To think you can't expect children to do well at school when they have constant supply teachers?

[Sallystyle]

Child- GCSE stage, so year 10.

A big drop in grades for the school. Got a new head teacher, she sacked teachers with the idea that hiring new staff would improve grades, not sure where all these new staff are, they are mostly supply teachers. It's an academy.

I am not too sure what happened really but I know that my children have three permanent teachers now and the rest are supply teachers which change all the time. Parents meeting today about my year 10 son was done by a supply teacher who has taught my son for one lesson. I felt very sorry for him, he seemed like he is a great teacher but not the right person to meet with me to discuss my son who he doesn't know. He was completely out of his depth.

Seems like many children's grades are dropping by talk going around, including my son's. AIBU to wonder WTF they expect with all the upheaval of sacking teachers then them having different supply teachers all the time, so there is little continuity?

My other child who is the year below has also failed to reach his targets. Of course I can't blame that all on the staff problems but it hardly helps does it? He has had 8 supply teachers in one subject since Sept. Of course I have told my children they still need to work hard etc, but my SN child really does need to build up a relationship with his teachers and have some stability with staff.

There are indeed many, many qualified teachers not employed in school. In this area most of them have no desire to teach on a permanent contract and take on the parents evenings, reports, data crunching, new initiatives, planning and pointless hoop jumping that goes with it.

As I look at my pile of marking that I need to finish and leaf through my presentation I've prepared to share with (knackered, not too interested) colleagues about my planned methods of improving attainment in my class, I see their point.

We've advertised 2 jobs this term- no more than 2 applicants for either. None of them were going to be more than a body in a room, all they'd do is cover us legally.

Every teacher knows that there are teacher shortages. There may, as I said before, be pockets where that doesn't apply, but in general, there is a crisis. Experienced and specialist teachers are hounded out of their jobs, younger and cheaper ones can't deal with the massive pressure.

Supply teachers do that job because much of the stress of a permanent post is gone, replaced with stress about a regular income. That people will go on supply, rather than have job security (hah) speaks volumes about the state of the profession.

Look at Workplace Dilemmas on TES as well. Some of those people are broken.

It's no job to be in these days.