School Strikes 26th March - Invoicing the LEA

[Bexinder]

Just wanted to share what I'm doing, and I wonder if we can get some sort of campaign going. Lots of UK schools are closed due to teacher's industrial action next Wednesday 26th March. Given that we parents have absolutely no leeway when it comes to taking children out of school during term time and will be hit with heavy fines per child if we do without permission, I'm invoicing my local education authority for failing to provide education on this day. They haven't asked MY permission to allow the school to close.....Now I'm not expecting them to pay this at all, but I am wanting to cause a stink. They can close the school over the pay and pensions row, but I can't take my children out of school for a funeral.
Sorry - rant over... if anyone wants to copy the invoice, let me know and I'll post it. Thanks!

Semantics really. A safe seat is to all intents and purposes uncontested, as the incumbent has no real need to canvass or campaign and opposition parties tend not to "waste" decent candidates there.

Euphemia The point of strikes used to be to inconvenience the employer and reinforce the power that the workforce had by uniting together. These strikes do not inconvenience Gove or the government, they merely fan the flames of his zeal for change. Neither are teachers a workforce united - some unions strike, some do not, and even within unions not every one goes out every time. The teachers strikes in their current form are ineffective and penalise the wrong people.

DD's school said years 7,8,9 and 10 to stay off and only years 11 up to come in.
DD is year 11 (just finished mocks and now every class is revision until exams) and she has emailed her Head and said she will not be in as she is supporting her teachers and, I quote "Hell will freeze over before I cross a Picket Line"

I am so very proud of her

No DoneWithStruggling a safe seat means that the electorate in that constituency favour one political party and that other parties contesting the seat are unlikely to win over the voters ... but safe seats can have shock results as many over confident parties have discovered time and time again.

This is my current fb status trying, probably poorly, why I am striking. Of course we have discussed it with our students. Our year 11 all know who. Gove is, and how he has constantly changed the goalposts for them in their GCSE years. I cannot remember a previous education secretary that could be named by the majority of my students, and was universally hated.

^Many teachers will be going on strike on 26th March - I will be one of them. I am going on strike to try and protect the future education for children in this country. The ever changing goalposts for students and schools are making it nearly impossible for teachers to do their jobs effectively and therefore for students to achieve their potential. The mid-course removal of the speaking and listening component of the English GCSE is just one example do this.

Personally I love being in the classroom, I love planning my lessons, thinking about my students and how they will respond. I don't mind working many evenings and weekends doing this, but I do resent the time that I am expected to spend 'proving' I am doing my job right, to tick boxes. Boxes which have no impact on my students learning, but increase my workload taking away from time I want to spend doing my job.

All students are expected to make certain progress, irrespective of them as an individual. Performance related pay and lesson grading criteria means that no-one Is going to want to teach the bottom sets - why would you when the progress of students with severely difficult lives outside of school, who don't regularly attend school and have no support at home are going to decide if you move up the pay scale or end up on capability. These are the students who need more than anyone people to care for and about their futures.

Funding up and down the country is being slashed in education, schools are having to continue to operate with less and less staff to balance the books. Teachers are being expected to teacher more classes, bigger classes and to keep the results going up - all within these ever changing goal posts based on zero educational research.

I know that others will be able to explain much more eloquently than I can why we are striking, but before you blame the teachers, the ones who genuinely care about the students, their welfare and their achievements please think about our reasons and what might happen to your child's education and schooling if things continue as they are.^

My original point was that the electorate has little control or influence over policy. Safe seats can indeed have shock results. But by and large they remain safe. And even in heavily contested seats, a candidate does not need to deliver on promises made during election campaigns, and frequently does not even need to pay lip service to the concerns of constituents. Power is not in the the hands of the masses and it is delusional to consider that it is.

The electorate could vote for policies rather than political affinity and take control.

They could indeed, but they tend not to. Elections, where fought, tend to focus on one or two headline issues such as local health services, immigration or pandering to certain social groups (eg pensioners, would-be home-owners etc.). And policies between parties often do not differ substantially, and there is no compulsion for parties to implement their promises, and once in power a party still has to negotiate Bills through two Houses and/or manoeuvre it round the civil service. Representative demcoracy is cumbersome and imperfect. It's not a bad system, but average individuals really have no power.

