To wonder when this government are going to stop destroying education?

[brizzledrizzle]

Dbro's children's school was on the news last night as the head was talking about the funding cuts.
Why are the government doing this? I can't see how this is going to mean kids leave school with the skills needed by the country.

And if private schools do choose to switch in a few years, they will benefit from lots of past papers, textbooks written for the new specs (which they have the budgets to buy,unlike state schools...). It's a travesty.

Is would be interesting to know which area you are in Willbe. I don't think just by living in an area you can get a picture of what it's really like "at the chalk face" so to speak. I can personally only speak for the school I work in and those where I know other staff.

Im a SENCO in a primary school, I've been a teacher for 17 years and the cuts to budgets are making it extremely difficult to do my job properly. I don't understand why there isn't a huge uproar nationally about cuts. Teacher retention is dire and I guarantee if it's not happening in your child's school already that they will be taught by unqualified teachers and HLTAs at some point. It's bad...
I'm planning my escape.

Private schools also don’t have to waste their time doing SATs.

Im a teacher. Last year our GCSE results were the 2nd highest in the county, top 4% of the country. We moved to an academy (it was forced upon us) 6 years ago. We also had to change our age range from a middle school to a high school, so we have only been teaching GCSE for 6 years. We have had a surge in numbers due to pupils staying on, an increase in the local population due to new estates popping up and parents from out of catchment wanting to get their kids in because we are an outstanding school. We have no money. None. We havent got enough space or classrooms. We teach in the canteen because there are times when there is no other space. The building is 100 years old, and the drains are collapsing and we have no money to fix it. Our outstanding results, strong LS department, miniscule gap between pupil premium and non PP pupils means nothing. The government aren't interested.

Sadly I don't even thing a change in government will help. It's been going on for years. I left teaching at secondary many years ago now and have taught over the years before and since (different sections) and under different governments. And it's just never been valued and it's always been underfunded. I even have logs from the turn of the century from 1904 to about 1950/60s and many of the logs from the headteacher in those complain about underfunding issues!

We need people who actually teach or have taught recently in the highest roles and who understand what is needed and how in schools. But can't see it ever happening.

The area i live in does not have failing schools

They just cant afford to put the bloody heat on!!

The government has said that school funding is at “record levels”. This is correct in terms of how many pounds are in the budget, but inflation and increasing pupil numbers mean per-pupil funding has fallen since 2015.

Between 2010 and 2015, spending per pupil had stayed largely the same, according to economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).

From fullfact.org

My school is doing very well (my dc school) they are academy and are always improving, building new classroom, updating classrooms.. The pta gets other stuff in etc. They seem to have everything they need.

“there is wide variation in funding per pupil across similar schools in England. One example the IFS gave is that:

“Plymouth and Bradford have similar characteristics (e.g. both have about 17% of pupils eligible for free school meals), but funding per pupil is around £500 higher in Bradford than it is in Plymouth. This is largely because back in 2004 there was a significant gap, with about 24% of pupils eligible for free school meals in Bradford and 16% in Plymouth in 2004.”

From fullfact.org

graphista, I am afraid the odious Dorries does not need votes. She has one of the largest majorities in parliament. Without outing myself, both DH and I taught one of her daughters in two different establsihments. She didn't really give a stuff about her own daughter's education (because she knew she could get her /give her a job) so she will hardly care about anyone else's. She refuses to visit my school because sixth formers were once 'nasty' to her. She lives 150 miles outside her constituency.

OP, you know a Tory voting teacher???

I do know they exist , but I always find it frankly astonishing. It's like turkeys voting for Christmas.

My old head said he had voted for every main party during his working career . Not surprising as he has become so distanced from the chalk face that it all became about business to him. The illusion that our school was financially astute is beginning to reveal itself as a school on the brink.

Interesting thread full of gross generalisations:

Piggywaspushed - I work in a school in a deprived area where three quarters of teachers are staunch Tories.

WillbeatJanuaryblues - I am interested in your posts as I think it highlights a major part of the issue.

I am a Deputy in a very deprived area and have been in the school for ten plus years. My head is on the finance consultation group for our county. We work with many other schools in our area and generally, in primary, we, alongside these other schools (cannot speak for secondary) are extremely well funded. This is not a post about 'I'm alright Jack' as somebody stated, it is simply giving the facts as they stand rather than using soundbites to attempt to debate a complex issue. We are significantly better funded than ten years ago. Why?

We are 50% free school meals, thus obtain a substantial amount of pupil premium funding.

