Govt planning to screw over teachers again

[noblegiraffe]

The government have recommended to the independent pay review body (late, they missed the deadline) that teacher pay rises should be 'more sustainable' this year. They haven't suggested a figure but looking at budget this would be 1-2% (i.e. another below inflation pay-cut.)

In the meantime, their commitment to reduce teacher working hours by 5 hours per week has been a complete failure as teacher working hours have actually increased in the last year:

"The latest wave of the working lives of teachers and leaders survey shows full-time leaders’ average working week in 2023 was 58.2 hours – over 11 hours a day – up from 57.5 in 2022.
The survey polled more than 10,000 workers, and found full-time teachers’ average hours were 52.4 per week, up from 51.9 in 2022......Teachers and leaders’ job satisfaction has also plummeted. Only 46 per cent were satisfied “most of the time”, compared to 58 per cent last year.

At the same time, the number of teachers quitting is increasing, and recruitment is becoming an even bigger issue due to the lack of people starting a PGCE last September who should now be applying for jobs.

The government gearing up for another war with teachers is clearly something they see as a vote-winner in an election year.

However, many voters are parents and can see the impact of the state of education on their children's experience at school.

NEU and NASUWT are currently consulting members to see if they want another ballot for strike action.

https://schoolsweek.co.uk/keegan-calls-for-return-to-more-sustainable-teacher-pay-rises/
https://schoolsweek.co.uk/heads-and-teachers-working-longer-despite-workload-push/

It's not just teachers

I've been a school governor for 20 years - primary and secondary

I've had enough. As have most of my governor colleagues

6 resigned last year

I think another 2 will go by end of summer term

Parents excusing and defending some of the most serious child on child abuse I've seen, no support for staff, abusive phone calls, e mails, fb posts, EVERYTHING is the fault of teachers/governors

Teachers are having to be camhs, social services, sen support...

I think I'm done

There is no money. We have lost several key staff members...many of whom have left the profession entirely, so even if we had money, we have no staff on the ground to implement support/interventions

I'm tired of being told I'm "breaching little johnnies human rights " by following the school behaviour policy and applying sanctions laid out in said policy!

It's exhausting

At least I can walk away...

Oh, and our current y7 has 36% send pupils...

I've never known a landscape in education like it

Oh, and our current y7 has 36% send pupils...

Yep! If over a third of children need provision that is ‘additional to or different from’ everyone else, then what we are expected to teach ‘everyone else’ is bloody not working!

There also needs to be an urgent increase in send schools. Really urgent.

There are more children surviving difficult births as well as certain medical conditions but who do then need send places. This is resulting in more children who perhaps a decade ago would have been in a send school, now being supported in mainstream. Which sometimes works really well. But very often it's simply the large busy environment of mainstream that isn't appropriate for them.

But there's just no room. It is now normal for children to come to send schools via tribunals.

There's no room. But we make room. But it's not good. Budgets are also so much less than they were in real terms.

Private / free school send schools are popping up and the leas are playing these a fortune to place children if there's no other space.

It's very hard to teach children with additional needs, either in a send setting or a mainstream school. It takes a lot of skill, commitment and patience. When it's not working it's a huge source of stress for the child, the class and the staff.

Cross post @user8800 but you illustrate my point.

I've taught in send for nearly 20 years, the cohorts have changed enormously in the last few years as the school they would have gone to can't take them.

The children we would have had with us are in mainstream (some if your 36%) unless parents have taken it to tribunal.

I agree that schools need more support to manage behavioural issues and children with special educational needs. There are way more diagnoses now and also teachers are expected to do more than teach, they are expected to be social workers too.

However like all professions there are good and bad. Unfortunately there's quite a few lazy and incompetent teachers who moan non stop about needing more holiday and that they are key workers (whilst not doing their best in some cases to not work in the pandemic) . Public sympathy has been impacted because of this and I wouldn't support a pay rise when other professions like nursing work harder.

It's not sustainable

It hasn't been for some time. But parents are taking it out on staff...not the LA, DfE or their MP. No one complains to the people who can actually effect change

I have a huge issue atm with the way some of the male pupils speak to our female staff and support staff...the andrew tate effect, I guess?

I'm really angry about it. And the parents of these kids think it's "funny" (I'm talking about y7s too, not just y10&11s)

Honestly, I should write a book - but I'm not sure I'd be believed!

I sometimes wonder if parents will start to care once their kids are being sent home regularly due to unsafe pupil/staff ratios?

Because no one can get agency staff either!

In my bleaker moments, I wonder if that's what the DfE wants? I can just imagine it...government ads for a volunteer "teacher army" to go into schools?

The old "who needs experts?" Tory rant...except it's quite important to have subject specialists teaching your children...art teachers aren't usually too good at Chemistry or Spanish...

Sorry, it's been a stressful few months!

