To wonder if schools are just a bit crap at the moment (not teacher bashing)

[Terribleenergy]

Added that caveat as am definitely not being deliberately provocative - it’s more to do with funding and class sizes being too big, and just too much crap than individual teachers. I’m a teacher myself and I don’t know that I’m offering the best ‘diet’ for my students - I do my best but I’m limited I suppose.

It’s similar with the NHS and dentists and so on: just seems services aren’t running brilliantly.

So we’ve bitten the bullet and paid for private healthcare and I’m just wondering if I should do the same for private education when the time comes (dc still little) or if people think there will be an improvement in years to come? I can’t see it myself but interested in thoughts and predictions.

@Terribleenergy

I would have thought as a teacher you'd have a better view than most though

Well, no - the problem is it’s so easy to think that in your subject / school / department that isn’t the case but I’m not sure - I only know what I’m doing, if you see what I mean!

But I do have constraints on me as well and how I have to teach isn’t always how I’d choose to teach.

Your last sentence is exactly the reason I left the system! It's not about making it fun, it's not about if they actually understand. It's about what YOU can prove YOU have done. I do tuition and yesterday I was working with a year 8 pupil who had been given a paragraph of French and a gcse mark scheme. This was alongside a sheet they were given with the complex language to start learning now. And by learning I mean regurgitation I don't mean understanding and manipulating it to suit what they want to say. I left because students were leaving with top grade gcse and couldn't hold even the most basic conversation. I'm all for accountability but it's gone way too far.

@Terribleenergy

I suppose that while any child can be let down by any school, the smaller size and the smaller class size is a big part of the appeal - and very well qualified and stable staffing too.

This was a big reason we also went the private route. My dc are just not the type to thrive in a bigger setting. The teachers know each child so well and able to provide very constructive feedback. Not to mention the extra resources and accessibility to teachers all the time. There is alot of parent involvement encouraged by our school but I feel this is so beneficial as a parent to know exactly how to support my dc. It is quite a commitment financially, but I do think it's very worth it.

It's an absolute shit show, lets be frank. Tories have utterly destroyed it.

I'm a third year mature student on an Education course and the number of people who still want to teach after is tiny. The reality is that there are bright, able, potentially brilliant teachers who aren't even training because they can't even begin to bring themselves to be in that environment.

Inclusion has failed, 'closing the gap' has failed, COVID has compounded all the previous issues and made them worse. There is no funding. And some of the teachers remaining, hanging on, have become so bitter and twisted that children genuinely suffer from them in ways that would never have been tolerated a few years ago.

These children need nurture, love, kindness and guidance. They need to be helped to heal from the trauma of the pandemic. Instead they are being destroyed by this desperate need to 'catch up.' Catch up to what, exactly?

Also really don’t agree that a bright child will do well anywhere.

I absolutely agree with this. My ds is quite a bright child but he is also an extremely shy, reserved child and well behaved child. I can definitely see him being overlooked and forgotten because he ticks all the boxes and his potential not being fulfilled. At his independent school, the teachers have identified his personality and have been working so hard with us to build his confidence with so many strategies at school and giving us guidance for home. It is these little touches that we value so much. We also get a teacher meeting every 6 weeks with constructive feedback and whats our objectives until the next meeting. I feel as if we are working together towards actual goals for my dc.

@Stressedout1009

I know all the students I teach in the large comp and we have so many interventions going for all sorts of kids, including the more shy ones

I feel this a bit. But the parents I know who are private feel the same
It's the impact of covid

It's not just the impact of covid, the situation was pretty dire before covid.

I remember when it all kicked off about poor lockdown provision and inequalities between schools posting a thread pointing out that parents were now getting a view into what it's like in schools that they are largely shielded from when it's happening in a classroom rather than your living room.

Another teacher here and would also send DD private if possible. Instead we have study books here and do some work together for now.

Part of my role is supporting new staff and underperforming staff and honestly, this last five years, I can't believe some of the teachers who have been allowed to pass their PGCE. I have 'underperforming' staff on my rota who are damn good teachers but their line manager has taken all the top sets and left them with kids who haven't engaged over lockdown, which skewed the progress report, meaning that teacher didn't get their pay increase this year. I work in an excellent school, but at the end of last year 10% of the staff left and we still haven't been able to recruit all posts, with more set to leave this year. Speaking to friends, it's definitely in some areas a case of get a living body in the classroom no matter what.

