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.

In the old days you could take children out for 10 days to go on holiday, we did most years, it didn't make any difference, I doubt there will be many more than 10 days missed schooling

Who are the public sector workers who got well below inflation pay rises and aren't striking or balloting?

I’m a social worker and haven’t been balloted - lower grades have been on strike but qualified workers haven’t been.

Only really at primary level though and only for a couple of days. It’s fairly minimal in terms of disruption.

By the end of this week I’ll have missed 4 days since November, it’s not minimal by any means especially given it’s likely to be another 4 days before Easter.

I was referring to the strike announced in England for today, given that’s what was being discussed.

"Who are the public sector workers who got well below inflation pay rises and aren't striking or balloting? I dare you to name them. Not allowed to say police as they can't strike."

Prison Officers. The forgotten service.

I wouldn't be too sure about that - I've read that disgruntled NAS/UWT members are going to be jumping ship to NEU pretty darn quick.

If you think losing a couple of days is going to have that big of an impact, you need to consider the value of the work teachers are doing and why they are not being adequately compensated.

honestly different teachers are in different unions and it’s likely that teaching for exam years would be prioritised anyway, but I hope schools close. People continue to refuse to see the value of the Labour of public sector workers and they won’t see it until it’s gone.

not a teacher, fyi.

So lower grade social workers have been on strike then.

Why haven't your union balloted jelly? I understand social work is in a pretty poor state.

If the threat of school closures due to strikes is something that worries you, the the most important thing you can do is write to your MP in support of teachers.

They are doing this for the sake of their students as much as themselves, and as they are judged by the grades their classes get, they will be working even harder to ensure that they still get the grades they should. At Y11 and 13, students have a responsibility to use any school time they have at home wisely. If they do, they will be fine.

No

Prison officers are legally prevented from striking.

I am striking.

Last year, our school had to ration paper. This year we are restricted to 1 pack of A4 per class every 4 weeks. Inevitably teachers are going out and buying their own paper as it is impossible on 1 pack.

This should give you an idea on school budget problems. Next year, the government indicated that any pay awards would come out of the school budget.

Any schools that manage it will be taking money currently earmarked for the children. It is an unworkable situation and the government can't be allowed to get away with it.

Are you always such a drama queen OP ? 🙄

There's no such thing as a stupid question and if you are a teacher of any note should know that.

I am not a teacher, however run a company and c.70% of staff will not be able to work during random school strikes due to lack of planned childcare. That means my business, and many others, will not be able to function properly. Therefore we may not be able to retain all the staff as we will be massively loss making on strike days but hey, the teachers don't give a shit about anyone else.

This.

Also, "terrified" is a bit much. They need to be covering the curriculum at home if they're really that far behind where they need to be.

I was referring to the strike announced in England for today, given that’s what was being discussed.

Given they’ve announced 7 days of strike action theres a comparison to be made - it’s far from minimal for parents to find 7 days additional childcare or annual leave across 2 months.

I was worried too but it's four days that are split up so it's not as bad as I expected.

It's more likely to stop people being able to work considering the fuss that was made about one extra bank holiday last year

It's not 7 days for every school. 3 days national, one day regional.

@ArseInTheCoOpWindow Although Gove bears responsibility, the real person who carries the full weight of this on his shoulders is Nick Gibb. He's still Secretary of state for Education and just as mired in his hatred of 'progressives', which is behind a lot of what's happened in schools under this government.
www.tes.com/magazine/analysis/general/nick-gibb-interview-we-had-to-blow-up-concrete

Your language of being ‘terrified’ is utterly absurdly hyperbolic, but if you are that concerned then don’t whinge on here, contact your local MP and tell them that teachers’ work is important enough to be well paid and done in decent conditions.

If teachers aren’t paid for holidays then they make approx £30 an hour, so about 3x that of the average Asda employee.

I think the talk about salary isn’t helping the cause, it makes many low paid people with bad holiday/pension/benefits think ‘wtf’ to the strikes.

In reality, the issue is the mess in schools and the hideous underfunding by the government that is failing our children. There needs to be long term solutions far beyond a pay rise. Better funding, possibly wiping student loans for those that stay in teaching for x number of years to attract and keep teachers. Many possibilities that hopefully the unions will put forward.

The situation in schools is horrendous. Fully support the strikes despite knowing it’ll put me into more debt to take the days off. I hope it makes people realise how bad it is.

You can have both understand and support the teachers but have concerns for your dc.

My Dc is year 11. One subject i am paying for tutoring for one subject. I litterally don't want to be paying for those extra times to be taken away.

I would be concerned about children whose only hot meal is the one at school or the families whose parent/parents has to take time off work and who won't get paid.

Do you think that about any other striking workers or just teachers?

Teachers who are not in NEU will also have childcare headaches.

The divide is caused by the government not teachers. There’s always money when they want. The ridiculous hours that teachers work, class sizes, kids with SEN needs who don’t get support, kids who have language needs who don’t get support, lack of resources, lack of development…100% support the teachers in their action. I am a parent and believe this strike will ultimately benefit my kids and others kids. The divide in education will not improve in good teachers are leaving the profession and are not paid what they deserve. A day or two of strike action could bring about change which could then impact the divide.