To think the only way forward now for school staff is to strike in Jan

[OverTheRainbow88]

Sadly, I believe, the only way forward now for school staff in to strike in Jan.

Schools are unsafe, understaffed and not ‘covid secure’. This will get much worse in Jan when people are allowed to meet inside in a 3 household bubble and travel freely around ( in England at least).

'We just wanted masks and hand gel.

Both of which are available in schools.'

Yup. Though I do think teachers should be offered the vaccine after NHS workers as a priority, if that's not already planned.

@Bathroom12345

Teachers on strike!! What is wrong with them? Its all me, me, me. They disappeared off from March and in many many cases were very difficult to get hold of. Some schools just disappeared, vm and answerphones full. Teachers blaming the Head, Head blaming the gov and all the time on full salaries with no real chance of being made redundant when this is all over.

The private schools did at least try to keep lessons going, but I heard that the state teachers were nervous about doing Zoom calls and claimed they didnt want to use their own broadband for this.

Get over yourself. You do realise that if supermarket staff strike then you wouldnt be able to get food and essentials (also includes supermarket drivers!).

So, no - I dont think you should be striking.

That is very unlikely fair some schools did behave like that (our primary school) but some worked their very hard to provide a decent education online as well as for keyworker kids throughout (our secondary).

You can't brand all schools or teachers with the same brush. Would you do that with other places of work?

Just love how posters are continuing to compare the provision from private schools to that of state schools whose funding has been reduced over the last however many years of austerity. Just why would you even think this is a justified response.

@Bathroom12345

Brain has sadly got it spot on. Both my SIL's couldnt get hold of their DD schools. When eventually they got hold of a teacher she pointed them towards the Head but that even then she had her own children to take care of.

The private schools seemed to manage. The vast majority of teachers have broadband at home but some just didnt want to use it or made reason/excuse after excuse as to why they couldnt run a Zoom call, use their own bb. I do actually understand that some teachers are not familar with the technology but that can be fixed.

There are plenty of state schools that provided online education throughout the first lockdown. If they didn't them complain to school or council. Don't brand all schools the same. A lot of teachers have been working pigging hard since March.

@Jellycatspyjamas

We just wanted masks and hand gel.

Both of which are available in schools.

But they aren't available in all schools. That's the point.

I suspect you already know that though, and just wanted to have a go. Sad really.

I've been massively in favour of schools staying open in principle, but at this point would 100% support teachers saying fuck this shit and refusing to go on. They've been tested with utter contempt by the government - new plans announced at last minute, PPE and learning resources not available, barefaced lies about safety, confusion about results and exams, etc etc. This week's announcement about testing in January is just such ill thought out nonsense and is going to ruin so many teachers' well-earned Christmas breaks. I'm not a teacher and have been quite critical of teachers earlier in the year, but it's too much.

*treated

I don't think we should strike but I completely disagree with teachers doing the daily testing on kids starting in Jan. We have no been trained, it will take additional time and staffing of which we don't have.

There is no way on this planet that I am pinning the 4 year olds down and swabbing them every day instead of teaching them. We could hurt them and at the least it would be distressing for them. They cried when they had the nasal flu vaccine the other week let alone a swab a day.

School should be a safe haven for kids to come to and they will feel unsafe having to have this done every day by people they should trust. They will lose the trust in teachers and fear coming to school and it will take most of the morning to get them swabbed so no learning going on.

Testing should be done at a community centre before school each day by volunteers and then school remains a safe and trusted place and teachers can focus on teaching.

I am a teacher and I think striking is counter productive.

At this stage I think the secretary of education is making right tit of himself and needs to be given enough room to destroy himself.

What needs to happen is parents supporting school staff for better conditions.

If they didn't them complain to school or council.

Plenty of people on here tried that and got precisely nowhere.

There was no accountability. That was the problem. So while lots of teachers did put the effort in, plenty didn’t and if they was your child’s school then tough shit, nothing you could do.

Naturally that impacted trust.

I suspect you already know that though, and just wanted to have a go. Sad really.

