My child's school is striking next Wednesday

[Cherryblossom200]

Hi all,

Just found out my daughters school is striking next week. The email from the head tried explaining its not just about pay, but about cuts to education as a whole. I understand there are a huge amount of problems, however striking is the wrong way to go about it especially when it concerns children. They have lost so much time in school over covid this seems ridiculous. I'm a working parent, we all have our issues right now but I can't walk out and strike. To say I'm angry is an understatement.

I'm sure this will be an contentious issue and some might disagree, which is fair enough. But I'm fuming at the moment and needed to vent!

Some of my friends schools are staying open, it looks so far like only two schools in the area are striking.

As annoying as it may be on a day to day level, you have to think of the long game here. Schools are in dire straits and they have no money. My kids are in primary now and I dread to think what it’ll be like by the time they reach secondary if nothing changes.
For perspective - I am currently working as a supply teacher and am frequently offered days working in roles I am in no way qualified for. I trained as an MFL teacher and have been offered English teacher jobs, for example! As it is I’m doing primary supply which again I have no specific training for (but I love and feel I’m doing a good job in!) and am often offered work by two agencies on the same day.
It’s a very sad and desperate situation.

I'm a teacher, I'm not striking as I'm not eligible. My children's schools are closed for strikes and I'm pleased, I fully support the strikes and the teachers who are striking. There is no other way to make the government listen to the dire situation that they have put education in. I understand the disruption it causes but I don't think it is the school and teachers that you should be annoyed with.

Always amazes me how much vitriol is spewed across a huge number of threads when teachers strike, but not the same when rail workers do.

You hope then that the gov will engage with a meaningful response before all the planned strike days occur, so the rest of the planned strike days aren't needed.

So you're venting online about the inconvenience but you aren't prepared to channel your anger where it should be directed and contact your MP?

Ex chair of governors here. School budgets have been cut to the bone and then cut again and I fully support strike action.

Schools were the unsung heroes of the pandemic. We take them for granted and expect them to act as the last resort for all of society’s ills. They should have gone out on strike ages ago.

And I say that as someone who used to consider themselves a natural Tory voter. Fuck the Tories, frankly, for the damage they have done to education.

The long game is that your child’s education with suffer with lack of teachers….

👏

Most people don't have much to do with rail workers unfortunately we do with teachers so it affects people's lives more personally

Our area has 4 strike days- 1 Feb is the first one. You might want to note the other 3 so you know that you need to make alternative arrangements for childcare.

I find it hilarious that people are up in arms about having to sort their children out for a few strike days.

A few days? A few days is the least of your worries. Wait until schools can't actually open because they haven't got enough staff to run them.

It's scary how naive many parents are about the state so many schools are in right now. It's like they just throw their kids through the door and assume they're being taught well. It's bad right now, and far too many of your children are not receiving the ailing education they deserve.

Back teachers. They are doing it because they care about education, not to piss people off because they want more pay.

I've no idea where "ailing" came from

Amen

I disagree there- after driving, using the rails is how the majority of people in the UK commute. That affected people personally.

The strikes are a last resort to help working conditions, improve pay and ultimately to keep our excellent teachers, and attract more into the profession. All of benefit to our children. Stop fuming and see the bigger picture!

"However, striking is the wrong way to go about it" - in your opinion.

I'm a teacher. Trust me when I say that I, and many of my colleagues, am not treating this as a jolly. We know children have missed out on a lot because of COVID. The 'catch-up' hamster wheel is real.

But we are understaffed, under-resourced and overwhelmed. A good education is about quality, and that's something we are struggling to deliver in these straitened times. We're striking because children deserve so much better than this shitshow.

It’s up to HTs to judge whether they think they’ll have enough non striking staff to safely open the school and take measures accordingly. They generally have to err on the side of caution because striking teachers don’t have to give them notice (and shouldn’t!) and it’s better to be closed than open but have to send children home because staffing levels are insufficient.

My DS’s school has decided to open only for year groups with exams. That’s life. Apparently non-striking teachers will be setting work online for them (but there’ll be nothing where a teacher is striking).

This is the nature of strikes. There’s no point in industrial action if it doesn’t affect people.

In Scotland and between 2dc had 5 strike days now and 3 at my work. It's been difficult as many of us working in schools do so because of childcare issues and as non teaching staff we aren't allowed the day off. It is what it is though.

I fully support the strikes. I’m having a couple of the children’s friends over next Wednesday. I wish I could strike too but I’m not represented by any union unfortunately so I’m exploited.

Catch yourself on. I am teaching over 10 years and am the verge of leaving the profession due to the absolutely dire working conditions.

Reasons teachers are striking:

-Working way and above contracted hours
-Unnecessary box ticking paperwork
-Unprotected non-contact breaks at lunchtimes/after schools/morning time*
-Lack of any budget to deliver the curriculum efficiently which means I am spending my own money each year to teach children like yours

• An ever growing curriculum meaning we are being stretched beyond our limits to effectively cover everything.

*By this I mean we seldom get through a lunch break without having to supervise (unpaid), administer first aid etc and this is due to not having enough staff due to budget constraints. After school clubs are now unpaid and eat into our PPA time. Mornings used to be free unless you were on the supervision rota. Since covid we now look after our own class from the school opens at 8.30, however, many of us end up supervising from 8.15 because some selfish parents drop them off early and we can't leave them unsupervised on the school grounds. So that's 45 mins of potential marking/prep time gone for yet more unpaid supervision.

Then if course we have pay - our pay is in real terms down. I'm sorry but if our years of education in this profession as well as the years of Professional Development and profession aren't respected or valued you'll find many good experienced teachers leaving - education as a whole will get poorer and this will have an infinite effect on our economy.

No offence but your attitude stinks, school isn't childcare for you. You don't seem happy with your own pay and conditions - do something about it instead of trying to drag everyone into a race to the bottom.

Imagine if it comes to it there aren't actually enough teachers to staff the schools and children had to go down to a 3 day week with 2 days remote learning.

That would be pretty inconvenient for you.

If you're against the strike, you're part of the problem.

The thing is @Emerald237 , so many parents are in denial about it. "That won't happen" attitude.

It is a very real possibility.

As I said - four strike days should be the least of people's worries.

Fair enough. I'm pissed off with strikes and with people who strike, and it was below the belt. I apologise.

I was a teacher, fwiw, and I refused to strike because overall, I was doing ok compared to a whole lot of other people. And my going on strike would have meant either that children were disadvantaged, or that I'd end up having to make up the time by doing an even longer and more difficult week at some point, because when it comes down to it, teaching is about more than the salary.

My children are no longer school aged, so I can't answer your question in a meaningful way.

I think a lot of the people who talk about the underfunding of schools and the failure to train/recruit teachers (not you necessarily) are to some extent spouting platitudes. Teachers are not poorly paid. Neither are train drivers. At the moment, I'd say pretty much everyone is struggling - and I find it galling that teachers (to take this example, as the thread began with teachers) are causing havoc for parents who are far more poorly paid than they are, and who have much less job security. How is a parent who's barely making ends meet and who's paid a wage rather than a salary supposed to cover strike days? Are they just supposed to go without income, or run the risk of losing their jobs because they have to either take unplanned leave or fake a 'sick day'? I realise this is a short-term view, but it is the reality for huge numbers of people with children.

@PorkingThread well what would they do if their children were unwell and couldn't be at school?

Teachers aren't striking to annoy parents. It's bound to cause upheaval - that's the whole point of a strike!