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.

No he is going to Levelling Up. Again.

Don't think that has been confirmed yet @Piggywaspushed. Kemi Badenoch has also gone in

I remember going to.evening classes in schools in both 1983 and 1993 and to shows in them since. Money could also be saved by cutting out uniforms, ridiculous nonsense like PSHE (parents should be able to withdraw their kids from them ) and these extra posts- schools with several deputy and assistant heads. In my day - Head Deputy heads of sixth form middle school and junior school Boys school with 774 pupils. I'd have also thought that a school's maths and economics teachers could sort out the finances between them!

Are you a troll? How on earth would scrapping uniforms save schools money?

No uniforms no.uniform grants and it would save parents money especially at these academies!

Scrap PSHE? Are you serious? You don't think RSE should be taught in schools, then?

I think you need to do your research. Very few local authorities actually offer uniform grants in England these days and saving parents money won't help schools financially.

Gillian Keegan is new Secretary of State, anybody know anything about her

She was a junior minister in the DfE for skills and apprenticeships. She does at least have experience of the department. She’s the one who was criticised for being on holiday during the Gavin Williamson shitshow of exam results in summer 2020.

I'm not SLT but close to that level in a non teaching capacity.

Simply, yes it is, but, being new to the "industry" it's hard to split the balance between a lack of funds and poor management. I needed some batteries a couple of weeks ago and there were none in the building despite it being a school with 1,300 pupils and a strong IT ethos.. Could have been belt tightening, could have been a lack of cohesion between the three(!) admin departments.

I can't speak for your school, but I've taught for around 20 years and have never received a battery in school for anything - I bring them in from home for clocks,'remotes etc!

Haha, there are 4 in my desk and 4 in my backpack now as I can work in a few schools. On some levels it's an anecdote but on others what genuinely happens when something requires batteries and the lesson is being taught by someone who (through no fault of their own) hasn't had to think of this scenario?

Our exam officer spends a fortune of her own cash on the square batteries for security wands, not to mention clock batteries.

Profile of her here: feweek.co.uk/profile-gillian-keegan/

Went to a comp in Liverpool and did an apprenticeship so a more interesting education background than the usual.

Apparently hates trade unions which will be interesting with potential strikes coming up.

what genuinely happens when something requires batteries and the lesson is being taught by someone who (through no fault of their own) hasn't had to think of this scenario?

You cope without a projector remote?

You might find yourself in a lesson where the projector breaks, the computer breaks, there's a power cut and all you have is a board pen and a whiteboard. It happens.

Or you go and get some batteries like what should happen?

A power cut is different of course and therefore irrelevant.

Or you go and get some batteries like what should happen?

In the middle of a lesson?

Not having a working projector remote isn't an emergency!

She endorsed Rory Stewart for the leadership in 2019 which is a glimmer of hope but I’ve also read that she was initially politicised by her dislike of the strong unions on Merseyside in her childhood. We shall see.

That wasn't my point at all?! It was the fact there weren't any at all in the building and that was in relation to a point about schools either having no money or poor management (or both). Not about a teacher having to make do for 20 minutes or saving the day by rubbing a couple of batteries together to change the channel one more time, in your circumstance yes I'd expect a teacher (or anyone in any profession) to cope but that's not "remotely" what I was talking about.

Oh. Tories gonna Tory.

Also apparently voted against extending FSM provision in the holidays.

That literally happened at a local school. Despite being over subscribed and in affluent area they’ve struggled for years due to financial mismanagement- anyone with empathy knowing the history would struggle to judge. Not an academy, not bailed out, roof has partially collapsed.

I certainly don't think RSE should be taught. Trendy PC nonsense which we managed perfectly well without.

An unresolved issue, not due to funding, is the distance between Teaching Staff and SLT/HTs. Many good teachers report here on MN that they leave because of SLT/HT pressures, bullying and implementation, etc.

Whilst many good teachers leave, the not so good teachers rise the ranks, not because of any ability, just the ability to jostle ahead and quite frankly, have less childcare issues; hence the disproportionate representation of men in HT positions.

Our entire SLT is female! Dep HTs who job share and HT female.

We did?
Gosh, must have been imagining the highest teen pregnancy rates in Europe in the early 90s.