Teachers - well paid, long holidays, gold-plated pension

[noblegiraffe]

I keep seeing this being trotted out as a reason to give teachers yet another real-terms pay cut.

Those who are going on about how great teachers have it, why have we got so many vacancies? Why is there such a shortage of teachers? It is really starting to bite in schools. My school has increased class sizes in maths and English, there are kids who have had a series of different supply teachers in core subjects since September, and A-level students who have had to teach themselves the syllabus in Y13 because they had no teacher at all. GCSE students have complained about their teacher not knowing what they are teaching because they've been roped in from another subject. We used to try to protect exam classes, but can't anymore.

Teaching vacancies are up. But the worst thing is that teacher trainees numbers have plummeted. The government has missed its recruitment targets for years, but the situation is getting much worse. Teacher recruitment for next year where schools generally compete for local trainees, which usually starts about now, will be really difficult and there will be lots more schools with unfilled spaces in September. Maths trainee numbers where I am are genuinely horrifying.

So, given the assertion that the private sector (the "real world") has it much worse and that teachers have a pretty cushy job with lots of perks, why isn't the private sector seeing a mass exodus into teaching?

Is it maybe not that cushy after all? Maybe the government actually needs to do something about it? Maybe those who think that a 5% rise is 'fair' need to have a rethink if they want their kids to actually have a teacher?

getintoteaching.education.gov.uk

I am a child protection social worker- every single profession working with children and families has been eroded and underfunded during the last 12 years plus of this
government and it is scandalous. Early years and sure start? Funding cut as soon as the conservatives came into power- despite all the research about the importance of early years and tentative good outcomes. Every single service funded to work to prevent family break down/ offer support no-no funding. Domestic violence funding/refuges for women and children- now totally dependent on charity. Etc, etc.

The schools I work with are incredible. They provide a safe space and really advocate for vulnerable young people to an extent most parents will not know about , because it does not apply to them. The young people are visable, kept safe, have opportunities to access nurture and counselling, etc.

And on top of that they do a bit of teaching (marking, and lesson planning) ! My DD wants to be a teacher and I think she will be amazing.

I am so fed up with people bashing us in the public sector because no one is stopping you joining us. Teachers/social workers/nurses etc - the training is open to all, just a 3 year degree at your own expense and then pay for your accreditation whilst getting through your qualifying year. After that you get to work in a chronically underfunded system which does not allow you to do your job properly/safely and where it is expected by the current government you accept a pay cut of around 20-25% because 'austerity'.
.

What are teacher salaries like?

Where exactly do you think people who have left teaching are moving to? 😂 It’s a sad world if people just vote with their feet instead of fighting to defend what they believe is right, though - the sort of world where, according to the people championing it, you have poor employment rights and pensions, so not a great advert for that ay of dealing with injustice, imvho.

Really?

I can't wait until class sizes grow to ridiculous levels because of the lacking of teachers and the whole thing topples and the out cry from people saying ... "why didn't they say anything. This is such a shock"

And ironically it will be the people who piss and moan about teachers saying how easy teachers have and why are they moaning (whilst also saying they wouldn't do it- but secretly thinking they could do it 100% better than any lowly teacher)

Like people who post - my inbox is always open if your feeling low. Then mock those who are struggling/saying attention seekers and then say "omg, they committed suicide it's such a shock" .When it wasn't. It's just they weren't listening and the signs were all there.

Not enough to either recruit new teachers or retain experienced ones.

There aren’t enough teachers to go around and children are missing out.

That’s what they’re like.

I am in the private sector and do not get sick pay or pensions teachers get. But I have a pretty easy time at work and my targets are easily achievable.

Hey, if it’s so amazing in the private sector- why not come across for a higher payrise!

That's what teachers are doing and why we don't have enough of them.
And many of them are prepared to do it for considerably less money than they earn at the moment, because it's worth it to save their sanity.

In genuinely worried for my toddler and baby granddaughters. At this rate there'll be no-one left to teach them.

