Good to see someone in the MSM supporting teachers.

[Radio4Rocks]

Teacher bashing has become a national sport.

www.independent.co.uk/voices/teacher-coronavirus-school-safety-b1795126.html

@MrsHamlet - I am doing something about it. I’m acting as his personal tutor bringing his learning up to scratch after school.

There are so many other parents in the same boat here. No one can find a solution so just crack on with it, hoping for the best.

All the schools round here are shit. We need to live here for work. What would you do?

What would you do? like MrsH said try complaining to the governors. As she said it may not help but it’s worth a shot.

Sorry all the schools around you are similar. Not sure what to suggest, your son is luck he has you supporting him.

@Dustyboots You can also contact Ofsted. No communication is unacceptable. I know it would be difficult for your DC to leave their friends but his future is obviously more important. I would start looking into other schools.

Sorry just seen your update about similar schools.

Could you afford tutoring?

@Dustyboots that sounds tough

It's really bad luck to have your school and all the other schools in the surrounding area be full of people drawing a wage but not doing any useful teaching at all.

I'm a TA, rather than a teacher - and I'm also a parent. Can someone just clarify who I'm supposed to be bashing because I've got a bit lost.

Year 9.

It’s a long story but it’s been a rocky ride from the start. Head teacher was kicked out initially. The first year was full of supply teachers/no teachers. We’ve kept clinging on in the hope that things would improve.

I think it might have got better with the new head but then Covid came along.

Needless to say behaviour is atrocious, kids are disengaged ...

My son has a disability that could make it hard for him to start again in a new school. He has a strong group of friends at this one.

I just have to make the best of what we’ve got.

So the whole school has inadequate teachers yet ofsted haven’t picked up on this and done something about it?
Usually a school can only remain inadequate for a certain length of time before being put into special measures. There’s a secondary in our area that’s really weak. It eventually went into special measures and then was taken over by an academy, that failed too and then taken over by another academy and now it’s doing better. All SLT removed and new teams bought in.
However, what I find difficult to understand is whilst there can be the odd 1 or 2 schools that are poor in an area, how can all the schools in that area be really as weak?
We have that 1 school I mentioned which has now moved up in terms of ofsted inspection grading, but we have many outstanding schools in the area too where lots of kids have moved to.
Regardless of friendships groups, if my kids school was genuinely that crap he wouldn’t be there anymore.
People complaining about how the lockdown has affected their kids academically etc, yet you aren’t moving your DC from a school that you consider to be inadequate. Lockdown is something out of our control, but you have control over your situation.

dusty I can see why you wouldn’t want to move him.

If behaviour is an issue at school, distance learning could be good for your sons classes. Contact the governors and see if they can persuade the head to provide some lessons & feedback from the teachers.

At least the poor behaviour of other classmates is less of an issue online. Sounds shit though and it’s possible your head will ignore the governors. Good luck.

Dustyboots ... can you give an idea of area ish.

As a teacher (and parent) I get very defensive of the profession. However this is because I work in a great school with the most supportive SLT I've ever known and morale is high. Most if the staff go the 'extra mile' because of this and I would love my DC to attend.
But I have worked in area, I'll say it... Stoke on Trent, where many, not all, but many if the schools were pretty awful. I would never have sent my DC there. Behaviour was appalling? SLT were non teachers who bullied staff. Staff turnover and sickness was ridiculous. I remember sitting and attacking a pile of marking, one of the older, battered down, old school gents of a teacher, just looked at me and said 'why bother?'. Turned out a kid had spat in his face that day and when he rang home he got told to fuck off.

So yes. I can imagine these places are shit and probably still offer crap education. Whis to blame the govt? The LA? The kids?

@babyitscovidinsideandoutside

Parent bashing has become a National Sport more like.

Agreed

chosen I was wondering if Dusty lives in an area of high deprivation.

Really hard to keep good teachers in those schools as the behaviour can often be appalling.

Nothing can compare to trying to teach in a truly failing school. I've worked in some tough schools with lots of problems. But if SLT have 'lost it', if kids pretty much rule the roost. It is horrific, it really is a case if coping. Endless streaks of supply and inconsistencies just add to the problems. The aforementioned school had a lovely old lady on supply who just bought in sweets and lemonade to try and keep her class calm, they did a bit of 'copying off the board' and that was it

@Dustyboots sorry to hear. Covid sounds like it has definitely thrown a spanner in the works here. I moved to a school that had been like this but had just got a new head and Ofsted had been and therefore loads of money initially being thrown at it. We are now a solidly good school, once again fully subscribed (our year groups had dropped to 120 per year from possible 240 in some years). It was tough and hard decisions were made but we have tuned it around - and there were clear changes to behaviour and teaching within the first year. Hang in there and fingers crossed when schools return if the new head is good perhaps it might improve. Practically in the meantime I’d say have some tutoring in the core subjects if you can afford it, focus on the core and any subjects your child enjoys and might like to take further. Sorry you are in this situation.

