Teachers : what's the worst thing about the job now?

[Floursacktabletop]

I've name changed , but been here many years and teaching for 22 years.
Dreading going back on Monday. For me , the worst bit is the increasingly poor behaviour of students and the continual parental complaints and allegations.
Anyone else dreading it and fancy a solidarity thread?

I am SLT with a 20/30 lesson per week teaching timetable due to many different reasons but basically boiling down to lack of staff. I have duty before and after school, break and lunch duty and I'm on call for behaviour patrol (non-stop from the minute the radio switches on) for 5 lessons a week. This leaves me 5 periods a week to do all my leadership responsibilities (in charge of outcomes for a large KS group including pastoral and behaviour). Constantly worried I will drop a ball.
However, please don't feel sorry for me. Save that for my pastoral team who work harder than me for half my wage. I feel sick with guilt when I see how hard they work for how little reward. The constant parental nonsense (that's sometimes the only word that can be applied) is relentless and grinds them down. Decent, caring human beings being gradually burnt out.

Another vote for behaviour and parents. Things are just getting worse and I can't see those two things improving as they seem to go hand in hand.

For me:
Constant pressure to 'improve', assisted by new methods which appear out of nowhere and add to workload, with many having no proven track record.
Expectations to do the above by going above and beyond (unpaid of course) by providing intervention for exam groups and also extra-curricular clubs in addition to other workload already added.
Student behaviour (with some students misbehaving and taking full advantage of knowing that due to an EHCP / other reason they never really get any consequences at all - and they happily tell you so).
Vexatious parents who expect you to treat their child as if they are the only one in the class and they will complain to the highest person in management they can think of. Think also parents who happily proclaim to anyone who will listen that you are 'picking on' their child despite a behaviour record to the contrary but you still have to have mediation with said child, because you apply the behaviour system consistently (with due adaptations for additional needs of course).

I'm retiring in September due to this and the toll it is taking on my already poor mental and physical health.
(And to add that the so-called support when you are very unwell can consist of 'looking forward to seeing you after the holiday' when that's not going to happen plus being copied in to all cover begrudgingly set by your head of department so that you feel even worse for being off.)

@Floursacktabletop I absolutely hear you. And have spent this term discussing exactly this with an ever battered head and staff.

I'm in playgroup. So two year olds. Five days a week, small contributions and grant funded. A rare one left.

So I see nursery, school and staff. And my children are in both nursery and school and all classes at school. (Four children). Composite classes.

Here, behaviours are out of control. Teachers are broken. And parents are out of control angry.

We have the child out of control, the parent who does not care less. The parent of the child targeted, who then removes the child, and goes nuclear.

Nobody is happy. Nothing is achieved.

One of mine was injured before half term. Concussion and cuts and bruises. I have not been told. There is no accident report.

Accidents happen. But teachers are so worn down and afraid they don't even mention it to other people in the building? the injury is so small it's not a weapon so it's irrelevant?

As a parent I'm terrified to go near a teacher for fear of issue. Barriers are UP. As a "worker" Im dealing with the same day in and out and get it.

So where does it break? The system is not fit to continue. Not fault on teachers, or on decent parents, but on those who have forced these decisions onto the schools. No exclusion. No staff. No support.

It's been a massive shock to me working in SEN after so long in mainstream with children with additional needs who I thought would be so much better off in dedicated SEN provision.

Class of 10 with 4 adults. 5 absolute maximum.
1 child becomes dysregulated - 2 adults needed to help regulate and keep child safe from themselves/hurting other children.
Leaves 2 adults with 9 children with severe needs. Guaranteed another child will become upset and dysregulated as a result.
Further 2 adults needed to help regulate and keep that child safe.
Leaves maximum of 1 more likely 0 adults to support the remaining 8 children with severe needs.

It's fucking dangerous.

My school uses Classcharts to log positive and negative behaviour points and parents have access to this. The number of times parents ring/email to get teachers to explain why their child has a negative point even though it’s written there is ridiculous. They always argue that you must be wrong even though they weren’t there. I now refuse to answer and upscale it to LT. It’s exhausting and demoralising. Strangely they never ring to query why you give their child so many positive points!

Behaviour is a huge issue and particularly in the early years where I work.

The job is unsustainable and people simply would not believe the behaviour that is happening every day in schools.

Presumption of mainstream here in Scotland is a huge stressor- increased needs in a class of 30 without any other classroom support is simply not manageable. This is apparently ‘Getting it Right for Every Child’ and it is getting it right for nobody in reality. Around 40% of children in Scotland have additional support needs - that’s not additional, that’s a staggering statistic and support should be increased, not stripped more.

@ItsAToughie absolutely this. Then in mainstream. A small setting. Five children, one with significant needs. Two staff is fine? Till it's not. Then we have four children unattended and furious parents.

