To be really worried about proposed teacher strikes.

[katedan]

In England not Scotland for context. My twin daughters are year 11 and I am terrified about the impact of teacher strikes on their GCSEs. They have not yet covered the curriculum and every day counts to get them exam ready so strike days will be disastrous for year 11 and 13 pupils ( and lots of other children especially those who are vulnerable) these kids have had their education impacted by covid and now strikes. This will make the divide between state and private schools even bigger. Do you think they will go ahead or if a safety net will be put around exam years if it does.

We have a maths trainee starting next week. They don't have a maths degree and their A level grade is a C.
It's not good enough to allow this to keep happening.

I’m fully behind them. My DS has a wonderful teacher who goes above and beyond. They deserve good pay and good working conditions.

I don’t think teachers were aware it was 4 days. I am convinced that lots of teachers won’t strike now they know it’s so many days, they won’t want to lose that much money/time teaching. I need to check my timetable but I’m very reluctant to miss Year 11 teaching.

I'm very reluctant to keep being treated like crap by the government.

No it won’t. Teacher will do nothing to compensate the time lost during the strike, because they are withdrawing their labour.

OP the strikes are not about YOU or your DC. There's enough responses from teachers on here for you to know this, yet still you continue.

Teachers were on strike again today in Scotland, with no pay which we can ill afford, but we're exercising our democratic right to object to the shitshow of education over the past 15 years of austerity and a real-time 24% pay cut.

Stop bleating. It's not about your precious DC, it's about something much, much bigger. My own son is sitting Highers, but he studied today, catching up on coursework which is all online, which I'm sure is the same for most kids.

Really ? You thought we'd strike for 1 day and that was it, 1 day isn't doing to achieve anything.

What's the average teachers salary now? I know it varies from each area but interested in how it's a 24% pay cut?

Surely parents are allowed to support the sentiment of the strike but also be worried about the impact on their kids who are sitting exams soon? Or are those positions mutually exclusive?

The strikes are designed to hav a negative impact on children’s education or what’s the point? And some parents may then worry about the effect on their kids. I think that’s allowed.

"Teachers not turning up?" How on earth?!“

Maybe that’s us. The supply teachers. The ones who can choose to withdraw our labour if the situation we are put into is hideous.
The behaviour, the lack of support staff, the endless demands and expectations, the children with additional needs shoved into chaotic classrooms without the resources and staff they need.
Perhaps it’s us, getting to the end of the day or the week and saying ‘nope’
And the schools ringing agencies who have no one left to offer.

You know what really helps vulnerable children? Genuinely, seriously- for all those who want to use them as a weapon, but do fuck all to actually help them...

Having a consistent adult in their life that they trust. For some that might be one of their teachers, but to build up that relationship, they need teachers who stay constant over terms/years. They need to build up trust long term. And then, they might actually let that adult in to help them.

I know, because I've done it. And it takes a really long time to build that trust. If teachers aren't staying in schools long term, or students are mainly taught by supply staff- which is what is happening in some secondary schools- these relationships don't get to form. And that, I believe, from experience, hurts vulnerable children far more than the odd day of strikes.

But also, if you are really that concerned, why not write to Gillian Keegan and suggest she comes to the table with a fully funded pay deal for teachers. Because that is the only thing that will stop the strikes.

You can tell us we don't care all you want, but the truth is we do care, or we would have found other jobs a long time ago. In fact, I think it is often the teachers who care the most who are active in their unions and want to use them to make education better.

In the past the teachers and support staff still go in without the children and do admin tasks.

👏👏👏👏👏

Then why not do what parents have done for years, sort out with other parents reciprocal arrangements so that you look after each other’s children on a rota basis to cover the days when the school or class is closed. When I was first teaching friends with child friendly working hours collected my dd from school during term time and I paid them back during the school holidays.

@Postapocalypticcowgirl
so very true.

So there are worries and comments about children missing a few days of school and the effect this may have. This is hopefully a short term action. If it works and we get the pay rise fully funded and not taken out of already decimated school budgets it will make a real difference.

Every day now we have: teachers buying basic resources like pencils and glue sticks and paper. Every day we have children with needs that can't be met because the school can't afford to buy in services. Every day we have children hiding under tables as chairs go flying because a child's 1-1 support cannot be afforded. Every day we have children that can't go on trips because the school can't afford to cover any parents who struggle to pay. Every day we have families we can't afford to help any more.

It shouldn't have to be this way.

@viques Jellyscat has explained her children have additional needs.

She is supporting the strikes, she’s just acknowledging that it is hard for parents in her position. You can be sympathetic to more than one cause if you like.

My 8 year old has a wonderful teacher 2 days a week. 3 days a week he has lovely teaching assistants. Different ones each day. He mentions it every week, it bothers him.

His class has 37 kids in. How is that fair for one qualified teacher on their own, never mind a teaching assistant.

I 100% support the teachers and school staff.

This - in spades. Very well put @WineDup

Surely parents are allowed to support the sentiment of the strike but also be worried about the impact on their kids who are sitting exams soon? Or are those positions mutually exclusive?

I support the strikes and completely agree with you.

FWIW, I hope strikes are somewhat disruptive, because otherwise they won't achieve anything. Short term pain, for long term gain.

Because I care about the children I will be teaching in 10/15 years time, too (or won't be, if things continue in education as they are).

I obviously don't want to negatively impact the students I teach in exam years, but I also think about the students I teach in Y7 who love our space topic and talk about wanting a career in that area. I'm scared by the time they get to 16, there won't be any option for them to study Physics A-level, not just in our school but in our local area.

I do think parents are allowed to be worried about children in exam years BUT I do resent parents trying to use "vulnerable children" as a weapon, when they likely have no idea what it is like working with vulnerable teens day in day out.

I get how it impacts exam years more than others, my children are much younger -
in our case one of us won’t be able to go to work so it’s a major pita

however, IMO, teachers deserve our full support here

Is the average pay 24/25 k?

The pace of learning at school is very slow. I mean, Rishi wants to extends maths lessons to age 18. Not so kids can do A-Level calculus, but so that they can learn the things that my generation had nailed by 15 and that my parents did at 12.