Does everyone realise about the 'action short of strike'?

[cricketballs]

Just wondering what those who aren't employed in education know about the action short of strike that is starting from 26th September?

Do you realise that teachers from NASUWT and the NUT will basically be working to the letter of the terms and conditions? Do you have any think it will impact on the general public or just those within education given that the vast majority of instructions from the union are of not putting up with added extras demanded on us by SLT?

Just after opinions.....

Family friendly????!!!!!! I never get to take my son to school or pick him up. I do love my job and ds benefits from me working but he hates going into the childcare before and after school. And I hate paying £300 a month for it!

i couldnt supoort that action - what a pile of cack - no more than three lesson observations

teachers can be so deluded sometimes

Couthymow:

Instruction 4 - Sorry, I think that's fair. It's not appropriate imho.

Instruction 7 - We can do this verbally, just not written. One written report is sufficient I feel.

Instruction 10 - Staff meetings are usually counted as direct time.

Instruction 19 - No, just Heads.

Instruction 24 - I doubt it - if Y6 teachers organise practice tests when they would be teaching the class anyway it's not a problem.

eyore

holidays

they are good for families

Childcare goes with working though, no?

I don't buy that teaching isn't family friendly. Yes, I miss sports day and assemblies. But I get the holidays, and while they might be largely unpaid, they are still more than my DH is allowed to take!

Hear, hear, Eeyore!

Ds's school have a training day on the Friday before Oct half term and the Monday after. I am sure they think they are being very family friendly tagging days onto holidays so some may take an extended break but that's an extra £50 childcare on top of £300 that month!

The holidays are when I get to be a proper mum, FallenMadonna. Instead of bundling ds into bed on a school night so I can get all my marking, planning, etc done.

Well yes, imagine that multiplied by the six weeks of the summer holiday!

agree with FM
when i see other mates juggling kids around in August i am ESS EM YOU GEE

Yes indeed Feenie. And aren't we lucky we get to do so many weeks of it, compared with other workers. And it's not just on MN that other professionals work in the evening. I live with one.

I am married to an FE English Lit teacher. There are many happy evenings spent with marking piled around the sofa.

But many of our parents work full time - many seem to be able to come to assemblies, sports days, performances, etc, and take children to and from school, even if it's every now and again. The only time I meet the kind of parent I am (never at school, never pick up, never see them except for twice a year on parents' eves etc) is usually when the parent is also a teacher.

The trick is to be married to someone without the long holidays, but who can take the odd morning out of their more limited allowance. That way you have sports days and holidays covered between you.

Of course, if you're both in the business, then you might get to go away for several weeks at a time in the summer, like my colleague and her husband, whereas we are rather more limited.

Swings and roundabouts.

Eyore there is more to being a parent than just dropping off and picking up. I would always choose 12 full weeks with my children over picking them up from school.

Mrz if the things need doing the school will need to pay, especially if you all refuse . I run smaller projects with no responsibility partly because I enjoy my job but also because I have a clear career progression plan.

Why not just volunteer for a huge pay cut, after all you are in it for the kids.

unfortunately primary schools don't have big budgets
I took a big pay cut when I moved from industry into education Derceto.
You do extra because you see it as a career move I do extra because I enjoy it and I'm quite good at it.

Derceto,

Compared to the work I used to do, yes, I took a huge pay cut, because I am in teaching for the children.

The school has a fixed pot of money. If I am paid more - and there is no reason that I should be, every teacher in the school has multiple responsibilities - then there is less for everything else. I cannot declare 'I won't do it unless you pay' if I also want to give the children exercise books ... the budget is tightly stretched as it is.

I also teach in a school where I am significantly better paid as a teacher than all but a tiny minority of the parents are for their full-time jobs (or their two just-minimum-wage jobs, or their full-time job and the cash in hand jobs they do after hours to keep food on the table) - and that perhaps gives me a different perspective to those who work in schools with the children of other professionals who may be better paid than the teachers are.

Like mrz, I do extra because
a) It needs doing, and everyone suffers if it isn't done.
b) I'm quite good at it.
c) I enjoy my job, I like the people I work with and for, and I like the parents and children we educate. A little goodwill helps the world go round!

I did not say my career was my whole motivation but I do not think that wanting to provide for my family is sonething to feel ashamed of .

I think it quite lovely that you are driven by pure altruism but people like you are sadly rare . Therefore if the primary sector relies on people volunteering it is going to fall short of the required standards .

Many primary schools would grind to a halt without staff goodwill (not just teachers - support staff give beyond their contracted role).
I wonder how many primary teachers on MN refuse to carry out the 24 tasks in the workforce agreement.

I am sure you are both very good at your jobs but surely we want to choose people to take on responsibility because they are the most talented and not because they are willing to work for the least .

Feenie - I mostly agree with all of your points, EXCEPT the reports one. Mostly because communication is frankly shite at their school, and the ONLY indication of where he is struggling is the half termly reports. If they stop, I WILL be kicking up an ENORMOUS stink!

I was wondering if I would do my job without a TLR, and thinking that I wouldn't. But that's because I know that people who do my job are paid what I am paid (or slightly less sometimes - I am at the higher end of the TLR range). If you know that it is not standard to be paid more, perhaps it is different? Until there is a recruitment crisis, I fear there won't be more pay.

In my department of 13, there are 3 people with a department TLR, one with a whole school TLR, and 4 others who have some other unpaid responsibility either within the deaprtment or elsewhere in the school, all young teachers who have one eye on their progression. But finding a good Science teacher is not easy, especially in a school like mine, and we need to to encourage the best ones to come, and to stay.

Many secondary schools rely on goodwill as well. Every holiday our staff are on foreign trip with no extra pay, I run several clubs and extra sessions out of goodwill . I would not take on a demanding cross school responsibility without the time and pay to do so.

Is this primary, Couthy? Does no one talk to you about your dc?

I once took on a significant cross school responsibility without the extra pay that I was entitled to. This was in a school with serious problems recruiting and retaining good staff. Looking back I wonder if I was actually the best person or the only mug who would take on hours of extra work for no pay . Secondly the school had problems keeping staff because they were running on a shoe string and relying on favours . It gave the school a very unprofessional feel. We were not doing the children any favours in the long run.