If you’re a teacher, what changes would help you do your job?

[Cattenberg]

I know some teachers are striking for a decent, fully-funded pay rise, but what other changes would you like to see?

Smaller class sizes? If so, what size would be ideal?

Less bureaucracy? Which part would you most like to get rid of?

More money for schools? If so, what would you spend it on?

I feel I have a vague idea of the issues, but nothing specific. The day after DD’s teacher is next on strike, I’ll be manning a stall at the school fete, wondering if the school will be fully-staffed in September as two teachers have recently resigned.

Smaller class sizes. 15/16 pupils.
Enough resources, e.g. paper, glue sticks. Equipment that works!
A learning assistant in every class full time.
Stop updating how to teach different subjects each year. It feels constant we are told to teach one way and the next year it’s changed.
Permanent contracts and stop shifting staff from school to school.

24 in a class.
TAs to be classroom assistants like they used to be i.e. doing the photocopying, helping groups OR you have actual teachers do interventions.
Less focus on maths. Call me whacky, but primary age children do not need to learn maths to that depth, thus avoiding being to spend quality time on humanities, arts etc.
Get rid of subject leaders. Pointless. Just pay everyone a bit more.
Proper PE and music teachers.

I work at an independent school and I'm very happy (none of us are striking). I used to work at a state selective grammar and I was very unhappy and most definitely would be joining the strikes. Here are some examples of why my life is easier now, and (I think) relatively achievable/affordable changes that could be made in the state sector.

Smaller class sizes: not even that much smaller, we are talking 25 per class in some of my larger classes compared to 31 in a class when I was in state sector. Having just half a dozen fewer made a HUGE difference. This would be the most costly thing to fix but still not insane.

Better funding for practical resources (science teacher): our department equipment budget at my school is just a few thousand pounds more a year than it was in state sector. I can have anything I want. I want a new supercapacitor? Coulombmeter? Spectroscope? It's ordered. Back then, when something broke, it couldn't be replaced. You try teaching static electricity without a van de graaff generator. This is such a drop in the ocean of budgets but makes a world of difference to the kids.

At my school they give the teachers a LOT of free food. Cooked breakfast, cooked lunch, sandwiches at 4pm, fruit and nice coffee all day. I don't think this costs much in the grand scheme of things. But it retains us.

Drop any sort of mock ofsted, written lesson plans, etc. Doesn't improve outcomes.

Reduce homework. My current school is very enlightened about homework and don't expect us to set much or mark much. Outcomes are the same or better now with this new policy. If necessary, increase the length of the school day a little so kids have more contact time but less homework time. Teachers would rather have half an hour of extra lesson a day but one hour less marking.

Things I think that aren't worth spending as much on as many schools seem to:

State of the art interactive whiteboards. No one needs them. What a waste.

Very fancy new buildings that are all glass and look like they belong in Canary Wharf. With the exception of asbestos and other unsafe issues, kids will happily learn in a quaint old building. I taught in a portacabin for a year once. It was fine.

Expensive trips.

I appreciate that much of this I'd not a governmental issue but a school leadership issue. Too many heads, deputy and assistant heads waste our time with their accountability-driven paperwork and misguided allocation of budgets.

As a former teacher I'd say: class sizes is the biggie - no more than about 16 in a class - instead of 30+; scrap Ofsted in its current form; get rid of academies; no homework; more TA's; more SEND training...I could go on...

I agree with the above - my thoughts was 20 as a class size which is a rough average of the first two comments!

Also, PPA time - at least 20% would be a good start.

Then get rid of micromanaging - SLT this year have even tried to control the language we use...

This would make a big difference!

Better funding for SEN.
Colour printing.
More support staff.

Parents to read with their children
For the children to have better housing.
For the families to be more stable.

Smaller class sizes, definitely.

A full time TA.

I teach in a school with small class sizes - I can’t imagine 30. What I’d really like is more safety/protection as I’ve been assaulted multiple times and seen children be seriously hurt. We should be able to feel safe in school.

Smaller class sizes and a full time TA in every class.

I’m in Australia so not sure if there is much difference but I would want management to deal with the misbehaviour instead of teachers getting involved especially when all that happens is the difficult kid becomes a different teachers problem next year instead of the child getting long term support for their behaviour.

I feel so sorry for the good kids and the kids that try they get so little of my time as I’m busy dealing with kids who are difficult and or having issues learning that the kids who are quiet are basically left to get bored or just get on with it. Some kids thrive under these circumstances but most get bored and start to hate school

I'm an ex primary teacher. To go back I'd want:

1. a culture that respects my professionalism (i.e. don't keep telling me how to teach with endless initiatives, don't micromanage me either from government or from some academy superstructure)
2. slightly smaller class size. I think 26 is fine.
3. enough budget for basic stuff you need to teach (glue, card, coloured paper, science & sports equipment)

24 for a class is a good number- have the variety of whole class, pair and group work.

Whilst I am tired of all the changes we have had, I'd like a new primary curriculum set out which focuses on what the next generation need for their lives that they are going to live, both in knowledge and skills. The current one is based on My Gove's rose tinted view of what he though helped him.

I'd like it to focus less on knowledge and what can be tested, but what is useful, and transferable, what interests the children and gives a good basis for secondary school for those teachers to then extend using their subject specialisms.

Ofsted would be gone- there would be something in place which checks schools for safeguarding and supports schools in fulfilling their own school improvement plan.

I'd get rid of knowledge organisers. TBH, they'll be gone in 2 years anyway and something else will be the next in thing. And 'sticky' learning- it used to just be called learning. Any fads can do one.

