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

The whole "if we tell you whether we're striking or not it'll just spoil it" thing is childish nonsense too.

(I support the teachers, just not the holier than thou attitude of some).

It is a little like saying ‘we don’t know if your operation is going ahead or not because we don’t know who is striking.’

Your operation is cancelled - OK, I can carry on as normal.

Your operation might be cancelled but it might not be so hang around and book time off work and lose money just in case …

I support the former fully. I don’t support the latter.

Supporting peoples right to strike doesn’t mean supporting absolutely everything that is done in the name of that strike.

Working parents always need a back up.

For emergency closures due to unforeseen circumstances.

For illness.

That's why people are reminded school is not childcare and you always need a back up plan.

I've worked in education as a LP with disabled child since he was born. So I totally get how difficult it is but I always had a back up and if that failed I had to take emergency day off which may or may not be paid.

No it isn't ! Not one second of my training or the schools budget has anything at all to do with childcare. It is an education service.

This isn't actually the case.
The education secretary said that teachers should inform their headteachers of whether they were striking (it wasn't appropriate not to do so).

The union responded by saying that it was absolutely appropriate not to have to tell headteachers that they were not striking as they couldn't be compelled to do so.

So once again their is media mis-representation of what was actually said.

I will say though, as I've saidn on similar threads, that hearing from teachers how much damage and disruption it causes to take kids out of school for even one day unauthorised will fall on deaf ears for me going forward. It's not just the strike, but with Covid there was always reasons why the schools should stay shut for longer and longer. All the kids were, apparently "resilient" and it wouldn't be a problem for them.

We were told there’d be no online learning… I told dc to check and do their homework so it’s all up to date only to find lots of work including 47 maths questions (Year 7). We’re currently back in lockdown style meltdowns with dd2 because she “can’t do maths!” (She’s in top set and can do maths but seems to want help on every question when at home 🤯). I’m home on a masters study day… not sure my work will be top quality.

i wish they’d been clearer about plans. In op’s situation the school should have been clearer that there were 2 scenarios and when the school would confirm.

So nursing is a healthcare only profession? Treat your wounds only, don't be a shoudler to cry on? Someont to talk to?

Come on, of course teaching has an element of Childcare. To say to otherwise is foolish.

When I drop my child to school, I am leaving them in the care of the teacher.

Lockdown proved school was childcare, childcare without which society and the economy really struggled to function.

Strikes cause disruption, disruption caused action to change.

Without the disruption to the public their would be no change.

Stop moaning about the strikes the "inconvenience" is exactly what was supposed to happen.

You are missing the point. Striking for change, ok. Maybe striking, maybe not striking to appear to cause maximum disruption is not IMO.

If you want the public to back your strike, then at least meet us half way.

I hate the whole “school isn’t childcare” comments. Of course it is - your dc is in the care of someone else. Otherwise we’d all be stay at home parents or have a back up cm permanently booked. We plan our work/lives around dc being in school.

So you have no statutory duty of care to the children on the premises? What you're saying then is in effect thousands of children are left feral and without adult care between 8 and 4 Monday to Friday? Why aren't social services knocking on your door?

I think it is very naive to think that parents who have lost money and may therefore struggle themselves this week/month will sit at home furious with the government for causing this.

They won’t, will they? They’ll be angry with the teachers.

Support is likely to come from other public sector workers who are unlikely to vote conservative anyway (and often do get some time paid for emergency childcare.)

Wow.

Teachers are most certainly not servants to either children or parents. Teachers educate.They are experts in their field. They safeguard. They often provide the love and care that is absent in some families. They are subjected to daily vitriol from entitled parents who think the world revolves around their child. They work every bloody hour god sends and go above and beyond, for example buying their own resources so that the children benefit.

I left the profession for many reasons; I did an excellent job and I miss my classes but at no point, ever, did I consider myself a servant.

Your arrogance is breathtaking.

Ok - so what is the alternative?

Teachers give plenty of notice to their leadership teams of intended strike action. Leadership teams then look at the feasibility of keeping the school open or give plenty of notice so that parents can take AL and keep their children off school??

The strike day passes, kids maybe lose a day of education, but disruption is minimal. The strike would have no impact, and therefore pointless.

Or how about, rather than one or two days of strike action without notice, teachers give plenty of notice but strike for longer. Sure, you'll know exactly whether your child's school is open or not, but what happens when your leave runs out?

Schools aren't childcare, but work is set up around school hours as the core. Even teachers have children and they rely on the schools caring for them alongside educating them, so they themselves can work.

I would just carry on with your original plans op. One of my children wouldn't be able to cope with the last minute change either and I wouldn't be sending them in.

See this is where many interpretations can be made.

Lockdown - for me - proved that the government doesn't see (or understand) the importance of school as childcare for families.

It is primarily an education system and not childcare and they made sure education was provided through keyworker schooling and online learning.

However - that then opens another interpretation that they did see the importance of it being childcare for "some" families because they recognised key services can function without its employees who can't work without schools being open.

Then there is the other side. Teaching and support staff are expected to also be social workers in a round about way. If you have a safeguarding issue then that takes ALL priority over education and must be dealt with immediately. With current staffing issues within schools that can mean a whole class not receiving an education for that period of time.

I personally conclude that the boundaries are blurred and it shows how fucked up the system six it shows how overworked teachers are trying to provide too many things at once and how the system isn't designed to work alongside the economic needs of the country and the need for both parents to bring an income into the family to afford housing etc.

And that's why I can see why and support all those in the public sector/ civil service striking.

It think school is a mix of education and childcare for the younger age groups. The pandemic revealed the education v childcare dilemma when may parents had to 'supervise' their children doing 'home schooling' which was largely a joke for the younger children as the 'education' aspect provided online didn't work without constant proactive engagement from the parents!

The teachers and unions don't get sympathy from me when they are deliberately messing parents arounds by not revealing if they are striking or not. That seems vindictive towards the parents. I am all for teachers feeling valued for the important job they do and wanting to be recognised for this but they will likely lose some public support by messing parents around in this way.

I think most of the strikes are quite pointless at the moment anyway as inflation is the problem and if you give half the country a big pay rise there will be more inflation, more strikes and it never ends. Therefore, we are all just muddling through all this disruption and carrying on with our lives as best we can.

My interpretation was that school was kept open for key workers exactly as childcare. NOT for education. I know of several schools that were run bascially as after school club, NOT as schools. They were providing childcare for key workers, so key workers could keep going to work during the pandemic.

Non-keyworkers didn't need to go to work so tehrefore could provide their own childcare.

I am pretty certain that the government cared every little about providing education, at least early on in the lockdowns.

I agree MGMidget

@SneakAttackDamage i guess the alternative is to strike, close the school (partially or wholly) and the desired disruption still comes about as students don’t get taught for a day (if you see school purely as educational) or parents have to take time off work (if you see school as serving a purpose for childcare.)

That seems eminently more sensible to me.

Disagree sorry.
Other childcare (nursery, childminder and even grandparents) can fall sick, be short staffed or have a flood or fire for example and not be able to have your child for the day. The back up for the childcare is usually a parent taking a sick day off work. Same if school is closed because by the very nature of not many people being SAHM (because they can’t) means that school has become childcare. What back ups do you propose for school being shut other than parents taking a sick day / emergency leave?

Slowingdownagain

The government didn't care about education at any point during lockdown.

Yes exactly this. When I left my 4 year old at school I was in under the assumption that the teacher was caring for him.