To wonder how much longer it will be before all teachers quit?

[FunionsRFun]

Been called a bitch and screamed at today. Kids are making no progress because 90% of the leason is dedicated to bad behaviour.
My detentions have been taken off the system to make behaviour look better.
Why would anyone do this job?

Because the alternative is global destabilisation unfortunately.

@cremebrulait its the fact that you think teachers dont get training about tackling behaviour. We have training coming out of our ears.

We have two counsellors, heads of house, pastoral support leads for each year, in addition to tutors + a school nurse, TAs, specialised support for literacy/ maths
In addition to a program for very vulnerable learners and a social worker who deals with emotionally based school avoidance. This is in a state school. A very standard state school. Usually there is a team of non teaching pastoral staff, counsellors who helps children. Exceptions are made for vulnerable students all the time, even in strict schools.
I can assure you that nobody is chucking children in detentions for no reason and that children get pastoral support in schools of course this might vary but there is lots of pastoral support

I don't have kids yet but have thought about this. It seems thankless and I'm grateful to the people who choose to do it and stick it out, especially since Covid. So many non-teachers with comparable education and skills will now be in jobs that are minimum 50% WFH. I'm not saying there aren't difficult elements to these jobs too, but some WFH is definitely a perk!

I was listening to a podcast the other day and they played an advert for Get Into Teaching. The list of 'perks' included a 30k starting salary. I just thought, it's a bit embarrassing to tout that as some kind of amazing benefit in this financial climate.

And what do you think is the impact of not funding the school system adequately?

Why are you taking my comment personally and being dismissive?

What about this says that I think that teachers don't get training about tackling behaviour - "
When is the education system going to train teachers sufficiently to handle the classrooms they're in? If you talk to experts in child psychology, trauma, and behaviour - they're shocked at how schools treat children."

a) do you understand what sufficiently means?
b) did you not read that I have a lot of teachers in my life - i'm not pulling rabbits out of my hat
c) I mentioned therapists and psychologists views
d) I have personally witnessed the impact
e) If you're still not convinced - why are there so many teachers asking for help managing behaviours?

Have you ever questioned whether the training you get is out-of-date, sufficient...or are you just looking to blame someone and my opinion that the training teachers get is INSUFFICIENT doesn't fit your narrative?

My brother took early retirement due to the discipline of the children deteriorating so much. Witnessed teacher having to be escorted from school by police because a parent had issues with his ‘little prince’ been suspended for threatening the teacher and his family.

I live near a High School and I’m shocked at the state of some of the pupils, especially the girls. Skirts higher than their blazers, heavy make-up, false eyelashes. My husband had to ring the school to tell them a boy was being beaten up in the playground by several bigger lads.
It’s a long time since I was at school but these instances would have been unthinkable then. We had respect for our teachers.

A point of view, fine. There are many Tories I respect. Anyone thinking the current iteration are worth defending/voting for/supporting in any way doesn’t fall into that group though. Nothing works. They’ve destroyed much of the country in pursuit of their own wealth. They are deliberately trying to seed division. Many of them are pretty unapologetically racist. They ar3 beneath contempt.

I thought you were posting in good faith, @cremebrulait, but now I'm not so sure.
My "narrative" is that no amount of training will be sufficient to deal with classroom situations that are caused by society's problems.

There used to be regular threads about the need for teachers to be trained in ADHD, then ODD, Then the next and the next and the next.

When the truth is that teachers should have enough knowledge to do the job that they are employed to do, it should be someone else's job to support the teachers and pupils outside of that.

The knowledge is there. But if 2/3 of the class of 34 have SEN how tf am I supposed to anticipate the behaviour from all of them with no extra adult in the room? How can I possibly meet all their needs without interventions and 1:1 or small group targeted support? How can I meet their emotional needs when I only have 30s to give each pupil per lesson?

