Schools 3 day a week?

[Sunflowerkeep]

Is this for real or just media again? Is it seriously being considered?

What a sorry position to be in! I’m not sure we will strike, we don’t have the charismatic leadership the transport unions have, post covid no one wants kids out of school, lots of teachers will already be feeling the pinch and I can’t remember strikes ever actually leading to an improvement in pay and conditions for teachers?

I think recruitment is just going to get harder as more of us leave.

I have been assigned as a supply teacher to a class of 60. The school kept employing an x language teacher, who would then run for the hills after a couple of weeks of those Year 7s. The poor existing language teacher had to try and teach it in a mask with no microphone whilst I was on crowd control.

It was just hideous. No learning took place. I think it would be better to have 3 days of sensible class sizes and then 2 days of worksheets and videos at home if it came to that. Even 37 would be hideous. I think teachers should walk out if required to do this. Many will just quit. There is going to be a generation of kids growing up without a proper education. What will this do to society?

Staff shortages in my school have already meant that colleagues had to attempt teaching two classes or more at once in the hall. It was a disaster.

Classroom behaviour has got significantly worse over the last decade or so - partially down to class sizes and lack of support - so any attempt to make classes larger or even merge classes would mean zero learning and even more staff throwing in the towel.

I barely do any practical work with classes anymore. While there are no official limits on numbers in the classroom (I'm sure there used to be, but those seem to have been removed - I wonder why?), anything over 30 students doesn't have adequate space to actually carry out the work and I simply cannot supervise AND advise/ correct that many students at once, especially with so many who just don't think they need to listen first time around. And any injury as a result becomes my problem - from extensive paperwork for a simple cut to hours on the phone to parents, 111 and potentially hospitals for anything more serious.

Students are already missing out on so much that used to make school worthwhile.

The official limits of students in the classroom was removed during the pandemic as a covid measure and have never been reinstated.

There have only ever been legal limits on primary classes, never for secondary.

Is that in response to my bit above? I wasn't referring to numbers in the classroom in general, but organisations like CLEAPSS I'm sure used to state that practical subjects could only have one qualified staff member between so and so many students (the limit, iirc, was 30 - I used to have to get another colleague in for the classes I had more than that) before any practical work became unsafe.

That applies to subjects such as the sciences, Design and Technology and Food Tech, all of which regularly work with hazardous substances, sharp instruments and heat.

I realised you were talking about practical stuff. So no, was responding to the next poster.

ThrallsWife

Cleapss and data number guidance is about 24 for KS3 and roughly 18 for KS4 but its only guidance so it is pretty much always more.

Bloody hell. Most of my KS3 and KS4 classes are 32+, in one case I had a class of 37 and was still expected to do practical work with them and take the fall if anything happened.

It has always been a problem in practical subjects and we have yearly arguments discussions with SLT about pupil numbers.

I already know that my numbers will increase as SLT drop pupils in to to tech classes due to not wanting them in ebacc lessons. And of course those that are transferred from other schools during the year.