Mrz you are very right in that I am strongly against a 9-5 school day. Even though I am a full time working parent, I would prefer more choice when it comes to childcare. In my home country for example they still do 3 hour school days but then offer afternoons as play, crafts and activities for free until 4pm. Some parents opt out as they don't work and would rather do their own thing, others go into other settings or with family.

However that's besides the point. I like the idea of unions but would prefer stronger grassroot action aimed at inconveniencing government and I am not sure In the current set up strikes deliver that at all.

And I agree with donewithstruggling. Also once in power there is nothing stopping parties going back on their manifesto promises- we have had a number of examples of it recently!!

I haven't read it all but I agree entirely with the OP. Our DC go to private schools - if there teachers there went on strike I would deduct a day's fees. When the school closed due to snow we were sent a letter explaining how the learning time would be made up.

I also suspect there will be a lot more fuss over uni lecturers going on strike now that students are paying 9k a year.

Totally agree; don't dictate when my child can have a day off when the professionals are taking a day off in protest and it affects hundreds of children.

Sauce for the goose and all that. Does little to make me respect the teaching profession. If you want to dictate to me or my children then remain beyond reproach.

I suggest you try reading ALL the thread then, since you seem to have little clue!

Teachers have a legal right to strike. The decision is never taken lightly.

The LEA cannot do anything about it.

Supply teachers are not allowed to cover. Other teachers and TAs are not allowed to cover for striking staff.

My school does not shut all its classes during a teacher's strike. Only the classes where the teacher involved is striking is closed. This time 4 out of 9 classes are open; the other five are closed. Last time only 1 of 9 classes remained open as more unions were involved. All TAs and support staff will also be in work as normal. The decision to close the whole school is made my the HT as far as I know, not the LEA.

Near - the teachers are not 'taking a day off' - they are striking and losing a day's pay to do that in order to defend the quality of education in this country. < and of course I hope your privately-educated children tell you how to use 'their' as well>

I am suspecting though from your post that you have little regard for the teaching profession - cost rather than value appears to be your immediate concern.

Oh really. Do you have to shout in capitals becuase you are a TEACHER - who knows better than the mere parents who also go to work and work extremely hard then?

Why precisely do I have so little clued - is it possibly because I might not agree with you.

Oh - and teachers do not say that your child cannot miss school for a holiday. They have no say whatsoever over that decision.It isn't the teacher's fault that children cannot take holidays - that is a Government thing, and an LEA upheld matter.

Caps are for emphasis, not shouting. And yes your disdain for education is v apparent.

Does little to make me respect the teaching profession

But you didn't anyway, as you've made apparent ad nauseam on thread after thread, under this username and your last.

Meh.

Then they should have defended the quality of education ten years ago because it was the dire standards that forced us to move our children to the indy sector. You know teachers who labelled the horizontal axis as y and who didn't in the capacity as teachers know how to use an apostrophe. We sent our dd to a top 100 comp where the head denied there was a problem with behaviour when a girl was beaten up. Would you like me go on?

I think I do know quite a lot about the standards of state education and I know that they are frankly not good enough and am very glad that I have a choice because of it.

When standards improve teachers will have an argument. When they allow performance management to take place they will have an argument. When they deal with behaviour without making crass excuses they will have an argument.

Until then I would not let my children have any truck with state education in this country. Absolute disgrace that it is. Michael Gove for PM!

NearTheWindymill

Teachers have a legal right to strike.

Also when decide to go on a term time holiday who do you expect to make up the shortfall in your child's education?

oh is she/he a serial vandal then? Didn't know that. Though not at all surprised.

Oh pipe down Feenie. You aren't always right and if you were a good teacher you would be prepared to take on board the views of people who disagree with you. I didn't remove my children lightly from the state system - I had to because of the state the system was and is in.

Michael Gove for PM!!!!!!

Jesus H Christ
Now I have heard it all