Our education system is an utter shit show

[Noonelikesasloppytrifle]

I don't think people outside of education realise what an utter mess our education system is in and how bad it actually is.

I have 4 DC with one still in primary and the rest at secondary or 6th form. I have worked in various educational settings and have been a Governor. I am currently working in a large secondary ( 1500 students) in a pastoral role having moved from another area of the public sector which is also in a mess. My DC all attended state primaries. Two of them are now privately educated with the other 2 attending state grammars and one moving to a sixth form college.

I have been really shocked by how bad it is in the school I work at. It has clearly been managed badly for a number of years (former head went on long-term sick, followed by maternity, followed by sick leave) so they were rudderless for a while. They have just joined a MAT who all want the same behaviour policies with a blanket discipline regime and no regard to the individual needs of the kids. There are a mix of behavioural problems but they are all lumped together so those kids who have SEMH issues are punished for not attending lessons when the classroom environment is so toxic for them that they can't cope. There is no resource for it to be dealt with in any other way.

The curriculum and assessment schedule has completely disenfranchised a whole raft of kids. At the start of year seven they're already aware that scraping a 4 in most subjects would be their best outcome but they're forced to sit in classes where the only attainment measure is an exam at the end and we wonder why we see so many challenging behaviours in lessons. There are barely any TA's so often 30 students with one teacher and some very difficult kids to deal with.

This week at my school they had so many staff off sick that for three days we had 5 classes put together in the main hall. It was either that or close the school.

The staff all appear to dislike each other. Teachers don't like SLT or pastoral but also exhibit a sense of entitlement. It's certainly not an "we're all in it together" type of attitude.

School are expected to solve all the ills of society. On a daily basis we're dealing with the impact of poor parenting, lack of boundaries, the poor diet and social media etc etc. There is so little resource to deal with this properly

I know that not all schools are like this. My 16 yr old DC (at Grammar) does not report the same issues at their school that I do at mine. However, I do know that our other nearest secondary is experiencing the same thing as us and they have a similar demographic (rural county).

I feel so sad for the kids coming out of this system, particularly those without the network around them to provide support and direction.

@crumblingschools
All SN parents face different challenges. OP wasn't about SN specifically, isn't in the SN section. We all know SEND is underfunded. I read OP to be about schools generally.

I think part of the problem is that schools can be such challenging environments now that healthy kids go in and develop MH issues, and then suddenly they are SEND kids.

Also I think that because Ofsted and the CQC inspections are such punitive processes, it can be very hard for the school and medical leaders to reach out and say "actually we are not coping and we need help" and then that is bad for the patients and pupils.

@Oblomov24 schools don't get enough funding for SEND, huge issue for schools, especially as so little help outside schools, so schools having to pick up pieces. You can't talk about problems in school without mentioning SEND.

@portura I assume with that level of FSM you are in a pretty affluent area, which usually means affluent parents and active PTA, which helps with enrichment activities. If highly selective secondary schools will be active parents helping with education and use of tutors

Not all kids with semh have shitty home lives. Dds unmet ASD has morphed alarmingly into semh needs. She has imploded while school look on branding her a little shit. Her ehcp paperwork says she was homophobic at 7. She doesn't know what homophobic means. I would be surprised if they said she is a neo nazi Hamas supporting pedophile. She isn't like the other nice white middle class girls so she must be evil. I have heard so much bile about her recently even I'm seriously worried she is evil.

She's cuddling her jellycat bunny right now. If everyone says behavioural issues it's mum. Mums who eldest who has just into a RG uni. I mean she might be pure evil.

DS is bright.

He's also online had a French teacher for 3 weeks this school year. His school cannot recruit and retain staff. Lessons are done on duolingo instead. I used to think bright kids would do ok wherever they went. I'm not convinced he's learning anything right now.

My school which has historically not had issues with recruitment is now seriously struggling and kids are having an awful lot of cover lessons. The result of this is that behaviour in cover lessons is now appalling. Kids see a cover teacher and just massively take the piss, even if the cover teacher is an established teacher at the school. It's astonishing how quickly things have gone downhill.

Things are still fine in my lessons, but sometimes kids turn up having had multiple cover lessons that day. It's becoming a real problem.

The stats suggest 13% of children have Sn. That still means 87% don't. We all agree send is underfunded and it also affects non NT children. But I wasn't referring to Send specifically. Op was talking about schools generally, dc generally, no Sn dc specifically.

Yes it is.

It's been getting worse over the last 10 years.

