Have state school teachers faced redundancy for not working during lockdown?

[notevenat20]

I recently read

I think those of us who work in the private sector understand we are going to have to work during periods of self isolation whilst juggling family. It was the same during lockdown. We want to keep our jobs so we will have to provide the service.

This got me wondering, is this a pressure state school teachers feel too?

Certainly at DC’s school no educational provision was given for almost all of lockdown (there were 6 key worker children in the school, out of 420).

Why don't you keep that to the thread where you asked the question?

People can answer you there.

My state school brother spent all lockdown revamping his garden on full pay. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t want to go back in September. Who would when you could be at home on full pay! Of course, I will get attacked on here for teacher bashing! Ridiculous situation and not one that was allowed to happen in private schools.

Why don't you keep that to the thread where you asked the question?

I realised it might be annoying for the OP to have their thread hijacked.

My state school brother spent all lockdown revamping his garden on full pay. Unsurprisingly, he didn’t want to go back in September. Who would when you could be at home on full pay! Of course, I will get attacked on here for teacher bashing! Ridiculous situation and not one that was allowed to happen in private schools

I am sure that is not rare. But how is the garden now?

Worked more than ever during lockdown just in a different way. School senior leader. Teachers also worked hard at my school. All expected to work during any self-isolation unless very ill. To answer your question, no worries about redundancy as we have been working throughout.

Please raise any complaints about your children’s school directly with the school leadership.

Well it wouldn't be redundancy as the job is still there
Have heard of people (not teachers) who didn't want to go back being firmly told back to work or you are finished
That is kind of what work means
Expect it will be different in the public sector

Don't respond, report. Goady thread.

It’s up to the school. All the schools remained open during Covid for key workers children including the Easter holidays and may half term. Most teachers here set work. My eldest D.C. had a minimum of 3 zoomed lessons a day - I don’t see what more they could have done

My children’s state school teachers worked. There was a full week’s worth of lesson PowerPoints and resources put online every week, they made phone calls home to every parent every week and when Reception, Y1 and Y6 came back in June/July all but a couple were in teaching classes of 15 and the two that stayed at time took on the home learning and welfare calls for the remaining year groups.

Also schools are now back full time for all year groups and there is already a recruitment and retention crisis in teaching so how would any of the roles be redundant? As many teachers as possible are required.

I worked throughout including over the Easter holidays. I was providing key worker care, remote learning and my year group was back at half term. Would have much rather been furloughed on full pay like my brother!

all teachers I know WERE working. Most were in on a rota for vulnerable students (secondary here) and then working at home by setting and marking work.
I didn't go in to school as I was shielding. But, I worked every single day, all day and into the evening feeding back and having conversations with students about work and their worries. At one point, I was setting work for my subject for all students as I felt so guilty that I didn't go back when yr10 did (our school had them all back for last two weeks of term).

I don't think I'm a rare case. I believe there were some taking the piss, there always is in every job. But most were working.

It's a question you won't get one answer to and will get non teachers answering (see above).

Contrary to popular myth , redundancies are a thing in the state school. What is more common is on year contracts and increased teaching time on timetable leading to teacher exhaustion.

The poster you have copied form the other thread was not referring to lockdown but to periods fo SI. Some posters might tell her to 'suck it up' under those circumstances. The policy about teaching remotely while in SI will vary from school to school, private and state and will likely depend on class type missing lessons. Personally, I'd object to a supply teacher being paid to stand at the back of my classroom while I beamed my lesson In from home. The issues of teachers having their own kids at home is not unique to private school teachers.

Please let's not have another debate about who did what during lockdown.

Anecdotally there are private teachers who were made redundant recently. But there are also private school heads boasting about rises in recruitment of students.

Why don't you accept there are good and bad in both sectors?

I don't understand. What would redundancy achieve? Who would teach the kids?

Btw I did not go into school once during lockdown. I was stil working my arse off.

I think it's quite weird that you've made a whole thread just to showcase the fact that you don't know what 'redundant' means.

If a teacher refused to do work in the way directed by senior management/their line manager during lockdown then they could be subject to disciplinary measures like any other employee. That seems unlikely because in most cases where the workload was light (which was the case for my own teacher DH, who probably worked about 20-30 hours a week, so a lot less than usual) that was due to whole school decisions. Obviously where an individual teacher just didn't bother with what they were supposed to be doing they can be disciplined, possibly to the point of being dismissed if correct procedures followed. They can't be made redundant though - redundancy is because the job isn't needed, not because you think the person in it is crap. Since a teacher who did nothing during lockdown would, presumably, be back in school now they are patently not redundant.

Maybe if you don't understand basic things about employment don't start goady threads about it?

Maybe if you don't understand basic things about employment don't start goady threads about it?

Classic MN :)

@BunsyGirl no idea how your brother got away with that - I've never worked harder in my life than I did in lockdown (except for maybe now!). State secondary here.

@Nellodee

Don't respond, report. Goady thread.

This.

If the school didn’t provide any work surely that is an issue with SLT not an individual teacher. Also the Government suspended the curriculum, so there were no set standards of what work schools should provide.

Personally I don’t know any teachers who weren’t working through lockdown. As a school governor I was still ‘working’ through lockdown (not sure if I am allowed to call it working if I don’t get paid for the role, but it definitely feels like work!)

@notevenat20

Maybe if you don't understand basic things about employment don't start goady threads about it?

Classic MN :)

What, you asking a stupid question?

Yes I don't think redundancy is such a worry when there are children to teach unless the volume of children diminished.

I think teachers had a very mixed time, many schools were proactive, and trained their teachers on how to teach remotely, put work up on Google classroom and away they, we went.
So, didn't have more or less work, just the same because lessons were taught in accordance with the normal time table but on line.
My own dc teachers however, were clearly so frantically busy, they couldn't even issue some work sheets or write more than a sentence about the dc. they weren't teaching on line however!
They must have been run ragged by the key worker dc?

So there was a real mix of experiences and some places actually got ahead with the curriculum because they said, they had more time teaching on line.

I’m a state school teacher. I have been previously made redundant. It can definitely happen

I need a holiday,

That government line, really cut the wheat from the chaff. In one small radius one primary did so much and yet another did so little and abandoned its dc.

Interesting how some schools interpreted that!

All schools have had expectations put upon the teachers working within them - whether on lockdown or not. If a teacher is not fulfilling what the school expects of them then yes there are procedures for a teacher to be 'sacked'. It is a long process. During lockdown it would not be the teachers who decided how much or how little they worked but the school. At our school we had to produce a certain amount of work for each pupil per week. As it was online I was able to choose my hours as long as the work was available when needed and I responded to work sent back as expected.

SI no. I didn't work. And yes I got paid.

But I was in no fit state to work coughing continuously, temp of 38.6 on paracetamol. Barely able to catch my breath so couldn't talk, couldn't eat.

I was ill.

Rules for us are if SI due to illness then same rules apply. If SI due to bubble bursting or due to family suspected case you work from home. That's in whatever capacity is possible.

We can't teach online for our students due to their SEND.

So we contact families. Send links. Make them resources and work folders to do with children.
I re wrote my training programme for the next to academic years which does directly impact the children's learning.

Education staff do more than just face to face teaching.