We have nearly 40% EAL children thus obtain funding per head for those individuals.

We get many thousands through the sports premium which allows us to employ sports specialists who also undertake ongoing CPD with our teachers for PE.
We have in the last five years benefitted hugely from match funding (open to every school) whereby for certain resources such as phonics programmes, the government puts 50% towards what we have spent.
We have a head who has been in post for several years with excellent budgeting skills and who, for every single penny we get, looks at the impact upon the children. Many schools who have a succession of heads struggle with budgeting as they are often left in a dire state.

Therefore, in terms of blaming the Tories for neglecting those most deprived, what has actually happened is that so much more has been given to deprived schools, it has left those deemed less 'deprived' worse off. This is not acceptable but I am simply stating that the argument is far less straightforward than many of you seem to realise.
There IS also a problem with funding with many other outside agencies - there is far less available in terms of external support, mental health support, external support for SEN so things are far from perfect.
There is certainly the issue (and I work closely with a head from one such school) for heads in affluent areas who now are not receiving adequate funding and at the point that funding reduced their schools were already needing repairs, resources etc.

Currently we know that in the next two years our budget will be cut and it has been stipulated that this is due to reducing staffing levels. We have many teaching assistants at the moment and I have to say, I'm in agreement with this to a point - it comes from research done from the Education Endowment Fund several years ago which could not find a link between support staff levels and impact upon learning, hence many schools particularly in Ireland have moved away from employing TAS.
I am not for one moment saying that the for the schools out there that are financially struggling that this is acceptable as of course it is not; however, I do think people need to understand the bigger picture.

Once again, let me reiterate that it was my school on the news last night. We are not in an inner city area, nor do we have many EAL children; we do however have many cases of serious deprivations in and around our school, as well as some pockets of wealth. It's a typical semi-rural comprehensive in a shire.

In the last 4 years we have made 14 TAs, the librarian and a PE technician (sports college) redundant. Via natural wastage (staff movement/retirement) we have cut our teaching staff by between a fifth and a quarter. Our buildings should have been replaced in 2010 under BSF and are desperately dilapidated. At the same time we have coped with the new GCSEs, desperately underfunded welfare/mental health services and a significant increase in social/behavioural problems caused by increasing difficulties in many students' home lives. My low ability Y8 class has 4 with ADHD, two that require laptops (I only have 2 plugs, both at the front and need one myself...), one that cannot read. And there are 28 of them - the equivalent class two years ago had 24, and less need. Our exam results are holding up but at what cost to individuals?

Education is at breaking point. Teachers are leaving in their thousands and are not being replaced. Children - your children - are losing out. And if you have been in one of the lucky, better- funded areas, the new "fairer funding formula" means their budgets will soon be cut as well.

Exactly Smalldog...

The government has said that school funding is at “record levels”. This is correct in terms of how many pounds are in the budget, but inflation and increasing pupil numbers mean per-pupil funding has fallen since 2015.

What really gets on my tits is that the Government just keep dismissing the growing voices from the chalkface who are telling them what is actually happening. This insistence that 'funding has never been as good' while the reality is so dire really sticks in my throat.

It is a growing perfect storm of dilapidated buildings, growing numbers of children with SEN but no funding to support them, disillusioned staff, ridiculous 'standards', an overcrowded and ill-thought out curriculum and, of course, the mass exodus of 100s of experienced teachers...but 'funding has never been higher'....I despair. I really do.

What will it take? As a teacher, my union can only call for industrial action about our pay & conditions. Most teachers I know feel utterly powerless about this shitstorm.

And I read an article today about an academy boss who had a nice juicy pay rise while one of his schools advertised for 'unpaid volunteers' to do essentially full time, vital jobs like running the school office!!!!!! I'll try & find the link...

Support staff having no impact on learning? Fast forward to the present day, in some schools there would be NO learning without TAs. All TAs in my primary school teach regardless of experience and grading. All NQT time, PPA, teacher meetings, teacher sickness, teacher courses are covered by TAs. The only time supply is brought in is if all TAs are doing two jobs i.e. covering teaching and being their own TA. Disgraceful. I really think we need to put a few pence on income tax and ring fence it for education and the NHS. Perhaps I'm looking through rise-tinted specs but in the 70s we all survived 30% income tax at the bottom and 95% at the top.

I live in the south too and the school I work in and the schools my children are in are actually well maintained and heated. The cuts are affecting them in different ways though.

I'd say that there are less experienced teachers for a start which would be hard to 'see' as a parent.