I'd overhaul assessment. My current school is a nightmare for this with its marking policy and software systems. It's more concerned if a teacher has used the right colour highlighter for a spelling mistake, etc, than if a teacher has set good quality work and given good quality feedback.

Student teachers need to train for longer, and have experience in at least 4 different schools. Obviously there is a cost to this, but in my world, training to be a teacher would be free, with the condition that teachers stay in state education for a minimum period in order not to pay any student loans back.

There'd be a thorough system in which to raise SEND concerns, have them looked at and helped with/resourced within a half term.

Support and fund places like the NHS/social services/police etc so that they are able to do their jobs, and not passing those responsibilities onto schools with £0 to do it with.

I know that having more PPA is often raised in which to be able to carry out all the tasks a teacher needs to do. I have been teaching long enough to remember that we didn't used to get PPA, but the admin placed on us was manageable and more importantly, adequate. I'd far, far rather the admin was cut, and I was in the class full time, teaching, doing the part that makes the biggest difference than spending time outside on planning, preparation and assessment.

I would like proper SEN support. Not just us classteachers being left to manage the situation on our own.
My quite severely sen child has been observed once this year, two months ago. We haven't received the support/recommendations yet.

We have been asking since the start of the year and she leaves me in two weeks.

I would them like a squat team to support us, give us ideas and tell us that we are doing the right thing.

I have seen this done well with one type of special need but nothing for the dozens of other children that are out there.

It's dire and so sad.

An acceptance that the NC2014 is just much too hard for a significant proportion of children - perhaps the bottom 25%. We're trying to teach them to run before they can walk.

Special school places or alternative provisions for those who need it. Being supervised by a TA who is ensuring you don't hurt anyone or yourself but not actually able to engage you in anything meaningful is not an education.

Transparency in what Ofsted wants. Why does every school need to plan its own curriculum for every subject? Following the NC2014 should be enough; if they wanted us to magically guess what objectives they want covered in different years then they should have written that in. An end to deep dives entirely.

An acknowledgement that teachers working in tiny rural schools are already planning for a minimum of two or three year groups alone, leading multiple subjects, doing playtime duty and assemblies multiple times a week and likely also helping with things like serving dinner, taking in deliveries, covering at breakfast club etc. The workload is VASTLY greater than in two form+ entry schools and yet if anything there is less opportunity for extra pay and Ofsted somehow expects us to do twice or thrice the curriculum work as other teachers and to deliver a curriculum as though we were teaching single year group classes.

Hear hear!

Schools need to have greater powers to deal with disruptive behaviour. I think that's the number one thing that makes the job frustrating and grinds you down. I work at a lovely girls' grammar school now, and the workload and class sizes are no different, but teaching a class of 30 is no problem when they are well-behaved, and putting in the hours isn't so galling when it's appreciated and you can actually teach.

Maximum 25 in a class but room for a sliding scale so more challenging classes can be a little smaller.

More qualified support teachers, EAL and ASN so I'm not failing quite as many pupils.

I'm in Scotland so (I think) we have much less bureaucracy than in England which I'm thankful for.

1. Funding
2. Funding
3. Funding

Also for the profession not to be vilified at every opportunity. Some respect and acknowledgement that teachers know how to do their job would be nice.

Yes!! 🙌

I would like:
Pens. I would just like students to come to school with their own pen.

Students to have an expectation that school is where you learn; that you listen to your teachers and that other students (even if you think they're twats) should be treated with respect.

Students to have the understanding that even if you, and your parents, think you are the most special little bunch of cells in the whole of creation, you are one of many. And many special little stars all fighting for attention just leads to a supernova. Or something. So stfu; stfd and enjoy the process of learning.

Parents to stop thinking that a teacher's sole job is to persecute their child. It really isn't.

And then I'd like more free periods. And glue and decent copies of texts. And to be able to teach Mockingbird again. Or poems that engage kids.

Smaller class sizes.

Proper SEND funding and special school provision. The theory of inclusion is great but it just does not work for some children. My class is so overwhelmed with SEN as a whole they are unteachable.

For social services to do their jobs, remove children at risk and support families who are struggling. It should not be my responsibility to feed children breakfast and buy them school uniform.

And. At the end of the day to not go home to see parents slagging me off on social media because their child has lost their jumper (that has no name in it and that I spent 10 minutes of my lunch looking for)

Today has been a bad day. I had to leave my class because I had chest pains. Walk in centre said it's stress. I don't know how much longer I can do this.

I teach secondary maths, so maybe it's different - but I wouldn't say smaller class sizes is the key , as most people seem to be suggesting.
It's far easier to teach a large well behaved group than a much smaller group with a few 'characters' in.
For me the two biggest issues are
(i) behaviour of students
(ii) The huge additional workload created by one or two students (this can be a variety of things including unsupported SEN , behaviour , persistent absence .....) TAs used to play a big role in this.

I am fairly lucky in that my primary school is well resourced and we have Lit/Maths groups so <25 in each group. Also 2 TAs per 3-form year group.

My main issues are around marking and everything having to be evidenced "in the book" so I'd change to whole class marking where possible, reduced/unmarked homework, and reduced requirement for book work by Ofsted so it trickles down to us.

Additionally the NC moves too fast and children are getting left behind. They need more support and above all, more time.

There is no moment unaccounted for at my school, barely time to read to the children or ask them about their lives. Their social skills are not good and we need time for them to learn about relationships and behaviour.

Planning time that is more than 10% so I can actually mark a book properly!

I'm in Ireland so prob different but off the top of my head....

Smaller classes - 24 absolute max!

Timetabled time during the day for school work (planning, corrections, etc)

A drug check on the way into school

Better behaved students and the ability to discipline them appropriately without being completely overruled by parents

More supportive parents

Less of a constant bashing on social media and from media outlets