No I didn’t want to have a go. Sanitizer and masks are very easily available, there’s no reason why teachers can’t access them - some of these issues are down to local school decisions, where they chose to allocate funds and resources. Striking won’t change that.

We just wanted masks and hand gel.

I have written re PPE for teachers to MP and donated a fair chunk for hand gel. There is support. But if you do tick a ballot from the union consider well. It will absolutely devastate and we are already pretty broken as a country.

@Awalkintime

I don't think we should strike but I completely disagree with teachers doing the daily testing on kids starting in Jan. We have no been trained, it will take additional time and staffing of which we don't have.

There is no way on this planet that I am pinning the 4 year olds down and swabbing them every day instead of teaching them. We could hurt them and at the least it would be distressing for them. They cried when they had the nasal flu vaccine the other week let alone a swab a day.

School should be a safe haven for kids to come to and they will feel unsafe having to have this done every day by people they should trust. They will lose the trust in teachers and fear coming to school and it will take most of the morning to get them swabbed so no learning going on.

Testing should be done at a community centre before school each day by volunteers and then school remains a safe and trusted place and teachers can focus on teaching.

But what if the dfe continue with this plan and insists on the children of close contacts coming into school and being tested by school staff? Will schools and staff be threatened with legal action for not following the plan? We have witnessed the bullying tactics that Williamson and the dfe are prepared to go as per the Greenwich fiasco. No teacher wants to strike but if it gets to this point then what other action is there?

@Offtothedogs

I've been massively in favour of schools staying open in principle, but at this point would 100% support teachers saying fuck this shit and refusing to go on. They've been tested with utter contempt by the government - new plans announced at last minute, PPE and learning resources not available, barefaced lies about safety, confusion about results and exams, etc etc. This week's announcement about testing in January is just such ill thought out nonsense and is going to ruin so many teachers' well-earned Christmas breaks. I'm not a teacher and have been quite critical of teachers earlier in the year, but it's too much.

I share similar views to you. The only thing I would change in your statement is I suppose the teachers saying fuck this in the badly hit schools and closing them.

Some schools are doing ok and some it is ridiculous to keep open.

Strikes aren't needed a decent head teacher, local authority and public health England working together is what is needed. Two of our local schools have been closed for a few weeks now because of having excellent head that made it happen.

We just wanted masks and hand gel.

That may be what you wanted. It’s not what the NEU wanted however.

The messaging from the sector has been all over the place, but when the largest union calls for closures it’s hard not to conclude that teachers want closures.

I 100% support teachers need for masks, sanitation, ventilation.

But strikes, closures and part time schooling. No way.

@Awalkintime

I don't think we should strike but I completely disagree with teachers doing the daily testing on kids starting in Jan. We have no been trained, it will take additional time and staffing of which we don't have.

There is no way on this planet that I am pinning the 4 year olds down and swabbing them every day instead of teaching them. We could hurt them and at the least it would be distressing for them. They cried when they had the nasal flu vaccine the other week let alone a swab a day.

School should be a safe haven for kids to come to and they will feel unsafe having to have this done every day by people they should trust. They will lose the trust in teachers and fear coming to school and it will take most of the morning to get them swabbed so no learning going on.

Testing should be done at a community centre before school each day by volunteers and then school remains a safe and trusted place and teachers can focus on teaching.

I thought the testing is just secondary school but yes you definitely should never have to do it.

Teachers have worked hard. So have retail and health care staff. These are unprecedented times. Kids need education. This has already been massively disrupted. I wouldn’t want to see a strike.

@TheKeatingFive

We just wanted masks and hand gel.

That may be what you wanted. It’s not what the NEU wanted however.

The messaging from the sector has been all over the place, but when the largest union calls for closures it’s hard not to conclude that teachers want closures.

I 100% support teachers need for masks, sanitation, ventilation.

But strikes, closures and part time schooling. No way.

And what is your view of the new plans for schools from the dfe? Do you feel this is an acceptable task that schools need to just get on with? That schools will not be isolating close contacts starting in January. That these children and staff will arrive at school having taken public transport and be tested by school staff. That they will then be back in the classroom with no masks sitting shoulder to shoulder with 30 others in small enclosed rooms. For 7 days this will be repeated but what if they test positive? All their close contacts begin the same process. MAKES NO SENSE.

