Does your child have a teacher to go back to next week?

[fuckityfuckityfuckfuck]

My reception child doesn't.
There are 12 unfilled primary teacher vacancies within a 10mi radius of us. Only 1 of those I could perhaps be reluctant to work in due to reputation. There are also another 16 vacancies with later start dates.

Primary has historically been oversubscribed. I know this has been an ongoing issue for a while in secondary maths/science but now it's seeping into primary which has always been more desirable, I don't see how parents can continue to ignore the issue.

Gillian Keegan has warned the independent advisory board to "consider school budgets" when recommending a pay rise for 24-25 so I would imagine there will be even more classes without teachers next year!

As its AIBU... its time parents started complaining to their MPs to protect state education.

Sadly, so have I 🙄

No, not in this case. The LA recruitment team are finding staff via the blanket adverts, to direct to schools when the individual schools advertise.

Just not enough applicants otherwise.

I had only seen 2 in KS1 in nappies in the last 5 years, but there are 5 alone in Reception this year. Other local schools report a similar number.

Just want to say that lunchtimes are protected by the teachers pay and conditions regulations in the burgundy book.

Also when are those teachers preparing for the afternoon lessons? I spend about 20 mins eating and going to the loo etc and the rest preparing for the afternoon. There must be a very weak union presence in that school or scared teachers who feel they can't say no. This is not the norm and shouldn't be.

Oh and do all the teachers have food handling qualifications!!!

@wonderingwhatlifemeans On my teaching days I'm often asked to supervise kids if it's indoor break as budget cuts have meant not enough lunchtime supervisors 😞

Break time is directed. Lunch can't be.

Sadly, I see this too ( I work across schools).

This is often teacher choice as some children are so badly behaved at lunchtime that putting this right after lunch takes up so much time. Just easier to eat with the small group of high needs pupils.

I often see primary head teachers and leaders doing the same, or hosting nurture groups. Supporting children who most need it.

Teachers are so stretched, meeting the needs of children who require significant support caused by their additional needs, by lack of parenting or by unsafe home lives.

@LorlieS then you should be paid or at least get a free lunch. I know budgets are tight but we need to protect our lunch breaks or we will have even less time to prepare and feel even more stressed.

It seems that the head mentioned earlier really sees teachers as babysitters and has no concern for the quality of teaching. Of course when that reduces he will then blame teachers and not realise the impact of his actions as a leader.

The idea that teachers have it easy - “all those long holidays, start at 9 finish by 4, cushy, cushy, stop moaning, you don’t know what the ‘real world’ working life is” - attitude sadly still exists in the minds of some.

The reality is a stupid amount of workload, going into school during the holidays to plan with other teachers, prep the class for the new term, attend meetings even during supposed holidays, weekend courses, relentless tick box exercises, endless staff meetings, ofsted pressure (relentless, due to the ‘what if’ attitude/worry of senior management), behaviour issues, limited (almost non existent) SEN provision, some parent attitudes, teachers viewed as “child minders” rather than teachers, poor support for classroom teachers from some senior management (not all schools, but it certainly exists), no time to devote properly to planning lessons that will engage, motivate and suit all the different children in a class because time is taken on stupid, often irrelevant, extras in the training days and staff meetings and the before start of school meetings and lunchtime meetings and extra tagged on after school meetings, and after schools clubs, etc, etc. - fit planning in? - ha.
No wonder teachers are leaving in droves, having breakdowns, and worse of all, some committing suicide.

The whole system needs looking at, and as far as I can see, nothing much has changed since I left 6 years ago. Would I go back? Not on your life.

@wonderingwhatlifemeans The budget is so tight they won't do that. I feel like a need a mental break so I've resorted to going for a walk for 10 mins so I'm physically out of the classroom.

We still have some in the UK as well, but less in the UK than we used to have.

Education has become a gravy train for private company bureaucratic parasites.

I’m currently working 2 days in a class (job share). I’ve now offered to work 2 days in another class each week (they’ve managed to find supply for the other 3 days) so that they have some consistency as they haven’t had any teachers consistently since September. I’m disabled so not sure how long I can do 4 days (normally only do 3). SLT are taking some planning off me in return to try and help me!

Until December I worked in two primary schools in our area and both had vacancies.

From memory, this "school" is a free school.

Yes secondary school behavior is awful I don't understand how the parents let there kids behave like this my DD is just about to turn 16year and can't wait to get the hell out either. Every lesson she is taunted and can't do work in her GCSE year. Two teachers have admitted issues with other students at parents evening and apologized to us for all the stress within lessons. And she's moved class in RE because it was getting so bad. Seems all the kids have a free for all we have a meeting as soon as we go back on 8th if January as had water poured all over her and walked out and said she never wants to go back... I wouldn't want to teach them either could write a book about it and I thought it was bad when I was a pupil 23years ago makes me so sad to think about.

I’m the same - worked as teacher for over 30 years. Work as TA/HLTA or occasional supply now. Never again!

@Doodgreen12 Same here! However, now getting sick to death of covering staff absences "on the cheap."

I’m a teacher and just spent my day marking. The two weeks leading go to Xmas I had my yr 11 and yr 13 sit mocks. 120 x yr 11 papers!!! All I seem to do is work. Then add to that the bashing we get from parents / media and the fact that teachers are never included in discount cards like blue lights. We are a hated profession

The behaviour in schools won't get better until the current crop that missed school through covid has passed through.
Covid gave us more entitled kids from entitled parents and has shown even more how incompetent some head teachers are with a drive towards pussy footing around behaviour issues whilst forgetting that they have a legal responsibility towards staff.
When I left, the management thought that I would be an easy replacement. It will affect at least 4 - 5 years worth of pupils, 2 - 3 gcse years and 2 KS3 yrs, because they cannot get a replacement for me and have had to cancel the course that I (successfully) taught and built up over many years.

@Shinyandnew1 astonishing.

I'm a teacher myself. I was primary but moved into secondary maths and am now in SEND. I am considering a new career path.

The pay isn't great overall and the expectation placed on teachers is increasing more and more.
The complaints from parents over minor things such as their child not being sat next to their friend or a recent favourite was when I was pulled into the headteachers office because of a complaint from a parent that I had not asked a child to offer an answer within the lesson.

Teachers should be paid appropriately, treated as professionals and allowed to leave school and not take work home..... Then it might be a career that people want to train to do and people want to stay working in.

The short answer is that as long as education continues to be a political football then it will never improve. They love to put out headline figures about “record funding” etc but fail to acknowledge the actual issues impacting teacher recruitment AND retention (which they conveniently ignore). I left teaching this summer because the workload was physically impacting my health and o couldn’t see it getting any better. I taught for 7 years and loved being in the classroom, actually teaching, but I just couldn’t do it for the next 35 years of my life if I wanted to ever have my own family…

Believe it or not, the vast majority of teachers would rather a reduction in workload than a pay increase! Cap contact time at 80% of a full timetable (instead of the current 90%) giving teachers significantly more time to actually do the work required to do the job properly (and within the hours they’re actually paid for- not as free overtime in evenings/ weekends or holidays).

I think my Son's PMLD school.has more Unquals than actually teachers.