Bloody teacher strike!

[NoSchoolYesSchool]

Got a message last week saying class was closed because of strike. Not thrilled, but I support the teachers so took a day off work, booked to take kids to a soft play, let them stay up later last night because there’s no school. Just got a message from the teachers saying that the full school will be open today and looking forward to seeing the children! Are they taking the absolute piss? The strike I can support, but this is just fucking around the parents who’ve had to make an effort to sort childcare for the day? It won’t affect their cause at all, but completely screws me over! I’ve messaged and said kids won’t be in today because 30 minutes isn’t enough warning and I have things planned. Am I being unreasonable? Should I be sending them in? Just to avoid drip feeding, one child is neurodiverse and won’t manage a change like this after I’ve spent days gearing him up to being off

YANBU
Ridiculous short notice, would annoy me too.
enjoy the day with your children having fun.

Oh and never do understand the posters that say School is not childcare…
what the hell are we meant to do whilst they are at school? Sit at home knitting and baking until hometime?

I support teachers wanting better pay, but the world does not revolve around them, they are there to serve the children not the children and parents to serve the teachers.

I'm a recently retired teacher, and one who would have been striking today (and has done in the past).

But during past industrial action, there was none of this 'not telling the head until the last minute' stuff, and I'm not sure where it's come from. We knew who was in what union (we'd have meetings at lunchtime to discuss the action) and our rep would let the head know in plenty of time.

I honestly don't see whay that can't still happen. Yes, strikes are meant to cause disruption, but this extra level is one that really threatens the support that we need from parents. And I can't see how it benefits our cause at all. If I was a parent of primary aged kids I'd be really pissed off abut the scenario in the OP as well.

The strike I can support, but this is just fucking around the parents who’ve had to make an effort to sort childcare for the day?

Of course YABU.

They thought more people would be on strike but as soon as they realised they had enough staff to safely open then they did so - for most parents that will come as a massive relief.

You can choose whether to send them in or just say sorry I’m unable to get them in today at such short notice.

Most parents i know have managed to take the day off and are taking their DCs to a theme park or zoo which are doing cheap deals today.
I’m unfortunately wfh but I still wouldn’t be able to take my DC in at short notice.

YABVU to be this annoyed about something that ultimately hasn't changed your day.

The school couldn't give more than 30 minutes notice because they had no way of knowing how many staff members would be on strike until this morning.

It would be 100 times more inconvenient for you and all other parents if it had happened the other way around: if they'd said we're opening and then had to announce they were closed with 30 minutes' notice.

Just let them know your kids won't be in because they are already at their alternative childcare arrangements. I doubt they'll care. If lots of staff are striking I'd imagine they probably won't be doing proper full classes anyway but lots of merged cover lessons, that sort of thing, but there will be some parents who will be relieved that they can send their kids in after all.

Really? Is school not supervising my child during break and lunchtimes then?

Not turning up to work due to strike - disruptive: fine.

Refusing to say if you are striking or not is churlish IMO. It comes across as a bit ‘because we don’t have to.’

Enjoy your day. And school is a form of childcare as a large proportion of teachers have children. I assume they must employee nannies or whatever so they can work. So that argument needs to go really.

You do realise that thanks to recent government changes and probably related to what happened in covid that teachers, during school hours, for the 195 days they are open (or whatever) are the legal guardians of the children. Yes I know it’s crazy. So not childcare, you are actually sending them to their guardians se hours.

Trust me has caused an immense load of panic about potential snow days. Because new rules say you need to see or talk to the children everyday.

And then who the hell is going to teach the upcoming generation? They can't recruit new teachers because the pay and conditions are so bad, and they can't retain experienced ones either. This is a problem that affects the whole of society, not just the individual teachers.

They are striking if school is fully open.

Exactly.

It is not feasible to have population-sized amounts of childcare workers sitting around waiting to have kids during school hours, because MOST KIDS ARE IN SCHOOL, meaning that there is very rarely (I mean, never, basically, apart from during a once-in-a-century pandemic and during the very occasional mass education strike) sufficient levels of demand to actually keep such people in employment.

The fact that most kids are in school during school hours means that there is no practical way to have childcare available and waiting for those hours, just on the off-chance that they might be needed.

The fact that education is compulsory therefore, in practice, means that yes, it is basically childcare as well as an educational setting. The compulsory nature of schooling, and the overwhelming usage of schools by parents, mean that there will never be "other" childcare during those hours.

That’s the point of it!!!! To cause max disruption!!!! Get over yourself ffs.

But it’s disruption to struggling parents, not the government who actually has the power to do something. I guess the idea is parents then blame the government and lobby them for change but realistically that won’t happen and it will just turn parents against teachers and create resentment.

