Teachers!

[MsFannySqueers]

So retired/ex teachers are being asked to consider returning to the classroom because of possible staff shortages in the New Year. Is this something you would do?

@Inertia

Redeploy all the OFSTED inspectors. No inspection under current circumstances can possibly be meaningful, so use their skills in short-staffed schools.

Would surely have the added bonus of bringing standards up, since the rest of us could learn at the feet of these gurus of enlightenment.

I would pay good money to see an OFSTED inspector round my lot up for a couple of weeks

Maybe. It’s the data crunching and ofsted swooping in if your lovely kids don’t tick the right boxes that puts me off. I have a good job now so technically not available. Although, if I asked they’d probably loan me to a school for a term. I’ve genuinely considered it but not sure I want to re-enter such a broken system.

@Inertia

Redeploy all the OFSTED inspectors. No inspection under current circumstances can possibly be meaningful, so use their skills in short-staffed schools.

Would surely have the added bonus of bringing standards up, since the rest of us could learn at the feet of these gurus of enlightenment.

Haha. Love this. Like most teachers who have fled to happier pastures, I doubt their magically skills

They could sell the show to Netflix

Not only is it impossible to recruit supply teachers but the time it takes to the checks means they need to be recruiting NOW for teachers to be on the 'supply list'

I’m a teacher. I love it. I’ve had to go part time as I have a baby but do extra days to cover absent colleagues when I can arrange extra childcare. People leave the profession for various reasons, not all because they’re burnt out and hate their job.

I had a long career; towards the end of it, I fetched up in the independent sector. Many reasons , but one was that my years of experience were seen as an asset, and did not "price me out of the market" which is sadly the case in many state schools. It was also less stressful and I was not subjected to quite the amount of often pointless paperwork which seem to go with the job nowadays. Nevertheless, I was quite happy to retire when the time came, although I did go back to my old school for some supply cover.
I went to many leaving "dos" in my time, and I can only think of one such event where a former colleague went through to statutory state pension age, while remaining in the state sector. I would catch up with friends and learn of early retirement, or complete changes of career.
In London, where I taught, retaining teachers past the age of thirty can be an issue; the crunch point seems to be when they tire of house shares, or want to start a family.
Lack of support can be a factor, or being held responsible for all the ills of society. (not long ago, on this very forum, I saw an inspired suggestion that teachers might like to add "the correct way to approach unfamiliar dogs" to their "to do" list).
The very politicians now feeling the draught are in some cases the same folk who found teachers a convenient target.
That flapping sound you can hear is chickens coming home to roost.

Ofsted inspectors were also mentioned. We recently had our inspection. When I say the inspectors were so out of the loop and had no clue how much schools had evolved and pandemic adapted Im not joking. They struggled and they were only on site for to days ! God help us but school is tough enough without a host of randoms being drafted in !

@Inertia

Redeploy all the OFSTED inspectors. No inspection under current circumstances can possibly be meaningful, so use their skills in short-staffed schools.

Would surely have the added bonus of bringing standards up, since the rest of us could learn at the feet of these gurus of enlightenment.

Brilliant

I hope they don’t volunteer (and think they would be mad to come back with conditions as they are) so the DFE staff have to come in to keep schools open. What I’m really holding out for is the enforced conscription of OFSTED inspectors, Gav Williamson, Dr Jenny Harries and all those who joined or supported UsForThem. Karma and all that…

There is (or was when I worked in pensions) a nasty little clause in the Teachers Pension Scheme rules that says a teacher's pension can be cut back in certain circumstances if they return to teaching. That will need to be sorted out first.

@Tillsforthrills

Why should they expose themselves to help out this inadequate government.

Thankfully, Teachers are not so thick that they would consider this as helping the government but rather that they are helping children with their education.

They're not thick, but the government is treating them as though they are. Terrible pay, no sick pay, being pitched into the very environment that has made them suddenly "needed".

