Is this school newsletter too rude?

[RudeHead]

NC as obviously outing to other parents. This week's primary school newsletter had the following from the head^^ about parents' evening...

Thank you for all the positive comments that teachers received yesterday. They all work so hard for each child in their class. Though I have noticed that there are too many parents not attending the parents meeting and making individual appointments with teachers before and after school This will not be allowed. We start at 1.30pm and finish at 7pm so whatever job you have, you can still make the consultation. I have to keep the workload down for our teachers. If there is a reason why you cannot meet on the designated parent consultation, which is dated in September, then please write to me.

AIBU that this is unacceptably rude? I feel like I should write in or something. I get her point but surely there's a better way to make it?

Just popped in but I think Yellow is a robot 😳

Beep

The good thing about Yellow's school is that it doesn't exist. Absolute bullshit.

I think the head in the OP has worded it badly, but some parents really do try and push boundaries. For those parents who say that they can't commit to a date six months ahead for any reason, when exactly would you like the teacher to meet with you? Most teachers are happy to compromise to make things work, but parents need to be reasonable too. Expecting a teacher to stay until 8pm? Not a bloody chance.

I had one parent complain that they were far too busy to meet before 8pm on any night. Before school wasn't an option for them (I'm at school by 7am every morning) because they liked going to the gym before work. A phone call wasn't acceptable to them. They then managed to take the afternoon off work and come to the school and complain to my principal that apparently I wasn't dedicated enough to their child. Prin rightly laughed them out of her office.

I am a teacher and find it hard to get to my son's school. I need to meet with his teacher. We discussed it, I asked my principal if I can leave right on the bell one afternoon, high tail it over to my son's school and be there by 3:50pm. His teacher is happy with staying until then to get the meeting done. Sometimes you have to put yourself out to get to important meetings. A couple of times I've swapped yard duty or planning time with someone for myself, or them, to attend a necessary appointment. Same as if you had to see a doctor, or meet a lawyer, or collect the keys to your new house.

If it does exist, and is in the UK, we can expect to see news of its spectacular failure in the press within a year or two. Thank goodness I am about to earn 40,000 for classroom teaching without having to sell my soul to the actual devil.

I would think that, long/inconvenient shifts aside, most families could arrange to get someone to parents' evening, whether that's a parent, grandparent, family friend etc.

I'm feeling quite entertained by YellowFish's fictional school actually - tell us more!

Teachers are in short supply. If schools are going to attract good teachers they have to offer good working conditions.

Although "providing a second member of staff to support home visits".Plenty of other professions visit people at home alone. I am not supporting the idea that teachers should visit parents at home who can't or won't come to parents evenings, but I do find some people have no idea of what is normal in other jobs.

A learning walk is when DH walks around classses at random to check the quality of teaching and output.

Your DH is not qualified to do a learning walk if he’s not got QTS. His opinion of what learning is happening in the classroom is like me going to watch a surgery and claiming to know how successful it was. Unions won’t be allowed in the school because your DH is failing to adhere to any of the burgundy book - statutory teachers pay and conditions.

Oh Yellowfish has a school as well as a workplace.

Tee hee.

Maybe Yellowfish could furnish us with the name of her DH’s superb school so that we can all learn from it.

I’m a little surprised that a school using such innovative practices and achieving such excellent outcomes isn’t better-known in the education community - if only through notoriety for paying its teachers a basic salary that’s £6k less than the starting salary for a newly qualified teacher.

“I’m a little surprised that a school using such innovative practices and achieving such excellent outcomes isn’t better-known in the education community”

Yes- it sounds like a beacon for the Free Schools policy- and it sure as hell need them!

I’ve had a half hearted attempt to track it down- no luck. Anyone else?

So, any old random person can rock up, set up a "school" and call it 'free,' and then boast (via a partner) and tell us how to do things?
Who knew?

If they really are paying £17k starting salary, they won't be using qualified teachers.

Bertrand I found a school which is paying its caretaker £17.5k. 🤷‍♀️

Otherwise, no.

That is the kind of salary paid to unqualified people teaching kids. So I believe it. But it is crap.

Not rude it’s spot on reply. The school shouldn’t have to pussy foot around snowflake permently ofended parents.

well, in these days of shortages, the idea that a school can pay £17k starting salary and not be subject to any union input whatsoever is beyond ridiculous.

I love the idea that I should be available 24 hours a day, that my own family is unimportant and absolutely comes second. I particularly love the notion that an unqualified, business person can stand at the back of my classroom and judge whether or not my 'output' is good enough. In all seriousness, how would that work for secondary teachers who are working with, say, at least 5 classes of 30 at any given time? Yellow clearly states that exam results are a factor in her free school's pay scales which means secondary, surely? So 150 sets of parents can demand my attendance at their home at any time, on any day, and I have to go because as a 'client' it's my job to do what they want? Is that how it works?

I think it's fine , head is being accurate ( and reasonable). My take on this has always been that one or other of us had to swap duties or take holiday for these occasions.

Has nobody tracked SuperSchool down yet?

Again, I think superschool probably doesn't exist - but sadly what we know of it (run by a head with no teaching experience, pays at very bottom of unqualified teacher scale) isn't actually so unusual that it would be identifying anyway - and we're not going to find a school website that boasts that the head works from home and beams himself into the classrooms at random or any of the other more outlandish identifying claims

Also, schools like that don't advertise their jobs as 'salary: £17.5k', they'll either say 'competitive' or give the full range ('up to 50k'), knowing full well they'll only offer the new starter the bottom of it

It’s a bit ignorant, the part where it says whatever job you have, you can make it.

Other than that, it’s just blunt.

It's a blunt, no nonsense letter, rather than rude. The many posters who can't refuse cheeky fuckers taking advantage of them and shitting on them from a great height could learn a thing or two from the head's approach.

It's certainly not a case of new starters earning only the base salary @NewAccount270219. DH believes that staff should be rewarded based on effort, outcomes, skills and commitment, rather than the number of years they've worked there.