different under Labour which is why they haven't committed to raise teachers salaries.

How would you fund more spending on schools?

@SpringPop

You know, you could leave your job too?

I admire every striking teacher for making a stand to improve things for children rather than just leaving.

I'm tempted to buy it and wear it as a dress to work - it would be perfect for all that time I get in the staffroom drinking instant coffee, eating biscuits and being a lazy woke leftie.