One more thought - if a few of your are feeling similar could you set up joint tutoring in the future as might ease the cost maybe? You shouldn’t have to pay - and the school should be better - but as it stands just a thought possibly?

@Dustyboots

Year 9.

It’s a long story but it’s been a rocky ride from the start. Head teacher was kicked out initially. The first year was full of supply teachers/no teachers. We’ve kept clinging on in the hope that things would improve.

I think it might have got better with the new head but then Covid came along.

Needless to say behaviour is atrocious, kids are disengaged ...

My son has a disability that could make it hard for him to start again in a new school. He has a strong group of friends at this one.

I just have to make the best of what we’ve got.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

Sounds like a very toxic working environment with poor leadership. A high turnover of teachers isn't a good sign.

There really is no excuse for such a lack of education provision. How have Ofsted rated the school?

Shockingly none bashing Gavin Williamson.

Noblegiraffe - "Threads for all occasions"

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4112530-F-k-off-Gav-Nobody-trusts-you

@MilesJuppIsMyBitch

Excellent example of my favourite kind of , ahem, thread enthusiasm.

Aggressive first post to OP (who was expressing relief at some much needed public support).

Then we have faux naivety, demands for others to do research for them (‘link please’), backtracking. Text book. And all in under an hour!

‘The dc are supposed to be being educated by the Teachers now.

Instead we have understandably frustrated Parents doing both their own job and that of the Teachers too.

But let’s give the Teachers a big pat on the back anyway!’

‘8:23 Parent bashing has become a National Sport more like.
If you are taking it personally maybe you need to step back.’

‘It’s not Teachersnet after all!’

‘Aggressive? How?’

‘I haven’t seen the Twitter article, link please?’

‘Parents are doing their best as are the Teachers as are everyone else!’

‘Why are Teachers any more deserving than anyone else?’

‘Teachers are so defensive.

‘Why can’t Parents have an opinion that everyone is working hard and so some Teachers are unreasonable to expect a special medal for that?’

‘Teachers consistently seem to be of the opinion that they are working harder than everyone else?’

‘There is more to life than Teaching, even in a Pandemic.’

‘We are all working hard, Teachers are not a special case.

‘Parent Bashing on Mumsnet is participated in by many Teachers though!’

Love your work, as always @MilesJuppIsMyBitch !

Thanks noble I’m clearly shit at looking for threads.

A whole 5% though Gav should not fuck off. Wow.

It's weird, WhenSheWasBad, even though I started the thread and knew the exact title I was looking for, it wouldn't come up in the thread title search. I had to search for posts where I'd said 'fuck off Gav' to find it. And even then it didn't bring up the thread, but a post on another thread where I'd linked to it.

Maybe MNHQ is suppressing searches for threads that have 95% of the forum wishing a cabinet member would fuck off.

"UsForThem is one. It’s pushing for teachers, classroom assistants and other staff to be thrown into the viral hot zones that schools can easily become. My children’s experience graphically demonstrated this, and newsletters informed us of new cases daily.

This group has been campaigning against masks, the absence of which would ramp up the risks teachers would be exposed to. It has, according to reports, secured meetings with Department for Education civil servants, with the assistance of a Tory lobbyist. This is contrasted with the views of Parents United Against Unsafe Schools, which despite being a much larger group, has not been able to secure a Whitehall meeting."

So good to see this being reported in the normal press. Us4Them are the worst for teacher bashing and their attempts to astroturf Mumsnet have been persistent and sustained. They are an awful group.

@Dustyboots for you. That sounds appalling. I would probably consider a report to Ofsted to be honest. Although it’s hard to see what they can do for schools like this where the behaviour is terrible and the school has kind of resigned itself to it - I was on placement in a school like this and it was depressing. I’ll admit as an NQT I’m not totally up to speed on what to do in these situations, but I really feel for you.

It is an area of high deprivation. I’d rather not say more than that.

Ofsted and governors are options, I know but I need to put my energies into helping my son rather than battling a system- that as you say may make no difference to him anyway.

I’m more amazed that other people are shocked by this. I thought schools were like this everywhere.

Thankfully not @Dustyboots !

My kids' schools have been great throughout: particularly the Secondary. Sounds like you've had very bad luck.

Dustyboots that sounds very, very hard for you