I know what needs to be done. I know child A needs to be heard because she's been through a massive trauma and needs to talk and needs someone to listen. I can't listen while I'm in the middle of a teaching input. I know child b is reactive because of trauma. I can't focus on child b 100% of the time because I also have child c, d, e and f with similar reactive tendencies and they all have to be spaced around the room so they don't provoke each other. I know child g, h, i, j, k, l and m need movement breaks and can't focus for >5 minutes . I have no adult to take them out and only so many jobs I can create around the classroom. I know child n, o, p, q, r and s have varying LD and need pre-teaching and over-teaching for any hope of any learning being committed to long term memory. I know child b, h, l, o and q need everything upbeat, engaging with images and colour to link to. But child g, j, i, n and r need low cognitive load; plain and simple slides, worksheets and environment. I can't do both. I know child p cannot focus, as in is physically unable to focus, if there is more than a 1:2 ratio, but he's in a class of 34 and I have 20+ others with SEN to support every lesson too. I know child b is intelligent but has difficulty processing that intellect for writing and needs a scribe. He cannot type. If I scribe for him, I can't support anyone else.

That's just to start with. Plenty more going on every single lesson with just me. I know what they need. I am trauma-informed. I have years of experience with SEN, including home life. I just can't physically do it for 34 children simultaneously whilst teaching a jam packed curriculum.

How can it even be possible that 2/3 of a class have special needs?

I know what they need. I am trauma-informed. I have years of experience with SEN, including home life. I just can't physically do it for 34 children simultaneously whilst teaching a jam packed curriculum.

This x 100.

There is only so much that one person can do and should be expected to. If you keep expecting that teacher to single-handedly get better and better results, with more high need pupils, and less and less funding then something has to give. That ‘something’ time and time again, is that teacher’s mental heath, so they are leaving the job completely.

It’s normal! I had 23 kids in a practical class. 20 of them were on the SEND register.

No support or TA either. One of the reasons l left.

I haven't had a class with less than 40% SEN since before covid. Last 2 classes have been around 2/3s.

There’s something badly wrong here.

Agree, these days the parent is more likely to go to the school and have it out with the teacher.

Sounds about right.

Lets not forget that child F and child T need to be sat at the front next to teacher but can't be sat next to each other.
Or that child C and Child S have ECHP's that contradict each other, and that 4 in the class need the worksheets in a specific shade of green and 4 others need them in a certain type of yellow but that 2 in green and two in yellow need a certain font type and one needs a a size no smaller than 18.

There’s something badly wrong here.

I don't understand why no-one is asking questions about this massive increase.

Because a SEN is anything that affects their learning so its also More able and/or Talented as well as those that have a LD or or behavioural issue.

My husband and I and both our siblings were teachers. We have all quit way before retirement age. All for different kinds of employment. I left after 5 years. Behaviour of kids, behaviour of parents, lack of supportive school management, workload and pay. In that order.

I actually work longer hours (but less stressful hours) for less money now but am much happier. I might have stayed in teaching if I had worked at school like Michaela. The job satisfaction when seeing children from challenging backgrounds have all the good exam results, social skills, and opportunities that have been afforded them at that school might have made me stay.

And child S needs firm boundaries but child T has PDA, and child c needs no more than 2/3 words per instruction and child G needs gentle coaxing and encouragement so you have to repeat every instruction in at least 5 different ways for every step, directed at different children each time.

You must be fully aware of the individual background and needs of each child yet still have to get through the curriculum content, and your lesson must be ‘pacey’ and high quality at all times and all children must produce written work to the expected standard. Plus, you must simultaneously allowing everyone to have their basic needs fulfilled by drinking when they want and going to the toilet when they ask, yet you need to stop them being able to vape/bully or vandalise the toilets when they are out of your sight.

In all honesty, vaping and bullying aren't even on my radar. I'm just so conscious I'm failing most off my class in the classroom, let alone worrying about out of the classroom. Yet I am doing all I possibly can. But without funding wtf can I actually do?

Trying not to be pompous, but I am the kind of teacher parents have tracked down, by googling my name, after years and a school move, to ask for advice for the future education of their child with SEN. I know I was an outstanding teacher. Not just from ofsted feedback, but from parents and children years later.

I am giving more than I've ever given, and it's still not enough. I amnot meeting needs despite my best efforts and years of experience. It's not me that's changed. It's funding. In particular, SEN funding.