To ask if schools will close on 1st Feb?

[cosied]

National teachers strike on 1st Feb so does that mean the schools are not open that day?

Has anyone received any communication from their schools relating to what impact the strikes may have?

I certainly won't be uploading any remote learning on behalf of anyone who is striking, whether that's me or a colleague.

@pleasehelpwi3
Totally agree. I think you accidentally quoted me as opposed to @Swissmountains
You said everything I wanted to say but seeing as I’m an exhausted teacher I could only manage an eye roll emoji! 😂

NASUWT are not striking some teachers will be in. My guess is they’ll be open.

Well bloody said!!

There's talk of NASUWT reballoting after a number of administration issues.

@Fourdayweekplease so would my Entry 3 Construction class (college so they're 16+, all have a vape in their pocket so they'll be puffing them too)

They're great for me - after a similar battle to gain their trust - but God, they hate change. I like them and they know it, they understand that I'm happy to see them and respect my boundaries

I was on strike for 6 days with UCU before Christmas and they gave the "cover" hell apparently. The cover was 2 senior managers - covering 1 class. They let the students go 40 minutes into a 90 minute lesson because they couldn't cope with the behaviour

Yes. Apologies!
My bugbear is when visitors always think that they have to get the children all really excited and clapping before starting to talk to them....
I'd love to see someone do that in Greek though....

It is, but that doesn't mean teachers want to screw over parents who plan to drop the kids on the way to work. They're entitled to but that doesn't mean that's who they want to disrupt

@pointycow thankyou 😂
@Workyticket yes... solidarity...I was on a 2 day training course and the cover teacher gave up.

I have a soft spot for them, which ultimately they know, and they do know the boundaries. But it has been like training wild bulls. Robust humour helps as does the fact that teaching is very much my vocation.

Which is why I'm striking. I'm worth more..we all are.

I have been reading on the news articles that the non striking teachers may be asked to upload work to students remotely.

Very few non-striking teachers will agree to that plan! I certainly won’t (and I’m a HoD). I will come in and teach my classes and do my paperwork. No way will I be undermining my colleagues in the strike action. I’d be joining them if my union had been able to meet the turnout threshold.

I’m a teacher - I’m sorry, what 9% pay rise?!

I’ve got many state school teacher friends.

One school my friends works in is having such a budget crisis that they have scrapped the cleaners. Teachers now have to clean their own classroom each day fully and have an assigned communal area. So instead of answering your emails, they’re cleaning the bloody toilets. Instead of carefully planning your child’s next steps, they’re hoovering corridors. Whilst you’re sitting there saying “teachers only work 9-3 what are they moaning about”, they’re waiting for the only mop and bucket to finally be free to clean the floor. And TAs are now mornings only, so no one else on hand. My friend and all her colleagues are striking, so if that’s your child’s school that no longer employs actual cleaners, well make your plans now…..

Another friends school is now closing on a Friday at lunch. All staff have PPA now on a Friday afternoon and parents now have to pay for child care on a Friday afternoon. There will be more like this if things continue.

Many schools are now freezing because the budget simply can’t afford the heating.

Independent sector isn’t so bad. Their budget will always be higher. That’s where I am and I will never likely return to state. A whole different set of problems though and the demands match. Similar to consultants leaving the NHS. The rich privileged children will have their pick of teachers while the state sector goes further down.

Anyone honestly saying “think of the children who have lost so much education and their mental suffering” - just going to say:

• most state sector schools can hardly afford to provide a glue stick for you child. Your teachers are purchasing stationary items, printing things for your child with their own paper and ink because the schools can’t afford them, and buying resources. Many are now refusing to do so and they should because why should half their wages go to providing what should be bloody provided for them???
• TAs are in massive shortage, no one can live off such a shit salary. If you want your child to stand a chance and actually have additional support in the classroom, support the strike!
• Schools are cutting everywhere right now. Wave goodbye to any curriculum programs on subscription, wave goodbye to 5 day weeks, wave goodbye to quality staff, wave goodbye to adequate supervision, extra training, First Aid qualified staff, school trips, extra curricular clubs……this is what will disappear if teachers are not listened to and the government doesn’t start funding schools properly.
• Support the strike if your child needs a 1:1. These are in short supply, no funding.
• Like any profession, teachers need to be looked after. They don’t stop. There will be plenty of people on here reading this now who email the teacher at 10pm and expect a reply by breakfast, despite never looking at work emails themselves at home or doing anything for their job. It’s an ongoing treadmill that doesn’t stop. The holidays slow the treadmill down but they don’t stop it. If you want quality and knowledgable staff teaching your children then they need to be paid for it, recognised for it and the government needs to give enough for what they need to do it.

