Would you support a teaching strike?

[Strictly1]

Unions are currently talking to teachers regarding the proposed pay rise and government funding.
I do not want to strike but also know changes are needed for our children’s sake. With dwindling external support from agencies - schools are being expected to do more and more on limited resources that I predict will reduce due to squeezed budgets. The proposed pay rises are not funded. None of it is sustainable.

I honestly do not know what the realistic solution is.

YABU - you do not support teachers striking
YANBU - you do support teachers striking.

A friend of mine, no higher qualifications, works in a mid management role for a gambling company. His job is focused on how the gambling company can still enable known gambling addicts to place bets without them breaching their legal duty of care. This job is to find legal ways to take advantage of vulnerable people and make the company money. For that, he is paid 120k.

How can you expect to attract the right people into teaching if you refuse to treat it as the profession it is? Education is the most important thing to invest in in terms of securing long-term growth and the development of a nation: why are we short-changing our kids' futures?

From teaching union info

It's interesting reading some of the responses. I'm a primary teacher and only qualified when I was 38. I'm in my 3rd year of teaching, I did supply for the first few months and then started at the same school as a mat cover as an nqt, I was then made permanent and should now be an m2, I've not had a single payrise since I started as new pay rise hasn't yet been agreed. I work in a single form entry and due to other teachers leaving, mat leave etc and all these positions being covered by ECTs. I am currently leading 3 subjects (2 of these started when I was an nqt) with no additional pay or tlr as you very rarely get this in a primary, I work 70 plus hours a week and I recently worked out I don't even get minimum wage which is hilarious as my contract says I'm payed for 32.5 hrs a week but more hours may be required to complete the role . So those saying but we are paid well, this may be the case the further up the scale if you get there but many schools don't employ higher levels so they don't have to pay higher wages. You rarely get money for more responsibility, everything is expected as it's a toxic situation. Our school marking policy means it takes me 3 or 4 hours alone to mark and that's without anything else such as planning, prepping, subject leadership, cpd, safeguarding etc.

That's seriously shocking.

I think people who think 40K is a lot for a primary teacher are those who have n understanding of the complexity or demands of the role.

Well, I think all teachers can prepare for an demonstrate they meet those criteria. That is what the criteria are designed for- to be met by classroom teachers without taking on a significant additional responsibility. A good Head and SLT should be working with staff and unions to ensure clarity about how to do that and how to collect and prepare evidence to prove it as they move towards M6.

I work in a very large school with year groups of 400+ . Our heads of year earn about 50k if they are UPS3 and head of English and maths about 50 - 55k. Not the 58k stated . Never come across that money outside of SLT . 58k is above or about the same as most Assistant Head's pay.

Lulu do you actually know any heads of maths, outside of London, on 58k??

Yes, I was one myself, although the salary scales were lower then as it was a number of years ago. In the two schools I support currently the Heads of English, Maths and Science and one of the SENCOs have the top TLR. In a number of secondary schools I know of, Heads of English, Maths and Science are on SLT salaries- because good ones are so hard to get.

So you think that these heads of department deserve a pay cut?

THIS!
I don't think this is well understood by people at all.
No, pay is not the only problem in schools.
But teachers are only allowed to strike about pay- they can't strike on the pupils behalf because e.g. support for children with additional needs is not properly funded.
They cant strike on TAs behalf because they are paid a pittance and if they did strike it would be ignored (because it wouldn't shut classes).
They are using the only tool they have to change things. Aside from leaving the profession, which they are doing in droves too.

to be met by classroom teachers without taking on a significant additional responsibility

Most primary teachers have to take on a significant additional responsibility as part of normal practice. Given the increased expectations of Ofsted, primary subject leaders (unpaid for the subject leader role) are expected to do all curriculum/assessment roles and have all the knowledge about them that secondary department heads do without being paid nor being given time for it. In a smaller school, several classroom teachers will lead at least two subjects.

According to many school's pay policies, because subject leadership in primary is a base expectation, it does not count towards the "making a significant and sustained difference to the school, outside the classroom" criteria for transitioning to UPS.

I said outside of SLT.

Top TLR is rarely set at 58k. That's a hell of a whack over the MPS.

Yes

No. I'm not a believer in strikes in any profession. Nor do I think teachers' pay is particularly low.....try earning £14,000 pa in hospitality for very heavy, physical work; I'd call that low pay.

Our HOYs and HOFs are on the top TLR (not that such a precise category exists in term of its worth) and earn about 50 - 55k. In 2022.

I would definitely support a strike for school support staff. 100%. They earn a shockingly bad wage and are supporting the most vulnerable children in class.

14 k pa full time?

Hospitality is hard work but that is massively blow NMW!!

Do those hospitality workers have a degree, a postgraduate professional qualification and a responsibility for the education and safety of perhaps hundreds of children?

Ta's don't leave with the children in my school, not at all. We all work the same hours, after school. There are even regular occasions where teachers finish before us. Granted a teacher may work at home and at weekends but we certainly work as many hours in school as they do.

Yes and I have never not supported a strike to date. And for some context I've never personally been on strike.

I would absolutely support a strike. I'm a school governor. There is no way school budgets can withstand a 6% pay rise, let alone what teachers actually need and deserve in order to do a good job.

We already have teaching vacancies we simply can't fill. We already can't pay for all we need.

Everything is cut to the bone as it is. Children who have been deemed to need expert mental health support are waiting 3 years for CAMHS and the teachers and TAs have to try and help these children with complex needs requiring expert input in the meantime. It's desperate. The entire system is falling over and only keeps going on teacher and TA (and other school staff) good will which, unsurprisingly, is increasingly in short supply when people have to prioritise their own wellbeing and families.

Either we can have it fall over at a gradual but increasing pace with our most vulnerable children suffering more and more as more and more teachers quit, or teachers strike and shame the government into funding state education adequately (or at least better). It's not a question of there being a good option here.

I think the best thing for children would be for teachers to strike and shame the government into funding state education adequately (or at least better). Otherwise the ongoing degradation of state education will continue and we'll end up with an upper class of privately educated and under class who don't really get an education.

@LuluBlakey1

Your comment is an insult. What the research doesn't show is that they are not trained, and often not used to their full advantage by teachers some of whom expect them to be the teacher to their Additional Support Needs children.

Me too

That role now often falls to teachers too as TAs were among the first school staff to be made redundant.

We’re now far enough down the list that we are making maths and English teachers redundant, so those pupils are getting even less support in bigger classes.

They’re lucky then, I’ve never worked at a school where the support staff leave when the children do! I’m sure they’d stay even later if they got paid 20/30 grand more 😅

No. I'm support staff (office based) and I need a pay rise much more than any of the teachers.

Train drivers are striking, Royal Mail staff plan 17 days of strikes, refuse collectors recently had strikes.