Speaking to friends, it's definitely in some areas a case of get a living body in the classroom no matter what.

My school has definitely been guilty of that in the last few months. A body in the room, no matter how shit, is better than no body. I hate it, but what other choice do we have?

It’s not something they are “guilty of”, it is something they have been forced into.

@AledsiPad

It's an absolute shit show, lets be frank. Tories have utterly destroyed it.

I'm a third year mature student on an Education course and the number of people who still want to teach after is tiny. The reality is that there are bright, able, potentially brilliant teachers who aren't even training because they can't even begin to bring themselves to be in that environment.

Inclusion has failed, 'closing the gap' has failed, COVID has compounded all the previous issues and made them worse. There is no funding. And some of the teachers remaining, hanging on, have become so bitter and twisted that children genuinely suffer from them in ways that would never have been tolerated a few years ago.

These children need nurture, love, kindness and guidance. They need to be helped to heal from the trauma of the pandemic. Instead they are being destroyed by this desperate need to 'catch up.' Catch up to what, exactly?

I agree about the need for nurture and healing. I have a dd in Year 11 and one in Year 13 and the stress due to the upcoming exams is awful.

I think this cohort should also be continuously assessed rather than examined as they have missed so much over the past two years - and continue to do so every time there is a covid scare / outbreak.

Pastoral care is shocking in both my dds high schools.

My dd2 is really struggling in year 10 with anxiety and trauma based on events from last year and the school have done nothing to support her even though I’ve been on the phone to them numerous times.

@ghostmouse

Sorry she is struggling. My school has a mental health team of 3 full time workers and they are swamped and over spilling into the isolation room daily!!

What would you like them to do for your daughter?

Also her form teacher is on bail for grooming underage girls, the school offered no councelling to those in her form who were affected including dd, there are so many supply teachers. The school has undergone a lot of upheaval with regarding suitability of teaching staff which as a result has affected the curriculum.
It’s a lot of pressure on the remaining good teachers unfortunately, but there’s not many left

They suggested an out of lesson pass for her when it gets too much, it was however never given to her and she’s been told there are other children with worse problems than her that need it more . She lost her step dad last year fgs amongst other things! She goes to the pastoral hub when she’s having a panic attack only to be turned away and then it’s left for her friends to deal with and then she gets into trouble for being late to class. I give up, I keep her off some days tbh

I'm also a teacher and I'd never put my own (hyperthetical) dc in a state school in the UK. I've spent most of my career abroad but I came back to England in August and it's terrible. I will be taking a break from teaching at the end of this academic year until I'm ready to move abroad again and get back into teaching somewhere else. I love teaching and all of the evidence suggests I'm rather good at it, but English schools are awful for teachers and pupils.
I worked in Scandinavia for several years and children who would be in year 2 sitting SATs in England would be in reception just beginning to learn reading and maths through play there. English children do not get an academic advantage by learning to read at a younger age, in fact it entrenches the differences between a winter-born child who was socialised well and developmentally ready to start academic work in September of reception and a less fortunate child. There is nothing wrong with allowing a 4 year old who is ready to read to focus their time and energy on playing an instrument/ swimming / developing fine motor skills through craft / learning responsibility by taking care of animals etc instead of spending their time and energy on flashcards to learn phonics. They'll still be ready to read when they're 6 and the rest of their class have caught up. By putting off academic work for a couple of years, the inequalities of socialisation and relative age in the year and are flattened out. The highest attaining Scandinavian children do as well or better than their English peers by age 16 and 18 but without the enormous gaps between top set and bottom set pupils we have in England. Subjecting any child, let alone my own, to the English system is not something I would choose to do.

I have a fair bit to do with private schools and my honest opinion is that if you have to sacrifice much/anything to afford it, then it’s not worth it. Is it worth £500 a month? Probably! Is it worth ££££ a month, no.

Choose a good school that’s right for your child if you have the luxury of choice, use the money for holidays, experiences, tutoring, activities, books... anything that isn’t already available for free.