I'd also say its vulnerable groups that suffer most so a child with an SEN is having a much rougher time now in terms of access to services they need and getting the support they need. You wouldn't really see or know about this unless your child had an SEN.

I also find that PTA's raise more money in some schools than others. Where I work the PTA raises 10k a year, just 5 miles away where I live (much poorer area) the PTA raises 3 k a year and its a school with more pupils.

Some areas of the country fare better than others for funding and there are places where the need is massive, but many would not regard them necessarily as being deprived. Schools in coastal towns often have lower results and poorer outcomes, but they wouldn’t automatically be thought of as deprived. They suffer from a range of issues, many of which could be likened to inner city areas, but equally, have difficulties particular to them.

Those of us who are, or were, in the education professions, have been saying for some time that the system is crumbling. For some time, we have been ignored. There has been little sympathy for the viewpoint of teachers, because for so long, it was regarded as a cushy number- short days, long holidays etc. Only now are people beginningto realise that it’s a far too simplistic view. Added to the extreme and continuing pressure placed upon the profession, the tipping point has been reached. More are leaving than joining. Most are lasting only a few years. Experience counts for nothing because experience is expensive.

Industrial action by teachers has generally been a waste of time, because it inconvenienced parents and had little impact. Unions are disunited and toothless. There isn’t the capacity to rise up against the government and facilitate change.

Now that the wider public and parents are realising that the schooling they took for granted during their own schooldays, is in danger of disintegrating in a sea of enormous classes, crumbling buildings, unqualified and demotivated staff, there is growing concern that the government has trashed education. It’s not just this government though, although it’s much worse now. It’s governments over the last two decades at least, who started the process.

I don’t think funding cuts are the only way that education is being destroyed.

I think what has been put in place could be described as racism against UK educated children.

Atm if your Ds or dd want to qualify in any career they must have English and Maths GCSE, even if English or Maths isn’t relevant to the career.

So this means fewer people are qualifying so we have to employ people from abroad.

But the people who are coming into the country to do the jobs are people who don’t have to jump through the same hoops.

We have a situation where Ds will not pass his English GCSE. So will not be able to continue with any courses at college that he can realistically qualify in as he doesn’t have that bit of paper to say he has passed English GCSE.

However, he can go to the US for 2 years and for about £4500 per year plus living expenses he can get a student visa and qualify a year earlier in his chosen career.

No GCSEs required to do the course.

(Only the English speaking test which is for all students looking to study in the US)

He can then come back and work in his career in this country without a problem

The US is not the only country you can do this. Most places around the world this is acceptable

Years ago it didn’t matter what exams you had just that in certain circumstances you had to have a number of O levels.

Dp has a Law degree but failed English.

I know of someone who is top of his field in a scientific role who also failed English.

I know a lot of solicitors who failed Maths.

All these people wouldn’t be doing the job they are doing if they were born 30 years later. They would not be able to qualify in anything and would have spent their lives working in call centres or packing department for Amazon

it comes from research done from the Education Endowment Fund several years ago which could not find a link between support staff levels and impact upon learning, hence many schools particularly in Ireland have moved away from employing TAS.

I think you are guilty of oversimplifying the research findings. From the Education Endowment Fund

“Where overall negative impacts have been recorded, it is likely that support from TAs has substituted rather than supplemented teaching from teacher”.

In too many instances, unqualified TA’s are covering lessons.

“Research which focuses on teaching assistants who provide one to one or small group support shows a stronger positive benefit of between three and five additional months on average. Often support is based on a clearly specified approach which teaching assistants have been trained to deliver.”

Schools need to look at how teaching assistants are employed within the school and at their training.

In addition, a good teaching assistant often provides invaluable pastoral care and support with behaviour management. Just because this doesn’t produce impact data, doesn’t mean it is not valuable.

I agree small dog. The government magnified the parts of the report that suited their agenda. The report actually said that where TAs were trained and deployed effectively, their use was beneficial to pupils' education.

The government magnified the parts of the report that suited their agenda.

Absolutely. Then lazy SLT/CEOs of academies don’t read the actual research, but justify their decisions on the sound bites. Short term thinking at its worst.

The EEF research.although important, also exclusively focuses on the benefits for disadvantaged students, not all students. So, the months progress figures are about how far students catch up, rather than excel.

So much parroting of half understood statistics in educational debate!

So, the months progress figures are about how far students catch up, rather than excel.

I am not sure what your point is. Isn't it in everyone's interest to help disadvantaged children to catch up?

It's even more depressing than I thought.
Why are people wanting to become teachers?