Extra workload with no pay
Bullying

Core subject for 20 years.

Behaviour. Specifically the idea that all behaviour is communication, so if little Johnny is 'struggling' with his behaviour (for example being abusive or violent) that must somehow be the teacher's fault. If you have high expectations and sanction the behaviour, that works against you because all behaviour data is analysed to see who is struggling with their classes, so it's easier not to sanction and lower your expectations. Depressing.

Level of need. Typically over half the class have a personalised support plan, but there is still only one of me, trying my absolute best. I have to accommodate every individual need in a class of 32 singlehandedly and it simply can't be done at times.

Don't teachers get something like 13 weeks annual leave per annum? So 9 weeks more than most full time employees. So you dread actually returning from school holidays to do your job? Strange thread.

Behaviour and lack of support. I’m in Early Years. We’re supposed to have a max of 3 sen children per session. We have 9 on Friday. 2 of them are supposed to have one to one support. They don’t. I’m constantly over ratio. One child hits and bites me repeatedly. I get no support. I’m covered in bruises. And when it all goes to shit whose fault is it? Mine. I dread the new week

Lifeisnoteasy84

Read the room

Parents. Never believe you. You see it all the time here on Mumsnet. So many posts about making complaints about teachers. With no awareness that that has such an effect on a real person and their job. You try and tell a parent that you are concerned about their child’s progress. They don’t believe you and proclaim that you don’t know anything and they know their child is advanced. Sometimes you are driven to show them what the other children can do so they might accept that they need to help their child.

Sorry - not a teacher - but wanted to say that I can believe behaviour is one of the worst things, because so few parents actually want to do the job of parenting. Lots of parents in my 15 yo dd’s year think it’s totally normal that they’re in the pub drinking and heading to (empty) homes (cos parents are also out) to shag. I find it mind blowing that they seem to actually encourage and vicariously live through it. They also think ‘attitude’ will equal ‘success’ and have no prob with whatever issue their darlings cause at school. It’s frankly terrifying.

I'm a core subject in secondary. The worst part is behaviour without a doubt.... and I work in a 'nice' school. Students just don't fear consequences. Also the parents who take no accountability for their child's bad attendance/behaviour/results etc. It's exhausting.

Yep, all the issues raised in this thread simply disappear because we get a few weeks additional holiday (which is reflected in the salary of teachers in comparison to jobs requiring a similar level of education/training). It doesn't matter if I get kicked and sworn at daily because I have an extra week off next month.

Anyone who is jealous of teachers' holidays is welcome to train as one. Plenty of vacancies!

Behaviour, closely followed and caused by (unsupportive) parents.

Lack of funding for SEN support comes third.

So perfectly articulated.

Primary - Parents. And their lack of parenting.
Then their anger and ire at my inability to fully parent their child in the hours I have them while they actively fuck up their kids.

BINGO

Here we have it as predicted .
You've become confused - this is a thread for teachers to talk about their thoughts, not one where you get to tell us it's not happening/how we should put up with it

Parents/ parenting. And I don’t mean awful parents, but just a lot of parents now don’t understand that their kids are one in a class of 32 and things can’t revolve around them. Parents who, when you call home, apologise and say their kid has been awful, but then post up on Facebook laughing about their kid having a big mouth like their dad. Parents who think they’re managing you and want to hold you to account over their child’s lack of motivation. They’re honestly not all horrible parents, but so many are trying to be their kid’s friend over being their parent.

Then we’ve got wild behaviour from on some kids and the parents blame the school; I’m not sure how they can blame us when their kids are running around corridors telling us to fuck off. I hear of parents slagging us off saying the issues are with the school, neglecting the fact that the police are bringing the kids home on an evening and they’re just as wild outside of school. Behaviour really is terrible with a growing number of students. I want to teach kids and get them gcses and have better chances at life, but too many parents just want their kids to be able to do what they want and don’t support, but still expect their kids to be handed a job at the end of it.

I’m not sure any amount of annual leave cancels out the effects of a toxic workplace and the impact on a person’s wellbeing. Jeez.

Behaviour. It creates workload. It demoralises teachers. It takes time away from teaching and learning.

Oh for god sake. Just piss off with this. They don't get more holidays and they don't work 9 til 3.30 either. There are teachers here who are absolutely on the edge, being routinely abused and assaulted by children and teenagers with no consequences for the perpetrators and having to teach them again the next week. Half of them will be wondering if they can manage until Easter. I am not a teacher or an ex teacher but I can tell you half of my department is ex teachers who took at paycut of around 10 to 15 k to leave teaching and do an office job linked to education. Every single one had just reached the end of the line and comments like this just rub salt into the wound. If you think it's so easy go and do a SCITT and come back to us a few months in