Does anyone NOT support teachers’ strikes?

[Notbeinggoadybut]

I’ve got mixed views. Support that they, as all public sector workers, need a pay rise. And schools need more funding (but the NEU hasn’t badged this as a public reason which is a mistake IMP).

But 12% is a lot when you’re on a £40k salary. The TA’s deserve 12%, the nurses and ambulance drivers with dire conditions and worse salaries deserve 12%. But not from a starting salary of £40k.

Also public services can be dire. I work in one, it can be bordering on a joke and in so many ways such a waste of money. I will be striking on the 1st of February. But I don’t think it’s right - I voted against the strike. I want a pay rise, but don’t feel like it’s right to ask for 10% and strike if I don’t get it.

[ilovesooty]

"Up to" isn't the same as "pre tax starting salary" is it?

[noblegiraffe]

And they aren’t on strike.

[ilovesooty]

And in England under the new pay scales you would have to be on M5 to earn £38k.

[Changechangechanging]

Or they could just be happy with their £45,000 a year salary/benefits package and accumulated 11.5 weeks holiday a year

Benefits package? £45k?

[Jwhb]

Or, if we're talking more meaningful figures. "In most teaching assistant positions you’ll find yourself on a term time only contract, which means that you probably won’t be earning the full, yearly amount as seen on the government pay scale. The average actual yearly pay for a teaching assistant comes out to around £12,000. "

Is £12,000 enough for someone who often works with the most vulnerable children in society, who may well have to deal with very challenging behaviour, being kicked, scratched or bitten?

Even if you don't support teacher strikes, it would be madness not to support TA strikes.

[Scatterbrainbox]

@Dogdogwoofwoof

Feels like every week there's a strike of some sort. Be it nurses, royal mail or Tom dick or Harry. Feels like personally my life is being too often disrupted because of it which makes me overall less sympathetic to it all.

Funny... I bet you didn't think of nurses as 'Tom, Dick, or Harry during Covid...

[Scatterbrainbox]

People love to say that teachers don't actually have it that hard.
I spent 10 years working in a sales role in financial services, 10 years as a teacher, then the last 4 in a non teaching role related to education. They workload and mental demands of teaching are on another level completely.
You have seen someone arrive at work and think you know what the demands of their job are... how ridiculous. That's like me saying I have been for GP appointments so I know all about the demands on a GP.
When I taught the hours I actually spent on site where dictated by the opening hours of my children's school's wrap around club. So I did a couple of hours prep at 5am before anyone was up, then the school run and got in at around 8.40, taught until 3.30, meetings/parent calls/class admin/ assessment data until 5.40 then would start about 7pm to mark the 120+ books that's a day's teaching generates (recording the details of who understood what to 'tweak' the next days' lessons as required by Ofsted'). At some point I'd sort tea and get the kids to bed in the middle of the marking. Usually finishing just before 11.

Any strategic work such as curriculum long term plans, policy writing, assessment frameworks, research in good practice, researching school trips etc would be done in the hols. I used to 'allow' myself 4 weeks off per year and that took some discipline. Same as my non teaching job now.

Not only that, the skill and level of judgement to do the job effectively took me an undergrad degree and 2 post grad qualifications combined with a decades experience. As a member of senior leadership, safeguarding lead, English subject lead, SENCO, full time class teacher and at the top of the pay scale I earned slightly over 40k. Not adequate for the level of skill, commitment and knowledge needed to do those roles well.

Your post is absolutely pig-ignorant.
I suppose you will enlighten us as to what horrifically stressful job you do, in which this pales into insignificance...

[Scatterbrainbox]

It's a graduate job. To earn that salary you would need to have a years of experience and hold considerable whole school responsibilities. It's not a 'working class' job. There is nothing wrong a with a working class job, but teaching, and certainly school leadership (which you would have to be to earn that) are not one.

[Scatterbrainbox]

@Lostinalibrary

We can all tell by your attitude what you’re like to school staff. Clear as day. Not pleasant.

Yeah, how very date the teachers go out of their way to offer engaging non curriculum events and contact parents to let them know.
Have you got any idea how rude and self important you sound...