In 1998, two men called Larry Page and Sergey Brin invented this fabulous website for asking these types of questions. It’s easily accessible by typing www.google.com into the address bar. From there, you can type these types of questions, and you’ll get answers.

It’s really fabulous.

No sympathy for teachers. If it’s really that bad then go ahead and get that minimum wage job, 40+ hrs a week, no sick pay, 5.6 weeks annual leave , basic/ no pension.

I could only dream of earning £36,000 upwards, with 13 weeks holiday a year.

No sympathy for teachers. If it’s really that bad then go ahead and get that minimum wage job, 40+ hrs a week, no sick pay, 5.6 weeks annual leave , basic/ no pension.

They are doing, if they can. Some of those who have, have even posted on this thread and other similar ones today.

@Pinkpantherstrikes why don’t you become a teacher then?

@toomuchlaundry I would’ve loved the opportunity to have had a career as a teacher.
Firstly, I am not academic in the slightest. Secondly I couldn’t afford to go to university and support myself ( I had to leave home at 17) .

Honestly? I spent part of today googling local vacancies, including minimum wage. With conditions as they are, it's not worth my mental health.

Been there, had the breakdown, came back from it and taught for several years but don't want to go there again. My family deserve better.

Be careful what you wish for, I'm by no means the only teacher to feel like this. And if all of us took your advice literally, education would be in a real shit storm by September.

Nothing stopping you from retraining now.

Also had to support myself, although from 18. Full student loan which I will never be in a position to pay off.

It is hard to go to university if you have zero support i.e. not even a family to return to during the summer.

@Lancrelady80 yes really! Do you think your the only person who ever feels like this about their job? Or who get stressed, rundown or burnt out. How many people do you think do their job because they have to, to earn enough money to live- not by choice but necessity.

Enjoy trying to live on your minimum wage job.

@Lancrelady80 I’m not academic. I have no qualifications, not even a GCSE. I need to work full time to earn enough to live.

No, I don't think that for one minute. Many, many of those stressed, run down and burnt out (or nearly) were out on strike today.

No sympathy for teachers. If it’s really that bad then go ahead and get that minimum wage job, 40+ hrs a week, no sick pay, 5.6 weeks annual leave , basic/ no pension.

I expect some of them do so, because even this might be better than teaching (for them).
However many ex-teachers will enter employment that offers a salary that is equal to or better than that offered by teaching, far less stress and a better work-life balance (less good pensions though, I grant), because they have the qualifications, skills and experience that enable them to do so.

You write a coherent sentence and you currently work in a job that is probably beneath your capabilities. There are ways to get those qualifications and do better for yourself if that is what you want. I suggest that you look at apprenticeships - they are available in many sectors.
As a teacher in Further Education, I worked with many people in a similar position to you. You can gain GCSE (Level 2) and A level (Level 3) equivalent qualifications while being paid to do so, and often on a decent wage.

I support the teachers. Teaching is more than a job, it’s a way of life.

I quit in December. 15k a year pay cut. I did exactly what you're saying and I'm much happier. Trusted to do my job, treated like an adult instead of one of the kids, and not so bloody exhausted at the end of the week / 'term' that the holidays are a necessity for my sanity.

I'm lucky enough to be in a 2-earner household so we could do this. I feel for my colleagues who feel trapped as they're on their own.

The main issues, that the government are failing to report, are that a) workload is unmanageable and b) the pay rises that have been agreed BY THE GOVERNMENT are unfunded - so they have to come out of already stretched budgets, meaning redundancies, less resources for the students and even worse workload pressures.

It's not, for most, about a bigger pay rise. Its about where what they've already given teachers comes from, when schools have been chronically underfunded for a decade or more.

Problem is, there're only a few things teachers are allowed to strike about - so using the pay card is a way to bring the issues to the fore.

Having worked in education (not as a teacher bur have covered some classes) I would honestly never do it. I am gobsmacked more than anything that they expect people.to fund their own training to do it. Its the equivalent of going into a car showroom and demanding that the salesperson pays you to talk to you. Honestly bizarre that they expect you to cough up ten grand for the honour of being shat on for your entire career.