To ask Headteachers and SLTs is it really that bad?

[Paris2023]

Press since the start of term and now more recently has focussed on schools running out of money. Perhaps having to shorten days to cover outgoings. With more recent news of further austerity and I believe limited funding what do current HTs and members of SLTs think?

what is the solution if more money isn’t available? A lot of money is being swallowed by higher energy bills.

Thank you for that.
Thats exactly what I will do tomorrow. No point having a rant and then doing nothing about it.

I fully support any strikes Teachers SLT and the like want to take. This dire situation in education has to stop now.

Hopefully others will follow suit.

If parents want a clear demand for an email, the immediate priority is that any teacher and support staff pay rises must be funded by the government. Teachers shouldn't see colleagues be made redundant and education provision cut to give them even the currently offered 5% pay increase (a real terms pay cut).

I can believe that

This has been the writing on the wall for many years - the Tories & (majority of) the Toffs do not care about anyone not in their league.

State schools aren't for nurturing and educating children and young people - they're for churning out obedient workers - wear the uniform, obey the rules, don't think for yourself or question anything.

The UK is a 💩 show and the last 12 years the Tories haven't even tried to disguise their disdain for the little people or hide the fact that they're rinsing us all to line their own pickets. You only have to look at the million pound contracts for PPE given to pals during the pandemic who oh! Only 2 days prior just registered a PPE business. Parties while we all stayed 2metres apart.

I am livid (can you tell? 😊) It's 2022! In my teens, I thought we'd have ended world hunger, have hologram watches and travel by hoverboard by now... instead, we're heading for catastrophe!

I feel guilty for bringing my children into this world and I used to look forward to having grandchildren, now I'm glad my 3 adult daughters don't have any (through choice as yet) children because this is just awful.... horrendous.

It's like a slow motion bad disaster movie.

We should all be livid 😡how can a school who has already had budgets squeezed even begin to pay the extortionate energy bills?
On top of that find the money for pay rises?

Write to your MP . Details were posted up thread about doing this so they are forwarded to the Secretary of State. Whip up the Governors to get the message out to parents- this is a travesty beyond belief that our future generations are being thrown under a bus!!

The current national agenda is that every LA school is expected to be part of a MAT by 2030.

There are no maintained secondary schools in my local authority any more. The last one joined a MAT this year.

I was a TA. It broke my heart to have to leave at the end of the year after 15 years but I couldn't afford to live on my wages and the school couldn't afford to pay me so I took voluntary redundancy.

Just to give you some perspective. The school I worked in was 2 form entry. 2006.

We had 8 nursery nurses in 3 nursery classes.
We had at least 2 TAs per year group, more if there were SEND children who needed support. We had 2 PPA cover teachers and extra teachers for reading and maths booster groups. We also had a resource manager who did photocopying, laminating, ordered stationary etc, helped with end of year shows.
2021.
We have 3 Nursery nurses in nursery (rest are cheaper TAs).
We had a TA between 2/3 classes.
1 PPA cover teacher (TAs covering other classes)
No teachers for reading or maths boosters.
No resources manager.

Wages for TAs didn't increase much. Some years only by 20p an hour. I had money left at the end of the month in 2006. I had a 2nd job to make ends meet in 2022.

Children are sharing books and other resources as they cannot be replaced. We had non uniform days, fetes, hired our hall out to scouts, karate, yoga groups to earn extra money but it isn't sustainable. People don't have the money to give.

The bottom line is, no amount of fundraising can raise the funds needed. Neither should it, schools must be a priority for the new PM. I read a BBC article and Education is only mentioned once, well not even that! The prospect of striking teachers is mentioned but not funding.

Priorities for new PM - Article BBC

My 14 yr old hasn’t been in school this week (SN provision, doing GCSEs so contact time matters) because the staff at his tiny school are sick and there are no cover staff available and no budget space; I think people will be shocked when they realise how much the bill rises alone will affect budgets, I know the Welsh NHS said 200m+ for that alone.

It’s pretty scary right now. Not SLT but governor. We are eating into around £90k of reserves. We will still hopefully be in black this financial year but what we do next year I don’t know. Energy bills are big unknowns. Add in the significant increase in ALN in our youngest and most covid affected children, it’s just a shitstorm.

Like is say, we are ok this year but next is a whole other board game.

SLT in a primary school, yes it really is that bad and I have no idea what can be done to change things unless the govt. cough up. Children are being failed day after day by a system that’s not fit for purpose.

It really is that bad. Staffing budgets are pushed beyond their limits with underfunded pay rises. Fuel bills are through the roof. Food prices have increased but budgets for free school meals haven’t by a credible amount and many schools are trying to soak up the increased costs rather than pass it on to paying students. Schools try to replace experienced staff with cheaper unqualified staff or NQTs or not at all. Repair costs have risen so essential maintenance work costs more.

The money is available but the Tories fundamentally believe in underfunding to keep the workers down.

Looks like there is going to be a change in Education Secretary (again!)

Surely that must be a good thing?
Who is tipped?

No, it's a shit thing, we've had 5 this year. No one takes the job seriously or even thinks they'll be in it long enough to worth bothering with.

And no one's tipped because no one cares. It's a consolation job for someone who opened a door for Rishi once or something.

Let's just hope it's not Kemi Badenoch

I fear it may be,although usually education is 'awarded' when everything else is filled. It's been along time since it was viewed as anything approaching a big job, hence the monumental cock up during Covid when they suddenly realised they needed someone who actually knew what to do.

Sorry cock ups , plural.

Previous post on possibles had Kemi as a fave. She’s not good.

That’s just what we need! 🙄

Not remotely a good thing. Education has been tossed around from one incompetent to another. Each one comes up with yet another stick to beat schools with and none of them have any real idea about state education or the challenges faced by school leaders.

Gove has just gone into Number 10!