Govt declares war on teachers again. Fucksake.

[noblegiraffe]

The Telegraph front page tomorrow is reporting that the DfE is preparing an 'army of supply teachers' to keep schools open in the event of a teacher strike.

Is that like the army of volunteers they failed to raise to keep schools open during the covid surge in January?

Changing the law to allow agency staff to cover for striking colleagues is a shitty move, an opportunity I can't imagine agency staff in general would be leaping at; but using it as some sort of trump card against teachers?

1. supply teachers would most likely be in a teaching union (they'd be mad if not)

2. WE CAN'T GET SUPPLY TEACHERS NOW BECAUSE THERE'S A CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF TEACHERS

If they've got an army of supply teachers, where are they fucking hiding them?

If the government think children have 'suffered enough' during the pandemic then:

1. fund schools properly

2. stop haemorrhaging teachers by e.g. not treating them like shit in the national press

3. improve working conditions and reduce workload by e.g. funding children's services like CAMHS, SEN services, social services so that schools aren't picking up ALL the slack.

That would improve the situation far more for children than shitty headlines in the Telegraph deliberately antagonising the few teachers the country has left.

twitter.com/samfr/status/1539717032043859968?s=21&t=uLvLET4xftQW31sTEKBaLg

I'd imagine a supply teachers would think carefully before coming into a school to cover a strike. If they returned to that school later, they might not have a good reception.

We can't get supply teachers in our area, not one, in an emergency, for a single day. Good luck finding enough to run a school.

It's the connotations of the hyperbole used that stress me out. This really doesn't have to be a battle.

Supply teachers already get a terrible deal pay and pension-wise. Who does the gov think they'll be people willing to put their head above the parapet when they deserve a decent wage too?

Same here - covid is knocking out the teachers again here and years 8,9 and 10 are remote learning one day a week each this week.

I wonder how a class would react to having a supply teacher covering a class when their teacher is on strike?

Can you imagine some of the potential language? There would be picket lines at the school?

"Miss, are you a scab?"

Do the Government want a battle with the unions?

You shouldn't feel singled out. The list of who the government haven't declared war on is very short.

Agree, OP.

Hear hear

Crock of shite (government not you). Where are these supply teachers exactly?

Totally agree 👍

It's just another empty threat from this despicable government. They've not been able to achieve anything they have wanted to.

Whatever next....GPs strike and they magically find locums to cover? 🤣

This is just ridiculous....supply teachers are impossible to find at the moment. They already had the campaign for retired teachers to come back to cover teacher self-isolating. No-one wants to work in a school at the moment and I can't say I blame them!

To be honest, speaking as a teacher, it's not even just about the money, it's about workload. They could pay me twice what I'm on now and it still wouldn't be worth it for the stress and anxiety I go through every day and how I work evenings and weekends. I'm hoping to quit in the next two years and retrain in IT (fingers crossed...).

Who are the 22% of 37 voters who have said YABU ????
Or is there some confusion about what the question is ??

I have to admit I think teacher's pay/pension is pretty good. I think their working conditions and workload stink though.

Hear hear… I hope and pray that a General Election takes place sooner rather than later, this cannot continue. I truly think that Joe Public would be horrified by what schools endure day in day out 😩

Agree with you OP... it's clear as day to anybody with any knowledge of education in the uk that supply teachers are gold dust. They simply don't exist in numbers that are needed right now never mind a full strike .

Teachers are treated like shit, and have a ludicrous workload for their wages. I wouldn't do it if you paid me. I know several ex-teachers (retired some 5 to 10 years ago and who started in the 1970s and 1980s.) They enjoyed their job for the most part. However, they said they would NEVER become one now. Too much shit, too much bureaucratic nonsense, too much paperwork, too much red tape, and too much you just can't do or say, and it's been turned into a shit career now.

the DfE is preparing an 'army of supply teachers' to keep schools open in the event of a teacher strike.

LMAO. No chance.

You think that for 4 years of graduate/post grad studies earning less per hour than working in Nando's/tesco is good?

£25,714 a year for 39 weeks @ 70 hours a week for an ECT (established teachers work 50 hours a week (they dont at primary -much more)

From the Dfe
In the second Teacher Workload Survey, teachers and middle leaders reported working an average of 49.5 hours per week in 2019, down by 4.9 hours compared to 2016. Headteachers and senior leaders also saw a significant fall, to an average of 55.1 hours per week in 2019.

Teachers and middle leaders in primary schools reported working an average of 12.5 hours during weekends and evenings, down by 5.0 hours compared to 2016. For secondary teachers, this came to an average of 13.1 out-of-school hours, a reduction of 3.8 hours compared to 2016.

Do the Government want a battle with the unions?

Yes, that's exactly what they want. They are desperate for any distraction.

Hear hear OP

The train drivers are greedy…they earn more than teachers and nurses.

Teachers and nurses? WTF we can’t afford to take this…

The teachers and nurses are greedy.

Children in secondary are facing a huge problem, there are not STEM teachers. That said, primary isn’t fairing much better.

This government are awful, the quicker they are out the better. They have literally drained the talent pool in all of the public sector, they’ve left for the private sector.

Its not a race to the bottom
Train driver are not greedy.