It’s dreadful in my school-we have EHCPs with inadequate funding, ones that have gone months outside the 20 week timescale because the LA have insufficient staff to do the paperwork, and we can’t recruit TAs for love nor money. We have 7 in reception still in nappies-none of the TA staff are happy about doing the nappy changing, so lots are applying for jobs elsewhere.
Parents are desperate because they have had very little support from speech therapy, occupational therapy, health visitors, or paediatricians over the last 3 years and those services have been cut to the bone so any referrals that we do make are taking years.
The actual buildings are crumbling-due to age and crap material, nothing to do with concrete cancer. Windows don’t open or close properly, ceilings leak, carpets are mouldy, sinks smell, technology doesn’t work and we can’t afford to upgrade it.
The children themselves often don’t seem happy-the curriculum is overpacked, focusing on pointless things and they are constantly being tested. The mental health and stress levels are massively high and school refusal and aggressive outbursts are frequent.
Teachers are stressed because Ofsted are focused on subject leadership but primary teachers are neither paid for or given release time to do any subject work. The levels of SEN are high, expectations are insane and all this means that general morale is rock bottom.
The school vacancies on the school job website just go on and on-I have never seen it so bad. There seem to be endless head and senco jobs advertised as well, so it’s not just classroom teachers who are fleeing.