@crew2022 sorry but another person not understanding basic supply and demand. The 'rewards' for being a teacher are not enough to attract the right number or calibre.

By the way, yes nurses also deserve more money and better conditions.

💯 this ^

Unfortunately there's quite a few lazy and incompetent teachers who moan non stop about needing more holiday

You don't have to be lazy or incompetent to want more holiday but I've never ever heard or read of a teacher saying this.

@Perfect28 yes I accept that a better salary might attract better teachers.
It's just hard to stomach when there is no money and so many professions need a boost.
Unfortunately the incompetent and lazy ones seem have clouded my view.

Unfortunately there's quite a few lazy and incompetent teachers who moan

There’s probably lazy or incompetent people in all jobs-even nursing. It’s up to their line managers to recognise and deal with that.

My secondary age child now has 50% of his lessons "taught" by cover staff. Not supply teachers. Staff paid to sit in a room while they complete tasks vaguely related to the subject they are supposed to be actually taught.

There is an awful staff retention crisis in schools that I would like to see fixed. Plenty have taken the "if you don't like it, leave" advice. I would much rather they stayed.

@crcrew2022 there's always money for war. There's money for Rwanda. There's money for their friends.

There is money.

Moaning about incompetent teachers - it's all part of the same problem.

If you haven't got any other applicants for jobs, then you have to hire a person that you wouldn't normally want to hire.

If you have someone doing a really bad job but the option is them or no one, then you have to keep them.

The government has instructed teacher training providers to basically accept everyone who meets the minimum requirements regardless of their ability to deal with kids.

Pay peanuts and don't be surprised if you struggle to hire.

It's not like in the NHS where you can see the impact of staff shortages in ever-increasing waiting lists. There has to be an adult in front of the class. So it would be more like if the NHS had to do your operation on your scheduled date whatever happened, and you ended up being operated on by someone they grabbed off the street.

So what do you propose is done to deal with the shortage of teachers? It's a hard job. It's not paid enough. Obviously it's not attractive enough a prospect for graduates.

It's a market. If you need more teaching staff you have to attract them

You got 5% in 2022, 6.5% last year. It’s just greed at this point. DH works in another public service and hasn’t had an increase anything like that.

And I bet you're first to complain if your child doesn't have a good, qualified teacher!

If teaching pays so well, why aren't you a teacher, out of interest?

Private school teachers, who aren't paid much more than state school teachers https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2014/nov/18/teachers-private-schools-work-hours-money, are not leaving in droves, so I really don't think pay is the main reason for teachers quitting. What's needed is a complete overhaul of the secondary school system, more specialised schools and the abolition of academies.

*My secondary age child now has 50% of his lessons "taught" by cover staff. Not supply teachers. Staff paid to sit in a room while they complete tasks vaguely related to the subject they are supposed to be actually taught.

There is an awful staff retention crisis in schools that I would like to see fixed. Plenty have taken the "if you don't like it, leave" advice. I would much rather they stayed*

This.

I know a Spanish teacher who can't speak a word of Spanish - she's a teacher of another subject who has been shoved into Spanish as they don't have the staff. I also know a Maths teacher who is terrible at maths, and has a PE degree rather than a Maths degree. Many kids and parents don't know this of course - the school obviously won't advertise this fact - but it is a dire situation. We cannot recruit or retain teachers. Then you have idiots on mumsnet berating teaching for being 'greedy'... 😂

Private school teachers, who aren't paid much more than state school teachers www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2014/nov/18/teachers-private-schools-work-hours-money, are not leaving in droves, so I really don't think pay is the main reason for teachers quitting

I certainly am paid far more than in the state sector. I'm on almost £70k in my private school. And we are still hugely struggling to recruit by the way, as nobody wants to train to become a teacher in the first place.

@JackSleepskin

if you don’t like it, leave, no one is begging you to stay.
A) they are leaving
B) we are begging them to stay

You'll soon be singing a different song when your precious child is struggling with maths being taught by a RE or music teacher and there is no chemistry teacher at all in the school and the class is being 'supervised' by an 18 year old gap year student
You are in primary right now. You have no idea what awaits you

That article is from 2014, you'll find that private schools will struggle with recruitment far more now that they are increasingly dropping out of the TPS.

Lots of private school teachers have been on strike about it. Not so many complaints about them being greedy though.

Because of the impact on private school teachers of dropping out of the TPS, I'm unconvinced of PP's suggestion that reducing pension to increase pay would be a teacher-winner.

All teachers have to do performance management every year. Nearly all teachers are dedicated teachers. You have to get through on every year. And the targets can be tough.

If you don’t you’re out.

We have a maths teacher and a science teacher leaving at Easter. Both teach y11 and one also teaches y13.

Their classes will have cover lessons until their exams. That's the state of education in 2024.

Frankly we need more teachers, which requires more funding and more attractive salaries.