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

Yup, two KS2 classes near me without a proper teacher this year because staff have left and no supply at all. That’s unheard of in primary now becoming the norm.

@priceoflifeohwow well done for kicking off properly and standing up for your kid. It's better for them too, obviously!

If they were working a 40 hrs week for 39 weeks of the year then I think the pay would be fine for a graduate, yes.

YANBU but on your first point, not all teaching unions believe in industrial action.

I think the point was that train drivers are greedy because they earn more than teachers

and now teachers might strike, they are greedy, where previously they were the underpaid comparison.

(not that train drivers are on strike, of course, despite what the government would have you believe)

We're not fully staffed for September yet, and it's looking dodgy. 3 x KS2 teachers down out of 8.

Totally agree, I'm not a teacher - support staff though. There was a time when we could pick and choose supply, request a subject specialist etc. Now we're lucky if we can get someone with qualifications and a pulse!

If they were working a 40 hrs week for 39 weeks of the year then I think the pay would be fine for a graduate, yes.

Agreed. But there are no full time teachers working those hours, I promise you.

priceoflife fab work going to the press to fight for your child, I think it's the only thing that works these days; the system is totally broken.

You have totally missed the point there.

True, Edapt don't. But would they cross a picket line?

@bridgetreilly I know. Which is why improving working conditions and workload is surely a bigger issue than pay. Paying more isn't going to stop the burn out.

But even the Dfe admit 50 hours a week for experience teachers and ECTs are on 70 hours a week

so less than Nandos

As a Head I worked at least 70 hours a week. So many Heads are leaving the profession- they had no school holidays at all during CV19 and have had enough.

I know multiple schools that will not have a Headteacher in September or class teachers but the biggest gap is in TAs (which is a well below minimum wage job)

What point was it?

A secondary colleague was brutally honest about this. It will be a sit down and read lesson as they just need someone to cover, anyone.

Primary isn’t much better. I know of so many vacancies, either teachers off with stress or they have walked out, I mean actually walked out. Which can be done if there are serious grievances with treatment. No-one wants to teach. The supply you can get (which isn’t often) is dire. Like, should’ve retired 50 years ago old fashioned with pedagogical practice and behaviour management to match. That’s if they can get supply. This is literally unheard of in primary which is usually competitive.

Primary teachers are often taking pay cuts to go into admin. The secondary teachers who are specialists are literally laughing into the private sector ££££

So… Govt spin the line it’s the “train drivers” who are greedy and they have no right to strike, teachers and nurses earn far less. How could they possibly complain.

Teachers and nurses are rightly feeling they aren’t paid or valued enough.

So the line then becomes those evil, greedy nurses and teachers wanting to actually afford to live. How dare they!

The govt (having trashed the public sector to the point it’s not really functioning) are encouraging a race to the bottom.

Clearer?

I am a teacher and I'm not complaining about the pay. I am complaining that it is now 23:50 and I've just finished writing my year 7 reports which we were given the guidelines for on Monday and have to be in on Friday. All other year groups (except year 11) and tutor reports to be completed before 04/07/22 and will mostly be completed at home after 9pm.

I should have several hours of gained time because exam classes have left but have lost the majority of those this week covering other staff who are off sick with covid or stress. Despite this not being 'allowed' according to the unions, what choice do we have when the pupils without teachers? Makes you wonder where this army of supply teachers are?!

I know multiple schools that will not have a Headteacher in September or class teachers but the biggest gap is in TAs (which is a well below minimum wage job)

........and in the PVIs, where Nurseries are just broken. They can't beg staff to come and work for the pay they are able to afford to offer.

If they could properly fund Early Education, life in KS1 would be slightly less difficult. Although until the Gvmnt is prepared to acknowledge how many dc have really significant, complex needs, and provide the specialist places needed, no-one will be able to aim to do anymore than 'cope'.

It is shocking, but until people find it is their child without a teacher, it never seems important enough to sway any votes. Same with ambulances queuing outside A&E or 999 police calls not being able to get anyone out to you - doesn't really cross people's radars until it effects them personally.

Dcs need their schools. I would expect the govt to try to fill the gap left by any strike. That's their job.

If teachers strike and there are no supply teachers available, then the schools will close. If they are available and happy to work, then they'll stay open.

If, as teachers say, there are not enough teachers and no-one in their right mind wants to work in a school, then teachers will be proved right and the govt proved wrong.

Surely that's a good thing? Why get so indignant?

Surely that's a good thing? Why get so indignant?

Because it's bullshit and the government know it's bullshit, but they are plastering it on the front page of the Telegraph anyway. They already tried and failed to raise an army of supply teachers to keep schools open during covid, teachers don't need to wait to be proved right.

It's ultimately not about armies of supply teachers, it's about getting an anti-teacher message on the front page of their pet newspaper.

When Zahawi got the job after the fucking useless Gavin Williamson was knighted, he was told that his priority should be to repair the ruined relationship between DfE and teaching profession. And yet here he is spouting shit and slating teachers who haven't yet even balloted to strike.

It's stirring up anti-teacher sentiment at a time when teaching is in crisis.

Teacher recruitment figures are way below targets for September. How is this going to help as a last minute push?

And how is pissing off teachers with shitty articles going to help negotiations to prevent strikes?

And the gall of this government to pretend that they care about kids or their education.

Only when it suits them and in a way that's free, right?

I love the use of the word ‘army’ like there’s all these teachers sat about in buses just now not working, just twiddling their thumbs desperate to leap into a classroom at the drop of a hat 😂 who are these fictional characters?! Everyone ran for the hills because it’s such an utterly sh*t job! Yes the pay is bad but the pay could be half a million a year and you wouldn’t catch me sticking it. No amount of money is worth sacrificing your entire lifestyle, free time and mental health for.

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

This phrase is now reeled out every time they need a get out of jail free card, it angers me sooo much 🤦🏼‍♀️ Oh how dare these evil teachers kick these kids when they’re down? They even said something along the lines of ‘the mental health of students is most important’ when discussing how much teachers were struggling on this morning today. Eh no actually, all humans’ mental health is equally as important and the whole ‘put your own oxygen mask on first or you can’t save anyone’ thing applies. What chance have the kids got if the teacher is mentally struggling due to the sh*tshow that is their job?

Surely if the Schools Bill goes through and all schools are forced to become academies ultimately controlled by DfE, they'll be fucking teachers over left right and centre?

Average basic wage for a train driver is +£54,000, that's basically double the national average wage and I know many families whose combined wages don't touch that. To say they can't live on £54,000 is insulting to families who have to live on less.
Greedy, maybe not. unrealistic definitely!

It's vile - and entirely deliberate - clickbait. Yet more distraction from the fact they have totally screwed the country. We'll have a photo-op of that fuckwit at No 10 in a hard hat surrounded by bemused looking 6 year olds and that'll be it. This is no 'army' to call on.