to ask WHY in the name of Gove are teachers striking again?

[loftyclopflop]

DD's school is closing on 1st October because they have chosen to strike. Is it over pay, pensions and conditions? Did they achieve anything by striking a couple of years ago other than massively inconveniencing a lot of parents?

I know Gove is a twat but do they really expect to change anything by taking the day off?

SomethingOnceyou want a mixture of types of teachers - surely.

Newname No secret , I know very few teachers who work over the holidays - only on MN do the seem to work 360 days a year. I work long hours in term time, if it doesn't get done it will have to wait.

(whispers) I only work about 37 hours a week in a 0.8 contract.

But I should be doing more, I've barely seen a child this week, so much paperwork to pile through.

Sure, just wondered why you single out a particular type to mention.

Personally, I'd rather a school full of dreamy types than the kind who act like management consultants.

I fully support the teachers. People have to speak up and make their voices heard and this is one way to do it.

Strange - every teacher in my school works full week at either end of summer holidays, plus comes in for a day or two at another time. At Easter and Christmas when we get about a fortnight we go in for 3 or 4 days and maybe a day or two each half term. If w don't we really can't keep up once children are in school.

Similar pattern in the last three schools I've worked at too. Are you primary or secondary?

I singled them out because if teachers pay and conditions are eroded further those are the only ones you will attract.

Newname are you primary? One thing I have learned in MN is that I am very relieved that I never became a primary school teacher, I never want to work that hard.

We certainly never see teachers for few days over Christmas, infact we actively discourage it.

You often only break up a few days before Christmas and come back just after new year, not sure where you would fit in 3 or 4 days of work .

Teaching requires passion. A passion to educate, to nurture and to inspire. Gove is actively making this profession a conveyer belt system. Burnt out teachers, pressurised children and anxious parents.

The teaching profession is becoming less appealing to graduates and therefore, instead of attracting a high calibre of new teachers, it will become "meh" job for anyone that is offered payment to train. You can't teach because someone will pay you, you have to have a passion to teach and to teach well. It's not just a job, it becomes part of your life. Many, many teachers are happy for it to be BUT they also need to be heard and listened to when things simply aren't working,and moreover, working well for the sake of educating children in the very best way.

It's in everyone's interests that this generation, and the subsequent generations, are taught and inspired so that they can go out, and in turn, do well in their chosen fields to support themselves, communities and the economy.

From what I can see, Gove is charging around like a bull in a china shop, changing this that and the other without any regard to the people that it affects the most - children. Let teachers have their say. Striking is not ideal. I am also under the impression that strike action is not undertaken at a drop of a hat. If things are really this bad maybe the public need to sit up and listen to what's going on and instead of blaming the teaching profession as a whole they need to question why Gove is sucking the passion and inspiration out of the whole eduction sector?

Maybe someone should ask Gove himself why teachers feel the need to strike?

Yep! But at least my marking load is lighter than secondary. (Looks guiltily at pile of books I brought home yesterday - off sick today and tomorrow, but had promised would get them to school via neighbour for tomorrow's lessons)

She is much brighter than me, would be great, she would be much more likely to progress quickly to a senior position, she was a straight A student, Russel Group uni, I didn't have the option to become a city lawyer.

I think as it stands pay is fairly reasonable, but the proposed changes, to remove the pay structure and allow schools to negotiate individually will make it less attractive. Already it isn't attractive to English graduates or headteachers. Which actually probably is less about pay and more about stress levels tbh.

You are right, we often do less in Christmas break and it does all depend on when Christmas falls in relation to end of term, etc. But on average a day at end of term to clear away from autumn term (and take down decorations, clear away party stuff and play costumes so the cleaners can get in properly), then a day or two either before term starts or between Chris

... oh. Posted too soon with the help from the dog ... continued
Christmas and New Year to set up classroom displays, check paperwork, prepare resources etc.. ready for new term because January PD day is always manic.

Claudia that's one of the best posts I've ever seen on here.

I fully support them. If you had any idea now hard most teachers work to educate your child, often costing them their quality of life and health, you would too. It is a grueling g job and droves of good teachers will leave in the coming years...then you will have something to complain about.

"holidays"

Once again. Teachers are not paid for the holidays. If you want to shorten the holidays then you would have to find more money to pay them.

Although I suspect that some posters on here will take exception to that.

It is difficult. Working to rule would harm education more - but how do we show people the reality of teaching otherwise? I couldn't do it. Just as I worked significantly over the EU working hours directive when I worked in the NHS.

Once again. Teachers are not paid for the holidays

teachers get 28 days paid holiday like everyone else

after that the following 5.2 weeks is unpaid

So if I strike, the public will lose sympathy for me and vote the Tories back in so that Gove can carry on fucking up the system?

No, as it was in 1979, the strikes caused the then labour government to be voted out. The strikes caused the government to fall from power.

The strikes now highlight that Gove is a prat

Ivykate which 5.2 weeks in the year are unpaid? I genuinely don't understand how this works. Most people in employment would find it very difficult to take unpaid leave as well as their annual leave.

I suspect most people could teach and do a good enough job to be honest - it is not exactly brain science.

Not many people can teach maths and do a good enough job. Gove would find it pretty difficult to replace me, in fact they are paying thousands in incentives to try to recruit people like me.

So why doesn't he stop pissing me off with his badly thought-through policy changes and what can only be described as a war on teachers with his deliberate removal of anything that makes the job more manageable? Why the fuckity fuck does he think that doing bulk photocopying is a good use of my time? Or that getting rid of my PPA would make me a more effective teacher? The mind boggles.

Basically of the weeks teachers are not in school 5 weeks are paid the remainder are not .

They are of course paid in twelve equal instalments .

But which weeks are paid? When teachers say they aren't paid for the holidays they aren't being entirely transparent. Surely they must know which weeks they are being paid for.

There aren't any specific holidays that are labelled paid or unpaid. Teachers get the same money every month.

In my experience very few teachers understand how the holiday works in their contract or for that matter how their pension is calculated .For example they focus on the annual pension forgetting that that pension is index linked and will go up each year in line with inflation and they completely ignore the lump sum element .

There are not specific weeks that are unpaid it's just that their contract is for 1265 hours plus five weeks holiday , which works out at roughly 1448 paid hours, the rest of the year is effectively unpaid . The effect is the same as for any part time salaried person .