Teachers aren’t asking for a salary that buys them a mansion and multiple 5 star holidays a year. They are asking for a pay that recognises their responsibilities and a budget that actually provides for the needs of YOUR CHILDREN. Who do so many parents blame for anything going wrong with their child? Teachers, It’s a huge responsibility and it deserves better.

The NEU is the biggest if the unions, it covers support staff as well as teachers.

Firstly, this is the salary scale for London teachers, not for the majority of England.

Secondly, no. Teachers did not get a 9% pay rise. I have been teaching for 14 years and for the majority of my career teachers have been on a pay freeze and received 0% pay increase. We have been given a very small pay increase over the last few years but as a more experienced teacher my pay increase was much less than the newly qualified teachers.

More importantly, this strike is not just about pay but also conditions. Our job is impossible to keep up with; teaching children actually makes up a very small % of what I have to get done in a day. Managing the needs of every child in my class, differentiating and resourcing every single lesson to meet every individual need in the class on top of the huge amounts of paperwork, assessment, marking, planning, subject leadership, duties, meetings, parents evening, report writing, liaising with external agencies, writing PPP's making or buying our resources, meetings/phonecalls/emails/conversations with parents, displays, creating learning environments, dealing with poor behaviour, reporting to governors, pupil progress meetings, prepping school closure plans for just incase, CPD, and a million other things are all done outside our paid working hours (as we are only paid for the hours spend in the classroom with the children).
On top of that we are constantly belittled and criticised by the media, parents, ofsted, the government. Always blamed when the children don't make progress, when the schools close, when the parents don't like the curriculum, when children have friendship issues and fall out, when the children don't want to come to school, when we send home children for being ill, when we provide consequences for children's poor behaviour or when children lose their belongings, despite these issues almost always being out of our control.

I love teaching children, and I'm good at it. But I'm sick of working until midnight every night to catch up on the jobs I didn't get done before leaving school for the evening. My husband works half the hours I do and earns twice as much.

And just to prove my point, nurses, paramedics, postal workers and train drivers have all been on strike with a lot of public support. As soon as the teachers strike then we are once again scum.

Typical, no wonder everyone is leaving the profession!

The country is coming to a standstill isn't it. It's frightening. And defo not saying I don't agree with why anyone is doing it, I do. It's just a metal time all round and feel like it's never going to stop. Who's next?

Ds is Year 6. There's a boy in his class who struggles with his emotions. The rest of the class have to leg it out of the fire door and wait in the yard when he starts throwing chairs around. His 1:1 has been off sick so he's throwing more often.

Honestly - there's no way on earth an untrained, inexperienced helpful parent could manage his anger, dodge the chairs, help the other 27 to escape, keep one eye on they yard, put the class back together... then get them all sorted for Science

My ds' teacher does this regularly - she's fucking awesome

Depends on how many teaching staff are in the NEU. Some schools have 70-80% of staff and some a lot less. From a safeguarding perspective, it's easier to close as ratios might be tight.

Support staff didn't get enogh votes I n favour to strike tho did they? So how does that work, if all our teachers (primary) are off, Inc the SLT, but the support staff are in?

DfE update email today said the following:

When are strikes happening in schools?

The NEU has announced it has met the threshold required in a ballot of its teacher members to strike in schools across England.

The NEU has said it will hold strikes on:

Wednesday, February 1 (England and Wales),
Tuesday, 14 February (just Wales)
Tuesday, 28 February (Northern, North West, and Humber regions),
Wednesday, 1 March (East Midlands, Western, Eastern regions)
Thursday, 2 March (London, South East, South West regions)
Wednesday, 15 March (England and Wales)
Thursday, 16 March (England and Wales)

Where I am in Scorland we have had 2, maybe 3 strikes already amd schools.fully closed, both primary & secondary. Different areas close on differenr days. Its a childcare nightmare.

DS (6th form) has been told by his teachers they won’t be striking. I presume they are all members of NASUWT. All those sitting A levels this year have had to cope with COVID all through their most important years, they cannot afford to lose any more school time.

At A-level, I'm pretty sure 3 says will be manageable 🙄

It's the largest teachers union!

@Swissmountains please live stream your “lesson” I think we could all do with some light relief, watching your strike breaking nonsense hit reality.

Almost all the teachers at my sons’ school are in the NASUWT, so I’m hoping disruption will be minimal.

Yep had an email earlier
1st feb
2nd march
15/16 March.
my school are apparently doing online learning.

haven’t heard from my other child’s special needs school yet