'See, that's just made your agenda totally obvious.They have done exactly what Greenwich Council did earlier this week and then there were threads of 'this is totally awful, no regard for parents, unmanageable' etc etc, even though it was about trying to save lives.The govt do it because they have totally ballsed everything up and you're right up their arse.'

Err I don't have an agenda and I'm not up anyone's arse thanks.

After the second wave that started in Sep when schools and colleges returned it of course makes sense to do a phased return in Jan. They haven't 'ballsed' anything up. Everywhere is dealing with the same, europe has similar restrictions and deaths rates. If we're talking about agendas I'd say the anti government one is the very obvious one on tedious school threads.

mrshoho
They can only test with consent and if the parents know the kids will be pinned down by their teachers and miss learning time then I suggest it should be the parents who vote with their feet and not the teachers. I will tell the parents what will happen and let them act accordingly.

Similarly, they can't force a school like ours to do it when there isn't the staff. We are so small we will not have the capability to test the children due to us being so small. We would literally have to close the school to enable us to free up the staff.

@Bathroom12345

I went to a state school, my DS's went privately. The youngest was in his last year so he effectively did not sit his A Levels. He did get into his first choice university BUT we will never know what results he would have got if he had sat them but everyone was in the same position this year.

My DM many years ago was also a primary school teacher. She left her union to one that didnt demand strike action after a Mother spoke to her about how she needed to take unpaid leave with little notice because of an upcoming strike.

I am honestly just fed up up of teachers and their unions threatening strikes, making a run for it after lockdown was announced in March and effectively having the longest holiday this year and on full pay. Yes, I know not all of them but the vast majority of them werent seen for dust. There were very few kids in schools so thank you to the teachers that did make the effort but (and I know I need to put my tin hat on) teachers need to get into the real world. Suggesting that supermarket workers might also consider striking along with the police - THIS IS NOT THE REAL WORLD!

It’s so insulting to read stuff like this after working through lockdown and then having such an incredibly full on term. Like, seriously? I don’t have time to be in the real world because I’m at work for 11 hours a day. That’s not unique to teaching, but it seems like one of the only professions where you can have absolutely nothing in the realm of a work life balance and STILL be told you have had “the world’s longest holiday”.

I shall never forgive them for not reopening the schools in full - after the summer half term.

I think you’re wildly overestimating the amount of say teachers had in this. I don’t recall the government asking me what I thought we should do.

@houseinthesnow

2020 And nor should there be any proposal. The teachers have pushed way beyond the limits already. I am not sure they are even aware of the ill feeling towards them. I shall never forgive them for not reopening the schools in full - after the summer half term. The unions have made it as difficult as possible to reopen schools with your paid support, at every turn they unions have tried to stop children being educated.

The government are not suggesting that children stop isolating, they are simply introducing mass testing. As they should. If you want to get on top of an outbreak the quickest way to do it is to test as much as possible.

I am absolutely done with this nonsense. My job is high risk in terms of covid, and absolutely nowhere can you hear anyone bleating and complaining. I am utterly sick and tired of it. Everyone else is just cracking on, some of us without the six month break or any break whatsoever. You have just had a solid six weeks off!! As a minimum.

So just stop being so entitled and goady op.
People have had enough, do you really think you are going to find any support from real parents?!

Either leave the profession, allow others to take over with some zeal and enthusiasm for the job - and start doing something low risk like amazon deliveries, or crack on and stop moaning. I have no more time for this.

Yes to all of this.

After the second wave that started in Sep when schools and colleges returned it of course makes sense to do a phased return in Jan. They haven't 'ballsed' anything up.

They threatened court action against schools who moved to online learning for the last week of term to save lives because it is soooo important for kids to be in school and yet it’s not so important that they can’t close schools in Jan to mitigate the fall-out of their shitty Christmas policy?

It’s a pity they’re closing schools and testing kids after they brought covid to grandma isn’t it?

Good grief. Ridiculous suggestion.