They have always being crap really through bad behaviour, overcrowding, lack of funding, exhausted staff.... I suppose the only way to get the best deal is to go private but unless you have a David Beckham bank account good luck with that.

I'm a part time primary school teacher. I have a large class of 30+.

Schools are 'a bit shit' at the moment because of gross underfunding and the fact we are picking up a lot pieces.
Long gone are the days we just go to work to teach. A lot of families broke down over lockdown so there are more children in the care system. In our experience/area social services have proven useless, and we're having to deal with the fallout of that (child trauma due to poor SS decisions for example). Lots of mental health problems and we're having to find the time and resources to support children with this as the local waiting list for CAMHS is massive.
We have children struggling socially as a result of this and so parents want to speak to us every two minutes about every little fallout/name calling as their child has such poor mental health they no longer want to come to school.

I only work three days and I'm stretched so, so many ways I almost have to forget about the actual teaching as I'm having to spend my breaks/lunches dealing with these wider issues and not setting up for my lessons.

Everything has a knock on effect.

I can tell you now though that there are not many teachers out there who aren't trying their best under current circumstances.

Oh and not to mention SEN pupils not getting the support they need as the limited TAs we do have are tied up by checking in with anxious pupils and providing mental health/behaviour support.

I am a trained secondary school teacher but am tutoring at the moment. My students go to lots of different local secondaries which all have excellent reputations but the stories they tell me are shocking - one says her English teacher can't teach because of the disruption so just puts the lesson on the online portal every lesson, another deliberately wants to be moved down a set because the class is slightly smaller and he thinks he would be able to concentrate more. I'm worried about my kids getting to secondary age, I wish there was a zero tolerance type school in my area as at least the children can learn.

Schools are in a state at the moment. I am a teacher and I see it everyday. We are absolutely trying our best but we are on our knees, with more staff leaving mid year just to escape and no replacement arriving.

Behaviour is horrific and the trendy focus is on nurture and thrive which does not work. This means every single lesson these students are in is disrupted in a major way - think chairs thrown across classrooms, shouting and swearing, wishing death upon members of staff.

On top of that you have an unsustainable workload, inclusion without the funding, constant observations / Ofsted prep, and a relentless need to perform every single day. I am going on maternity this year and I will not be returning to any teaching post for the rest of my days.

It is bad at the moment. I've seen a post on here recently recommending my school. I wouldn't send my kids there.
It's rated good but that was a while ago. Behaviour is terrible. No one is really doing anything about it and teachers are leaving constantly.

I'd love to leave teaching but the money is too good. Also I'm experienced so I can cope. If I was an nqt I'd be retraining

I hate to say it but secondary teachers, watch out for the current primary cohort coming up in the next few years. I teach in an infant school and the junior teachers next door are in for a shock. Speech and language issues have exploded. Many children with social and behavioural difficulties. Much higher incidence of SEN but no hope of getting an EHCP. We are offering parental classes as so many children have no structure or boundaries at home. 4 year olds on YouTube all night watching inappropriate content and playing 18 rated games on consoles. Stressed out parents struggling to make ends meet who are emotionally unavailable in some circumstances due to domestic violence, poverty, addiction. Far more children arriving in year R in nappies unable to communicate effectively and far more mental health issues.

This is a 'nice leafy area'.

@Invasionofthegutsnatchers

I hate to say it but secondary teachers, watch out for the current primary cohort coming up in the next few years. I teach in an infant school and the junior teachers next door are in for a shock. Speech and language issues have exploded. Many children with social and behavioural difficulties. Much higher incidence of SEN but no hope of getting an EHCP. We are offering parental classes as so many children have no structure or boundaries at home. 4 year olds on YouTube all night watching inappropriate content and playing 18 rated games on consoles. Stressed out parents struggling to make ends meet who are emotionally unavailable in some circumstances due to domestic violence, poverty, addiction. Far more children arriving in year R in nappies unable to communicate effectively and far more mental health issues.

This is a 'nice leafy area'.

Seconding this comment. It's the same in my school, which is also in a nice leafy area. The last few years have been challenging even for those with decades of experience, and sadly we're expecting it to continue or get worse.