I went to many leaving "dos" in my time, and I can only think of one such event where a former colleague went through to statutory state pension age, while remaining in the state sector

I made it, retiring last week at 67. How did I manage this? By not teaching in the UK state system after 50. I moved to Australia, and the Victorian government school system does not have the belligerent, micro-managing aspects of the UK. I've never had lesson plan looked at and have only had lesson observed once in 15 years.

To be fair, the Vic education department are trying to catch up with arseholery of the UK system, but a strong union keeps them in check.

Having kept in touch with UK colleagues, I don't think I would have made it.

Jesus: a lesson plan, one lesson observed.

hell would freeze over first

Pre-Covid we always used some of our retired teachers for supply. However covid changed that, they stopped coming in. We also had 2 teachers retire earlier than they had planned.
I noticed Nadhim Zahawi pleading for these teachers to sign up even if it was just for a day a week. That is literally a body in front of the class babysitting, we need supplies to commit for a week.

Absolutely no fucking way

And I totally agree about redeploying ofsted inspectors... I would pay good money to see an inspector Hirt I know manage a class of four year olds

How realistic is the Ofsted redeployment idea? We need to lobby the government

In response to a PP who said this thread is kicking current teachers in the teeth - it really isn't.

God knows I have every sympathy for every teacher in the UK. Wat they have gone through over the past two years has been hellish. Left on the front line as cannon fodder by a gov who has made no effort to provide them with safer working conitions. And derided by many parents who see them as little more than glorified childcare.

The parets on MN who have complained about online learning - too much, too little, to hard, too easy. They have no idea, none, how bloody hard it is to try and produce and deliver lessons online and offline . Often being asked to do so at a moments notice.

I was teaching at the start of covid. I was given zero tech support. I had to go out and buy a laptop just before the first lockdown because my own laptop did not have the capacity I needed to produce and upload learning materials. It cost me several hundreds of £ because at that time everyone was rushing to buy new tech. My school did not provide me with this, nor was I refunded the money. My SLT, by the way, have their phones and laptops provided through school. I know I will not be the only teacher who had to do this. I also know many teachers sourced tech for their own students - some hunted down old laptops to be refurbished, others paid for things themselves.

I am in no way having a go at teachers or the profession. I loved my job and I think the rewards of teaching are incredible.

But I will never go back into the classroom. Teachers in the UK have been treated so badly - not just in this pandemic, but for many years. Bullying managers, inspection teams who have no clue, the press, many of the general public - the constant level of scrutiny, the desire to cut costs and the lack of understanding and respect for good teachers - it just wore me down.

So, again, no. I will not go back in to prop up a system that took so much from me.

Sorry - so many typos in there!!

@Inertia

Redeploy all the OFSTED inspectors. No inspection under current circumstances can possibly be meaningful, so use their skills in short-staffed schools.

Would surely have the added bonus of bringing standards up, since the rest of us could learn at the feet of these gurus of enlightenment.

Absolutely couldn’t have put it better myself

Actually I clicked through the Gov link the other day out of interest - wouldn't mind going back into the classroom short term in the local area if the need arose (and I'll happily chip in and cover my own kids' school unpaid if it kept it open)... it's just a list of supply agencies and 'sign on with one of these please'

I got OUT of supply because I was sick of the crap pulled by these agencies - they're not getting me back on their books cos then they don't leave you alone - so this "drive" is just a "please sign on for supply".

@BurningTheClocks

They’re also trying to lure back all the Teach First members who were not only trained for free, but paid whilst they did the training. Hyped and praised, the way forwards and all that jazz. 60% left teaching within 5 years.

And yes, supply rates are low, haven’t changed in years and you get no support if you are ill or isolating.

Wasn't that the. intention with Teach First? That it was a temporary thing before going on to some swanky job in management consultancy? The teach First teachers that I met did 6 weeks training ( over the summer hols) before taking on their own class, and they would go back to be doing management consulting training in the holidays between terms. It was a finite thing for 2 years as far as I can can recall. Maybe they hoped some would stay in teaching but it was never intended to be permanent. The idea was to attract people with good degrees to give the benefit of their education to children in the short term. They will be earning 6 figure salaries now and really unlikely to want to give that up.