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.

Because many people think they own us.

What about those pupils who are currently missing out on routine, teachers, having their exams affected by the current shitshow in education? Do you not care about them? At the moment, for children, it's long term pain and no end in sight.

I was just pointing out that unfortunately "short term pain for long term gain" isn't the same for teachers, because the short term pain for some students could be more long term pain as a consequence unfortunately.

So what do you suggest, to try to halt the current long term pain? A stern letter?

Just came up on twitter

It depends - you tend to find that a particular union will be dominant in a particular school. There are several “main” unions though, the largest being EIS.

Initially the strikes weren’t coordinated but now they have coordinated them as the smaller unions working alone would probably not cause much disruption.

I don't know tbh, it's a catch-22. But even if the government gave the teachers everything they wanted after the strikes, they would be celebrating whilst some students may be feeling that short-term pain for a long time afterwards. I don't know what the answer is, but I just feel for the students who either way are made the scapegoats in the whole shitty situation.

Some students might be feeling the short term pain for a long time, but if things don't improve in schools, that will be on top of the long term pain that then wouldn't be getting any better.

Precisely @noblegiraffe.

(Students aren't being scapegoated, school staff aren't blaming them for govt underfunding!)

I left teaching in 2017 and I now earn mote money doing something else. There isn’t enough money in the world to tempt me back! Also eternally grateful my daughter is now at Uni and not affected by the shit show that is school based education any more!

Yes thanks well aware. Now work for the uni for my child attends. 1000% times better than what is going on in school! Stand by my comments thanks.

For a few days off school?
Most children are going to be much better off if teachers are paid well enough to keep them in the profession, and there's more incentive for others to join teaching.

It's so unfair that the people whose services we value most, often get paid less because we don't convince our politicians that we care enough about the issue to insist they are better paid nor accept them going on strike.

Meanwhile striking train drivers have seen their average earnings go up past £60k in recent years, while nurses, teachers, paramedics and police officers have seen real time cuts for years, even before this inflation.

Seven planned strike days is a lot. More if you have kids in primary and secondary. ( Scotland ) I suspect government will drag it out to the summer at this point and we can squeeze in an extra round of strikes in the last term. I do sympathise with teachers but at same time I have to take unpaid parental leave to care for the dc.

It reminds me of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. First you have to meet the physiological and safety needs of your family. Food, a warm safe home, transport. I’d like to be in favour of the strikes as long term health and education reform/ investment is important. People should be properly paid. However I feel col and my reduced earning are causing me to have a scarcity mentality where I can only focus on immediate deficits. Common side affect of being poor apparently.

Non striking teachers and TAs, or supply, should not be used to cover striking teachers.

I’m wondering how many teachers will strike, it works out as three days in March which is around £400 of the monthly salary (obviously some variation with pay scales) but I do wonder if a lot just won’t be able to afford it.

Yep, it is a struggle, particularly for part time staff. I earn £180/day and I’ve got 4 strike days which will probably come off the one pay period, which is 1/3 of my earnings. I don’t have a wealthy partner to subsidise me either.

Atleast the teachers can go to work if they can’t afford not too and still get paid.
Parents have no choice over whether their kids teacher strikes and they there for need to take unpaid leave to cover.
I Support the strikes, but lots of us are really going to suffer financially because of them.

Please write to your MPs and ask for your concerns about the strikes causing you to lose pay be forwarded to Gillian Keegan, Secretary of State for Education, asking her to negotiate a pay settlement that sees the strikes called off.

£180 a day 😳🙃

I am not sure why people think being a teacher and being a parent are mutually exclusive? I’m a teacher and a parent, my daughters school strikes on different days than my own, and my employers policy is that special leave policies do not apply, meaning I absolutely can’t take the day off when my daughters school is on strike, even unpaid. We also do not get any holidays during term time. My partner works for the same organisation.

It’s actually £160, I mistyped.

How much do you think a day of my time is worth?

How many paid hours a day is that? What time are teachers paid to and from?