All the cuts across the board mean that schools are now

Safeguarding experts
Social workers
Mental health workers
Parenting gurus
Feeders
Clothers
Nurses
Signposters to external services
Form completers
Mediators

The list goes on.

It wasn't this way when I started teaching 25 years ago. Back then, we taught.

You would be shocked that children have to watch the teacher perform science practicals because they can't afford the resources. You would be shocked that there are children in secondary who can barely write a 3 word sentence because SEN funding is so awful they can't get a specialist setting. You would be shocked there is no TA to support that child unless they have an EHCP. You would be shocked at how many cover lessons there are because of staff sickness and no way to pay more staff. You would be shocked at the number of rude emails/phone calls from parents staff have to deal with. You would be shocked at the temperature inside in winter. And summer. You would be shocked at the social media issues they deal with.

And just because top set maths is well behaved, doesn't mean a thing. If your school is in Surrey, there will be a problem with county lines (drugs). All secondaries have problems with sexualised behaviour, so much so it was one of the main updates in KCSiE this year and is a big focus for Ofsted to see how schools address it.

ALL state schools are struggling due to chronic underfunding.

@Globules do you think we could go back to the way it was then? I think it was better. Also with blackboards instead of screens, and books instead of videos.

We live abroad so I can't speak from personal experience, but I know that my nephew is not having his needs met as an SEN child in primary school.

I have a friend here whose grandson has a similar diagnosis, and he was moved to a specialist school upon diagnosis. Nephew is still in mainstream, and ultimately just being 'managed' until high school.

And underfunding SEN doesn't impact others? Or schools generally? Or DC generally?

The genie is out of the bottle with screens. Our children can no longer focus without the constant stimulation.

At the end of terms, I recall seating 450 4-11 year olds in the hall, wheeling out the TV on a stand and putting a video on. Every child still and engaged. A few popped to the loo.

No way that would happen now.

@Oblomov24 one poster said her school had about 7% SEND so there will be other schools with much higher level of SEND. So think of a class with 25% kids with SEND and no TA, how do you think that plays out, then think of the children who come from dysfunctional families, children who are carers, children who don't give a shit about being in school, parents who don't give a shit about education, then add in teacher recruitment crisis

Also with blackboards instead of screens, and books instead of videos.

^^

Agreed. Less stimulation in class too i.e.no massive posters on the wall, loads of colour etc etc.

Kids sat at individual desks, in silence.

My son's teacher has this old school approach and says it's the only way to maintain control, and ultimately educate. Individual desks, in silence.

If schools only had to teach, it would be better but as PPs have said, they are taking on multiple roles in schools and it's ruining the system.

I dread the day my DDs go to secondary. A flexible approach to schooling for parents who can invest in their children's education by supplementing with home schooling would relieve the system somewhat but it will never happen. Tbf I would do that now in Primary. If I could afford to reduce by just one day of work it would make the world of difference to my DDs future.

After working in a pastoral role and now as a school counsellor in a secondary, we have just made the decision to send our eldest to an independent secondary. We are very fortunate to have this option, but I see so many of the issues you have cited in both the schools I've worked in, and really feel for the many children who are let down.

our younger children has SEN and if if he is unable to attend the school my eldest is going to, well home educate at secondary.

I really struggle with view on here that bright children will well regardless. Many do, but given the general move to mixed ability teaching (not everywhere and not completely a bad thing), bright children are often unable to focus on class due to disruptive peers and teacher's spending their time managing behaviour.

FWIW, my experience in schools is in Fairly wealthy, rural areas, where many parents believe the schools their children attend are different. In reality, they are not. They are grossly underfunded, teachers re teaching subjects they aren't qualified to teach, and have little knowledge of, and the children around them who do struggle, are treated poorly.

@fuckityfuckityfuckfuck

Read my post. I did say "We all agree send is underfunded and it also affects non NT children."

??

This was the review on sexualised behaviour in schools, very shocking reading
(another thing schools have to deal with)

review-of-sexual-abuse-in-schools-and-colleges

@crumblingschools

Same to you. Read my post. I did say:

"We all agree send is underfunded and it also affects non NT children."

So you point is?

@Oblomov24 because it has a massive impact on schools. Your point that 87% of children don't have SEND implies that it can't be that big a problem in schools. Most people who work in schools would disagree with you

7% is a distant memory! I haven't had a class with less than 40% SEN since pre-covid. Add in the trauma, caring responsibilities etc... in my current class I have only 4 children with no additional needs or difficult background. No TA. And it's a 'posh' school.

And children with SEND are much more likely to be vulnerable when it comes to safeguarding