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/

I'm not sure that increasing PPA time is a good thing.

Erm... what planet do you live on?!

Teachers in my department have 5 or 6 minutes PPA time to plan and assess each lesson. How is it even remotely possible to deliver good quality teaching in that time?!

Go on - you try to plan even a barely acceptable lesson in 6 minutes (even forgetting the fact that you also need to mark the class's books in that time as well, and/or field a constant stream of emails from parents, or write reports, or prepare for parents' evening...).

Seriously - give it a go and let me know you get on!!

Absolutely mental.

What age group do you teach?

You've never taught ks1 then have you? Planning and prepping a y1 literacy lesson is much more intensive than secondary (I've done both).

You need some serious maths educating...but there's been a shortage of teachers in maths for as long as I can remember. Shows, doesn't it?;

Maths teacher here, 2nd in dept.
I've been teaching since 2005. We've had insane recruitment issues in our dept for the last couple of years but are actually fully staffed this year - largely because we got a good Ofsted and the other local schools didn't but that could easily change at any minute.

For me the issue is less with the pay rise and more with the lack of funding to cover it. No extra money for schools to pay when budgets are squeezed beyond breaking point already.

Both my previous school and my current school used to have a HLTA based within the maths department to support the staff with extra curricular activities for the kids, general admin and data entry, displays, intervention, basically helping out the department so that the teachers could focus more on high quality lessons and having time to deliver enrichment activities for the students. There's no longer any money for that role so much of the fun that was done no longer takes place. We are too busy with the drudgery.

The kids are struggling and there is not just an attendance crisis but a mental health crisis. The increase in need for these children is just off the scale and there is no money in budgets for basics like text books and equipment, let alone enough places with the school counsellors who in our school have tripled their days in school over the last couple of years.

As for me staying in teaching, my older kids go to the school I work in. I'm staying so I know there's enough qualified maths teachers in the school to teach them (not usually me).

Once they've left I'll be looking at other options.

Oh and DH is NHS. We are both "well paid" professionals. We have a younger DC in nursery. we can just about scrape together enough to go camping for a week for our main holiday this year, but anything extra we do will mean adding to the credit card bill again which we had almost cleared

I’m actually wondering if secondary education should actually be treated more favourably than primary.

Why?

I am a teacher of nearly 28 years in secondary education. The work load is absolutely ridiculous. I.know it is probably even worse in primary. The conditions are appalling too. Lunchtimes are so.short now at my school. I.often have onli 15m.by the time i have dismissed detainees and been to the toilet. Behaviour is deteriorating, we have less support staff to help.with MH issues and SEND provision is not enough for the need. It a powder keg. Children and staff are being sold short.

I love being in the classroom, but sadly I have decided to.go.3 years early as the conditions I have described above are making it too difficult

I taught primary for 19 years and left mid year. The school couldn’t recruit to cover my days (I was part time) so the class is being taught by an HLTA for part of the week. The HLTA is not supposed to plan lessons or do reports and parents evenings so this has put pressure on the rest of the team. Before the HLTA started, the class had a mixture of TA and some supply cover so consistency wasn’t great. I do feel guilty about this but I just had to leave. The workload was ridiculous and the pay and pension didn’t make up for the constant pressure and stress. I now work more hours (but not really as I’m not taking piles of work home) for much less pay. It is worth it though.

Unless someone has worked in the current education system or they live with someone who does, I don’t think they can fully really appreciate the toll that teaching takes on your life. The working conditions need a complete overhaul to enable schools to recruit and retain teachers. If I had to sum up the working conditions in one word I would say they are abusive. I don’t use that word lightly.

Being a teacher is like being in an abusive relationship. Never say no, eager to please as more and more shit gets shoved your way.

And like a good girl ( and it is nearly always women) you just smile and keep going.

*Being a teacher is like being in an abusive relationship. Never say no, eager to please as more and more shit gets shoved your way.

And like a good girl ( and it is nearly always women) you just smile and keep going.*

Omg yes!! And constantly gas-lighted so YOU'RE the bad guy, when you don't want to work an extra 25 unpaid hours a week...!!

No, not all teachers are academically gifted martyrs but many have degrees. Some I know have traditional subject degrees from traditional universities.

I am a teacher in primary. About half of the teachers in my school have degrees. The other half have done 3 years at teacher training college.

Huh? I thought you needed a degree to be a teacher.

During which time they probably got a BEd degree.

All teachers have degrees. You cannot teach without a degree.

Rubbish

I can't remember that last time I heard the term teacher training college.

Not from anyone actually in teaching.

Cheery survey findings from the DfE https://www.tes.com/magazine/news/general/school-heads-teachers-considered-quitting-in-year

Which gave them a degree, yes?

Degrees for teachers came about in the early 80’s l think. So some people will just have a certificate of education. .

They will be pushing retirement age though.

Yes, I thought this. Teachers qualifying in the early 80s would need to be at least in their early 60s now. It’s unlikely that half of a school‘s staff are aged 60+ and if they are it’s an anomaly.

Ah, I’d forgotten about the certificate of education. We had a few people with this when I started teaching in the 90s, but they are long gone! I’m in my mid/late 40s and am the oldest teacher in the school apart from the head! I would be very surprised to hear of schools with 50% of the teachers in their 60s! Where is this school, @cherish123 ?!

It seems that people who know what they're talking about (as opposed to those twerps who just say "if you don't like it, leave") think that a 1-2% pay increase would be a terrible idea for teachers this year.

They suggest at least 3% (i.e. above inflation) is needed. I wonder what the independent pay review body will come up with given that they recommended the 6.5% last year that completely caught the government off guard because they'd told them to go lower.

https://x.com/jackworthnfer/status/1763533778499125409?s=61&t=U9XrcF693-JpMxeIueYG7g

https://x.com/lukesibieta/status/1763509814242476038?s=61&t=U9XrcF693-JpMxeIueYG7g