[Scatterbrainbox]

@Jwhb

Or, if we're talking more meaningful figures. "In most teaching assistant positions you’ll find yourself on a term time only contract, which means that you probably won’t be earning the full, yearly amount as seen on the government pay scale. The average actual yearly pay for a teaching assistant comes out to around £12,000. "

Is £12,000 enough for someone who often works with the most vulnerable children in society, who may well have to deal with very challenging behaviour, being kicked, scratched or bitten?

Even if you don't support teacher strikes, it would be madness not to support TA strikes.

Is the skill set, experience and knowledge required for your job comparable to teaching? Do you have a undergrad, post grad and post qual training period? If yes, Jack it in straight away and become a teacher... it's a right doss...say all the people who would never do the job...

[Jwhb]

@Scatterbrainbox

Is the skill set, experience and knowledge required for your job comparable to teaching? Do you have a undergrad, post grad and post qual training period? If yes, Jack it in straight away and become a teacher... it's a right doss...say all the people who would never do the job...

I am a teacher.

I think TAs are woefully underpaid.

[Scatterbrainbox]

@Jwhb

I am a teacher.

I think TAs are woefully underpaid.

I was quoting the post by a facilities manager...
I agree, TAs are woefully underpaid.

[Scatterbrainbox]

@Scatterbrainbox

I was quoting the post by a facilities manager...
I agree, TAs are woefully underpaid.

Oof I quoted the wrong post. I think I'd better open the wine!

[Emeraldrings]

I don't support the strikes for lots of reasons.
For example most children have had their education disrupted enough by Covid and now it's being disrupted by strikes. If teachers care about the kids they teach as much as they claim why would you want to fuck their education up more?
In my job parents are being forced to take unpaid leave because of strikes and we're on a hell of a lot less than £25k so parents are literally going without si teachers can strike.
Thirdly don't do the job if you don't like the pay. You know what the pay is before you start so don't take the job and then whinge about it.
Also how is them striking about pay going to help the school get more funding or improve SEN provision? It's not, if anything there will be less money for those things.
I would like a pay rise (of any amount) but I knew the pay was shit when I started working. We don't have any unions anyway but would be interested to know how many teachers or other parents would support nursery staff going on strike.

[Jwhb]

@Scatterbrainbox

I was quoting the post by a facilities manager...
I agree, TAs are woefully underpaid.

Gotcha. Thought it was an odd response to mine 😂

[Scatterbrainbox]

@Jwhb

Gotcha. Thought it was an odd response to mine 😂

It was me...I quoted the wrong post 🙄

[Mamasharp97]

I’ve been teaching three years and am on £28k which is more than enough for us to live on- but when you counter in the nights of marking, planning, sending emails to parents, weekends of ppt making and recovering from masking all week that we don’t get paid for… 😅

but I personally went on strike for our cover teachers- my husband was a cover teacher and got minimum support, was verbally assaulted most days and students were given no real consequences etc- he now earns more working at a six table cafe that doesn’t even use an oven

our kids are so often being taught by cover teachers who couldn’t give less of a shit because staff is in such high demand, schools will take anyone because they have to. due to the pay not being worth the emotional toll teaching takes on our lives, qualified teachers can be hard to find and keep long term. I’m personally very lucky that I adore my students and my job, but so many people I talk to can barely keep their head above water so this pay rise is so the students can have better cover teachers and overall better educational standards imo xx

[noblegiraffe]

Dear god teachers aren't aren't strike, the pp who resurrected this thread misunderstood an article about school support staff going on strike and decided to go off on one about teachers, and then double down when his error was pointed out.

[Olderandolder]

One of the many problems with allowing Govt involvement in education.

Break the monopoly and allow price discovery.

[Bettyboop3]

@Emeraldrings

I don't support the strikes for lots of reasons.
For example most children have had their education disrupted enough by Covid and now it's being disrupted by strikes. If teachers care about the kids they teach as much as they claim why would you want to fuck their education up more?
In my job parents are being forced to take unpaid leave because of strikes and we're on a hell of a lot less than £25k so parents are literally going without si teachers can strike.
Thirdly don't do the job if you don't like the pay. You know what the pay is before you start so don't take the job and then whinge about it.
Also how is them striking about pay going to help the school get more funding or improve SEN provision? It's not, if anything there will be less money for those things.
I would like a pay rise (of any amount) but I knew the pay was shit when I started working. We don't have any unions anyway but would be interested to know how many teachers or other parents would support nursery staff going on strike.

There are unions for nursery nurses.