To think teachers should give notice of strike closure!

[Geeds]

I know teachers need to strike, I know they don’t need to give advanced notices, I know the whole idea is to ‘cause disruption’ but surely they also understand that normal working families need notice if they can’t go to work on a certain date?

The school is emailing saying they will ‘let us know by 8am on Wednesday’ about if school will be open or closed on Wednesday. I get 5 weeks annual leave to cover 13 weeks of school holiday, I don’t want to book a day if they then end up open as this will then eventually cost me money when I have to pay childcare in the holidays as I’m out of annual leave. I also can’t really afford the unpaid leave that I’ll have to take it as, if I don’t book annual leave.

I’m not slating teachers for striking, I understand and support the reasons. But AIBU to think they should give us a bit of notice? The strikes will ‘disrupt’ either way, but not giving notice to families is only going to affect the 30 odd parents in your class who also have their own stresses and money worries.

"Oh FFS. As if it's that easy for a lot of people. Moron.

Our school told us Friday afternoon that they would be closed except for priority children. Doesn't make a lot of difference to me as mine is in Year 11 (no "short term pain for long term gain here", my child won't benefit from strikes, just more disruption for kids who have already missed out on loads of education) but I imagine if you have primary aged kids it's a pain in the arse not knowing. I'd just assume school closed and plan to not send them in, regardless."

Moron 🤣🤣 love it, did you come from 1994?

Yes it is fairly easy for most. If several parents are struggling then speak to one another, formulate a plan. Most will be able to arrange something with friends/relatives/WFH/Annual leave. Plus, many schools are opening as outlined in this thread.

It's really not "obscene" or the absolute disaster it's being made out to be here.

individual teachers will not let school know until the morning of the strike. But the head teacher knows that 80% of the teachers belong to that union and the head has to make the decision to close the school or not.

Most schools have made the decision ahead of time.

It is unreasonable of a head teacher to decide at 8 am on Wednesday.

I find it quite bizarre that they don’t know beforehand.
As a nurse we were all asked a few weeks prior to the strike (with no pressure either way) so that ward’s could be safely staffed.

Just to make life more interesting here, mine go to school on the train, and there are train strikes on Wednesday.
Quite a few kids at the school go on the train, and train strikes have required a LOT of flexible working for me and dh to get them there and back, there is no way I would be able to organise that at 8 am on Wednesday. (Never mind that they are usually half way to school by then.)

That's ridiculous, we were told last week.

We got told weeks ago our school would be open as usual.

I agree with you it is unreasonable. Our school is also waiting until the morning to tell us which classes are open and which are closed, which is a logistical nightmare and confusing for children. I think the rationale is they will attempt to keep the school partially open rather than preemptively closing to all.

However most of the other primary schools round here have partial closures e.g. 1A is in school, 1B isn't because their teacher is striking. So most teachers seem to have said in advance, even though they don't have to. Which technically goes against union advice, but makes life a lot easier for parents!

Weeks was a slight exaggeration... it was the 18th January they emailed to let us know.

To be fair your earlier comment that there's 'generally two parents and other relatives' was a bit stupid and very naive.

That's not how union action works.

There is no requirement to even confirm if you're a union member, let alone if you're striking. Schools will have requested that staff volunteer the info but cannot and should not compel them.

Perhaps you'd have better than 5 weeks annual leave if you had a strong union?

Work on the assumption that are striking. I would imagine the union can't guarantee strike is definitely going ahead in case there are any last minute movement which means strike is not necessary but this is hardly going to happen so assume it's going ahead and that most teachers are unlikely to cross picket line so it's happening

I assume it depends on the age of the pupils. Secondary school teachers could probably get away with less notice because the vast majority of students could be left unattended at home, with minimal issues, whereas primary needs to let parents know so they can arrange childcare.

Our school is open only for vulnerable/SEN/free school meals - they made that decision last week. I've no idea of how many teachers are striking, but if we wanted to send a child in because they are in that category, we had to let them know last Friday so the school could ensure there was enough cover. Which I think was an easier way to deal with it - no one is left in limbo.

Letting parents know at 8am is insane!

The school where I work, the teachers have advised the head and parents were informed last week. Likewise, the school my daughter goes to has advised which year groups won’t be coming in.

if teachers haven’t advised the Head, maybe that speaks badly of the Head’s relationship with their team?

DH is head of a large primary school.
He had a meetings with all of his teachers. He had to term it as
'I'm going to ask you this question.
I am allowed to ask it but you do not have to answer me. Are you going to be striking this week?'

Luckily all of his staff told him what they are planning to do. Officially he could have closed the whole school and every teacher may have turned up .
As an ex teacher my self i think is absolutely madness that they don't have to say. I know it impacts on parents but DH was trying to organise 14 classes with non striking teachers and support staff, if his staff refused to tell him he would have probably had to shut. Parents were told last Friday which classes /vulnerable students would be in school.

The obvious thing to do is assume they'll be closed. Our HT told us a week or so ago that the majority of the teachers were in the striking union and only told us more recently that they were definitely going to close. We had anticipated them closing though. Lots of parents are joining them at the picket line.

That’s my concern. Fortunately DCs school have been able to tell us, but some children may already be at breakfast club when other schools close and that’s so hard for young DC, having to wait around for someone to come and collect them.

I get why teachers are striking and I get why they don’t have to tell the headteacher before hand if they don’t want to but just a days notice will help any child who’s going to end up stranded at childcare first thing in the morning.

The parents objecting the strikes should be aware that this isn't just to do with pay. The government expect any pay rises to come from existing funding where that funding is already woefully inadequate.

"To be fair your earlier comment that there's 'generally two parents and other relatives' was a bit stupid and very naive."

No it wasn't. Most kids have more than one adult in their circle. Be it a parent, grandparent, family friend, aunt, mums boyfriend, older sibling, neighbour. There are also all of those other adults you see every day in the playground who could support each other and formulate a mutually beneficial plan if they engaged their brains as I suggested. Additionally there are options such as annual leave, WFH, parental leave. And just to make things even easier many schools are staying open!

It is very stupid and naive to think that most children will not be covered by one or more of the options above.

@Willyoujustbequiet - ''To be fair your earlier comment that there's 'generally two parents and other relatives' was a bit stupid and very naive.''

👋We're all thinkin' it.

itsnote - you seem to be in the minority here. Although admittedly it's a small thread, doesn't that make you pause for thought at all?

I think the whole point of strikes is that they are unreasonable (in a MN AIBU sense I mean).
YANBU to want to know and plan, but it's a strike and there are procedures to be followed, so YABU to want the strike to work around your needs.

@Laiste do I? To you maybe.

I'm seeing lots of comments about how striking is supposed to be disruptive. Or that pps would just assume school is closed and make arrangements based on that. Sensible.

I can't see the government suddenly having a change of heart on their attitudes to education because some schools/ union members maximised last minute inconvenience to their community by not giving an indication of what arrangements need to be made.

It's hard enough getting an autistic child to school and convincing them that education is important without multiple school years of phases where school is open to x but not open to y.

Don't blame teachers, it will be the head or the LEA who decides whether an individual school has to close or not.