This is why teachers are striking

[BoffinMum]

On many threads, I have noticed that MNetters who are not teachers and not related to teachers have asked why the profession is striking today. Many people are under the impression the dispute is about performance related pay and pension ages. That's part of it, because ultimately that's really all teachers can legally strike about, but in terms of the strike's bigger picture, it's not the whole story. This document from the National Union of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) sums up the general position comprehensively for a general audience. Incidentally, the NASUWT and the NUT (National Union of Teachers) make represent about 90% of the teacher workforce and they have joined forces for this strike, such is the strength of feeling.

NASUWT document

bump

Cheers Talkinpeace!

I do not know who leaked that OFSTED report, but it has had the most amusing effect of making the DFE shut up on the news about how selfish the qualified unionised teachers are - even the Daily Fail is not being too ranty.

I have a real issue with the teachers pensions being unaffordable,
but having just had the head of DCs school award herself a huge pay rise while freezing everybody else, know that 'performance' pay will become 'sucking up' pay and be abused by unaccountable academies

Gove is a twat. Teachers are on strike over policies like allowing unqualified teachers in schools, the day Ofsted's report on Al-Madinah free school is published, and he is 'abroad'. He is on the run, the coward.

Rather a lot of unnecessary Daily Mail sad faces, socialist rhetoric and only part of the story.

In the present economic climate there were going to be cuts.

Schools are always short of money, the DDs school is very short of money due to being in a very badly funded county. That piece of unfairness dates back way before the present Government. In the present economic climate there were going to be cuts.

Money is not why I'm supporting the teachers, it's the degree of interference and messing about with schools that were doing a perfectly reasonable job that pisses me off.

Changing exam rules, within children's two year GCSE courses, being the worst example, but loads of other ill thought out, rushed and then U-turned on proposals. I've no idea what A/AS levels will be like for my Y11 or GCSE for my Y8. Far more worryingly I doubt their teachers do either.

In our house I am torn between worrying about the exams of DS1, who is currently in Year 11 and one of the people whose exams are changing in the middle of the course, and thinking 'fuck it, it's all bonkers so nobody will care anyway'.

DS1 is completely disillusioned by it all, thinks politicians are largely wankers and that the country is going to pot. He seems to be spending a large amount of time discussing this on Steam and generally going a bit 1960s on us, in the sense of rejecting the state apparatus, aka school in its current form.

As much as i agree with many of the statements and understand what the
attached leaflet is saying, as a country we have got to make cuts to spending.

As an accountant Talkinpeace knows the country is "SKINT" and will continue to be skint, because like the U.S.A our economy is in terminal
decline.

People in education are by nature,idealistic and believe that any Government should never make cuts to education spending.
This is not feasible,no matter how desirable it might be.

I agree the school in Derby is a disgrace and a terrible advert for Gove.
However there have always been bad schools, can anyone remember the
Riddings School in Halifax.

This Government are not very good, the last Labour Government were
totally incomeptent.

Why do so many people on this site believe that with Milliband in power,"WE BE BRINGING ON BACK THE GOOD TIMES" and believe all problems in education would be solved.

Can anyone say David Blunkett was a brilliant education secretary.

Al-Madinah Free School

Pimlico Primary - sponsored by the Schools Minister

Discovery New School

All untrained, inexperienced teachers as recommended by the Tory think tanks. All part of Gove's ideological vanity project which has cost £60 million just in 'expenses'.

On the careers advice policy a Tory MP and chair of the education committee have criticised the government:

www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/main-topics/general-news/1m-pupils-miss-out-on-careers-guidance-1-6157920

Thing is, I don't really care about my pay. My pay hasn't significantly gone up since 2007, and that's ok because I have enough.

I do care about having inexperienced, inadequate teachers. I do care about school leaders not knowing about safeguarding and other basic issues. I do care about the fire-then-aim changes to the syllabi and assessment. I do care about the systematic dismantling of our education system.

And we need teachers to deliver the curriculum that changes by the minute but the government's aim of destroying teacher training departments is resulting in a looming teacher shortage disaster.

But Gove is abroad.

fantastic article here giving reasons why

Soul2000,

As much as i agree with many of the statements and understand what the attached leaflet is saying, as a country we have got to make cuts to spending.

Totally agree. That is of course why one of the first things this government did was to lower the top rate of income tax by 5%.

There is spending, and there is ideology. This government uses the former as an excuse for the latter. Gove wants a simplified, streamlined power structure in which everyone is ultimately accountable to him and him only. Teachers' unions, established pay deals and necessary qualifications are threatening to that in the same way that LEA-controlled schools are.

I spoke to a very qualified and very able lady recently who has found it incredibly difficult to get onto the schools direct program to become a science teacher. So frustrating when at the same time there's a shortage of science teachers.

soul2000
Its irrelevant to the Teachers but as you mentioned my numbers obsession ....
I was catching up on my Economists during DS's tennis tonight.

Thanks to Gideon's outrageous relaxation of Controlled Foreign Company rules and Limited Liability Partnership rules
London is now the world centre for overseas tax avoidance and global money laundering.
If he would accept that the EU is right in wanting a 'transaction location' tax to apply to global entities, the UKs tax take would increase massively.

Not enough to make final salary pensions affordable - they never truly were
but enough to reverse the cuts in Sure start, EMA, child care and all the other factors highlighted in this study
www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-24551446

So maybe Gideon and Cameroon should spend less time selling our power supplies to the Chinese and French (Hinkley C - Private Eye have been vindicated)
and get Gove to get back to the UK and face the tune he started