To not send my children to school on the strike days?

[mumoffourminimes]

(Primary) school have said they will open on the strike days with TAs in classrooms instead of teachers and they will not be covering the national curriculum (fair enough). But do I have to send the children in under these circumstances?

Is it even safe to have a school full of children and half the number of adults?

I'm especially thinking of the younger years, unfortunately there have been some violent incidents in both yr1 and reception classes and there are some kids that really need the supervision.

I don't want to send my children in for babysitting services, i'm at home on maternity leave so I don't need that, lucky I know. So AIBU not to send them?

Same here. Sending kids into school in these circumstances is crossing the picket line.

Frustratingly, 1 of my DC must attend and my other 2 DC are not attending. It was very clearly written in the letter that any children off school from classes that are supposed to be in will be marked unauthorised unless sick.

We are in Scotland and our LA had their 2nd strike this month today. All schools closed and nice to see parents/pupils supporting the teachers by joining picket lines, dropping off tea and cakes etc.

"A scab"
What the actual hell... 😆

No doubt written by folk who have never actualy been on strike themselves amd have little knowledge or experience of it, but none the less..

As a taxpayer, your paying for a service, education - for your child. they arent an employee, they/you are a customer.
Its akin to calling for an ambulance when the ambulance drivers are on strike.
Or using an airport to go on holiday when borderforce were striking.

Conversely your taking the pressure off schools and the education system by keeping your kids home.

You Scabs
:o)

Brilliant. So we’re now at the point of deciding to label children scabs if they go to school when some teachers are striking?

A scab if you send them and a scab if you don't. 🙄

The child isn't a scab any more than a train passenger going to a station in a rail strike is, they are a customer not a worker

I doubt they’ll miss much but I imagine it will go down as unauthorised absence I think it’s normally 5 per year of those you can have before that would trigger a fine

I beleive schools 'legally' have to open as some people have to send them, if you don't have too don't

Bur it is up to you really

I think only one PP actually used the word “scab” without hint of humour.

It's not the same as calling an ambulance during an ambulance drivers’ strike. The “customer” analogy doesn’t work either.

The reason I won’t send my child in (if it turns out that her class teacher is striking and the head’s plan is to pressure TAs to cover her class) is that I don’t support the use of TAs to undermine strike action.

I'm conflicted because my employer has said that we must make alternative childcare arrangements for our children if their school strikes because we aren't paid for any childcare-related absences.

My options are to send him and go to work (and get paid), keep him home (and not get paid) or "call in sick" (and lie to my boss) on any/ all of the strike days because my employers policy is to pay us for our own absence, just not childcare.

I don't want to send him in (scab or not) because I don't want to put T.A's in a difficult position.
That said, we're absolutely tied financially and there's no way our (low - income) household could absorb 4 unpaid days in a paycheck.
Tough times. I fully support the strikes though.

If depends what the TA's job specification / contract stipulates and training level is as to their suitability to cover a class teacher not how much they are pressured.

Likening children to customers within education is a precise description of what they are, not an analogy.

Finaly, "It's not the same as calling an ambulance during an ambulance drivers’ strike."
There is still a service there, all be it sadly diminished.
Arguably a greater sense to public service from the NHS though.

I'd love to see an unauthorised absence fine be sent...... Ridiculous. TAs shouldnt be responsible for whole classes..... Fuck me that goes against the ratios that childminders have to go by, especially for under 8s. One accident that involves injury would be chaos!

I don't want an unauthorised absence note!

Do you think I should ask the teachers if they are striking? And tell them the kids won't be attending if they are..

Children at state school are not customers. It’s not a description that fits.

Using TAs to cover striking teachers undermines the strike if the TA, regardless of their training, would not ordinarily be covering that class at that time.

I think I'd ask the school - if it would be unauthorised then I'd take them in.

Our school haven't communicated yet but did say they 'plan to be open as normal' when I asked the office if there was any any news, so I guess we won't hear any more until strike days. If they're open, mine will be going in.

Wouldn’t that go down as an unauthorised absence? My children’s school is extremely hot on these and I’d end up with a phone call wanted to know why they weren’t in.

I used to be a teacher and did strike at the time (years ago now). It never occured to me to view kids going to school that day as scabs!

Mine will most likely go in, if the school is open. We've not heard anything yet about closures.

So now we know that teachers think children are scabs.

Bloody hell. My daughter's school will be unaffected by the strike action but all these scab comments make me think that if it was, I'd totally send her.

Can you not read? How could you type that with a straight face, directly following my post?

Dickhead.

Maybe read the posts further up which seem to be what teachers think nowadays

The school is wrong to cover with TAs. Goes against all guidance.

The government guidance (crap as it is) statues that if school is open, children must go in.

To my mind, school have caused themselves a big headache by covering when they shouldn’t have done and passing the headache onto parents. Saying that, our school is closed but is setting online work. What the fuck is the point of that? It’s either a strike or not.

I support the strike and wouldn’t send them in. We won’t be doing online learning.

Scabs 🤣 Jesus. 🙄

Not in a million years would I cross a picket line.
I would keep mine at home and make sure school knew that the striking teachers had my full support.