Teachers leaving teaching and forcing a situation where there simply are no teachers is the only thing I can see working, sadly. Four or five days is a nightmare for parents but of no odds to the government.

So what purpose does not letting parents know whether you’ll be open or not until the eleventh hour serve?

I mean that genuinely @GreetingsToTheNewBrunette . I really don’t understand what that’s meant to achieve. I understand the point of striking but I don’t understand why you wouldn’t let someone know you’re on strike so they can decide whether to open the school or not.

Willing to listen but what does it achieve?

I mean the equivalent might be

there is a train strike

trains are not running

make alternative arrangements - OK

but

there is a train strike

your train might be running so you must go to the station to check

but it might not be

so you have left it too late to make other arrangements to get there but the train might not be running so stranded.

I mean I realise it isn’t the best analogy but that’s what some schools are doing, and I don’t think it’s very fair.

Oh give it a rest with the "schools are not childcare". It's not all about you either.

That’s nothing to do with the striking teachers, is it? That’s down to the school management so the head teacher and the business manager should be sorting that out. Don’t misguide your grudges to the wrong people.

The striking teachers want to cause disruption - it’s showing how crucial they are. There aren’t enough teachers as there is , so imagine if all the ones striking left the profession? What would the schools do? What would the parents do? What would the kids do?

The public needs to show support to those striking, the government is hoping the publics ignorance on the matter will mean they won’t.

Why do you think we have holidays and holiday pay? Maternity leave? Sick pay? A living wage? Do you think employers are just kind? No. All these things were fought for.

FYI I’m not a teacher.

Why so much anger, the OP and following on posters are asking genuine questions about the suitability as to how the situation was handled. To be greeted with 'Get over yourself' is a bit harsh.

Imagine the Teachers were told to ' get over themselves' - the world would end!

I would just carry on with what you planned. It isn't the school's fault, its the teachers who have chosen not to let the school know their plans (encouraged by the unions) so they have presumably turned up in higher numbers than expected, will get paid but will have caused the disruption that they aimed to cause whilst not losing their pay.

One of my children is at home today. I made plans in advance and paid a tutor for Maths and English lessons for her and a friend. I knew the school might change plans at the last minute but just decided once I had made a financial commitment I would stick to it and my daughter would not be going to school if there was a last-minute announcement the school was open. I haven't even checked my messages this morning to see if there has been any such announcement because I will not be sending her in.

You need to be able to plan your life, especially if you would normally be at work. The school is trying to operate as best it can and some people who can switch plans at the last minute will have happily sent their children into your child's school. But you have plans so stick to them and say you didn't see the message until it was too late!

See above reply.

Hope you don’t like any of the benefits past striking has given you and hope you won’t cry when your child’s school becomes short staffed due to lack of teachers and education as a whole suffers because of it 👍

But the school managers can’t know if the teachers don’t tell them!

I don’t have any grudges. I support anyone’s right to strike but I don’t think ‘punishing’ ordinary people is right either.

YABVU to be this annoyed about something that ultimately hasn't changed your day.

Exactly!

I don’t get why OP is so stressed over something that has no negative impact on her whatsoever.

I can see why someone would be annoyed if the school was closed at the last minute but this is just a total over reaction over nothing.

Yes, this. And also, when railway staff striked they provided notification beforehand which lines were expected to be closed/affected, same with other professions - if you were seeing a nurse etc your appointment was cancelled, or at least that was what happened to me.

Support the strike on the whole but not the approach this time.

I think you misunderstand my views.

I’ll be absolutely gutted when that happens.

I’m gutted now about the state of the education system, I’m in despair about it.

What I’m saying is that I am struggling to see how this strike action will make any difference.

We need to find an answer but for the reasons I’ve set out above, I'm struggling to believe this is it. Im worried it will make the situation worse by turning parents against teachers.

Honestly staggers me how little people understand about teachers vs management vs government policy. Poor communication with parents is entirely a senior management failure - teachers have no say over how management prepare or communicate. Equally ridiculous is the whole moaning about fines for holiday absence etc, as if that's the teachers too - that's bloody government policy. I spent 15 years in teaching and left last year - I (and many of my colleagues) despise homework, don't care what length a pupil's skirt is or if their shirt is untucked, support a parent's right to enrich their child's lives with educational experiences outside the classroom during term-time, and a whole other load of things that go against government policy and management decisions. Stop assuming it's the teachers that set these rules - we have to live with them and have no control over them.

Be angry at poor management and incompetent government policy, not mad at teachers - who, by the way, are very, very mad at poor management and incompetent government policy on behalf of every pupil we teach. So really, we all should be in support of each other, parents and teachers.