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Primary education

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Original poster

Managing school strikes

198 replies

mamnotmum · 21/04/2023 12:28

Just had an email from school to say they are shut next Thursday for strikes and will update us soon about a strike on 2 May.

It's not that I don't support the teachers but there is no way my employer is going to give me a day off with less than a weeks notice (paid or unpaid) and I can not work from home/bring my child to work.

I realise some people have grandparents / friends but is anyone else finding it increasingly difficult to manage?

OP posts:
lilyflower1803 · 21/04/2023 19:28

schools-financial-benchmarking.service.gov.uk

To be precise, income and expenditure.

ChaoticNoodle · 21/04/2023 19:30

ichundich · 21/04/2023 19:08

We weren't furloughed and had to homeschool our children whilst working and studying part-time. To them, like to many others, the schools remained shut until September 2020 and again from January to March 2021 because we are not key workers, special needs, vulnerable etc. Schools were not "open" ffs. We certainly weren't baking banana bread. But the teacher down my road was indeed overhauling his whole garden.

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Yes they WERE open. Just because your children were not attending, does not mean that all the many MANY children in school were invisible and not there. Schools were open and children were in school. Yes they were only keyworker children in from March to May 2020 but on June 1st 2020 schools reopened to huge numbers of children and have remained open ever since.

I'm very sorry that you had a difficult experience during the pandemic but schools were not shut. They were full of children, teachers and support staff.

cantkeepawayforever · 21/04/2023 19:33

I think the point that was being made was that teachers should not strike because children had missed school during lockdown.

It is relevant in that discussion about the fact that teachers are striking about their pay and conditions that teachers worked - and in the case of primary teachers their workplace was open and required them to work - throughout the lockdown.

Did I ‘not work’ because I had 16 Year 6 children in a bubble, rather than twice that number of my own year group, or was I perhaps working even longer hours because I provided online learning for my own class as well, plus a huge amount of work that would normally fall to social services, who were taking no referrals?

Qilin · 21/04/2023 19:35

At my DS's 14 to 19 college they have been prioritising specific year groups.

Some schools have dine this but they are on sticky ground when doing so.
Other teachers, supply teachers, and support staff are advised to refuse to cover for a striking teacher. I will not cover for any striking teacher. I cannot be forced to do so. Fortunately our headteacher and SLT support the strikes and wouldn't ask us to.

In my school the classes closed are those where the teachers are striking, not all did it the last times (for a range of reasons) but these next two more teachers are striking - some have moved to the striking union and some have decided to strike this time round.

There is some leeway for gcse and A level (and other exam) classes, which have been covered by the unions, but shouldn't be happening in other year groups ideally.

Teachers want a fully funded pay rise.
The government refuse to fund it and it has to come out of existing budgets.
This means there is less money to spend on resources for the children. How can that ever be right?1

noblegiraffe · 21/04/2023 19:36

If you are concerned about the amount of school children missed during lockdowns that were decided by the government, you should also be incredibly pissed off that the government refused to implement the £15 billion covid-catch up package recommended by the adviser they hired.

So if they are still struggling 2 years later because of the impact of the lockdowns, that's on the government too for doing fuck-all about it.

Qilin · 21/04/2023 19:38

ticktickticktickBOOM · 21/04/2023 17:35

How would teacher feel if their wage increased but they were contracted to work 52 weeks per year, with 5 weeks paid holiday, like the majority of us?

Then there would be no 'well I work during my half terms' to worry about. They would be working during school holidays like the rest of us and therefore could spread their planning/marking accordingly. Problem solved?

Many would refuse. They need that time without the children in to plan and prep the yearly schemes of work, and the ton of other non contact work required. As well as having the breaks themselves.

Also no government will ever fork out all that extra money! Do you have any idea how much you'd be talking about there? Plus for all support staff too.

Keep eroding the pay and conditions and even more teachers will leave. Recruitment and retention is already in crisis, why do anything that will make it worse?

EllandRd · 21/04/2023 19:40

Teachers moaning again, nothing changes

Skybluepinky · 21/04/2023 19:41

TheCrystalPalace · 21/04/2023 13:09

@Blahdeblahaha How will you feel when your child has to sit their Maths or Science GCSE without having had a teacher qualified in those subjects at all?
Or when they tell you their maths lesson was in the hall with three other classes on a projector on the stage?
Or when they're sent home on a rotating basis because SLT can't staff the school adequately?

Ours only have PE teachers who have done the delivering lesson course teaching GCSE maths, I’m higher qualified in maths than them. They can’t attract qualified maths teachers.

PaigeMatthews · 21/04/2023 19:42

My budget for this next 12 months is £200 after I’ve paid for photocopying and a subscription we have to have. £200! Thats for a subject taught to the whole school.

TheCrystalPalace · 21/04/2023 19:43

EllandRd · 21/04/2023 19:40

Teachers moaning again, nothing changes

Really? That's the best you can come up with?
Why not go back to the Daily Mail website, where your comment will fit right it.

Qilin · 21/04/2023 19:43

ticktickticktickBOOM · 21/04/2023 18:50

Is 'work to rule' an option? Can I have examples of teachers actual contracted hours? (hours per week / weeks per year/ over gross pay per annum)?

Done that in the past. It didn't work.

EllandRd · 21/04/2023 19:44

TheCrystalPalace · 21/04/2023 16:21

@Blahdeblahaha You've made your agenda quite clear so there is no point engaging with you further.

A lot of parents agree with her, teachers are losing the publics support, always complaining.

noblegiraffe · 21/04/2023 19:45

EllandRd · 21/04/2023 19:44

A lot of parents agree with her, teachers are losing the publics support, always complaining.

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Polling data suggests otherwise.

TheCrystalPalace · 21/04/2023 19:45

As I said, @EllandRd The Daily Mail is >>> way.

Qilin · 21/04/2023 19:46

A lot of parents agree with her, teachers are losing the publics support, always complaining.

Benefit of my school - many of our staff are medics, university staff, civil servants, etc. We have a lot of support and, in classes which are actually open, we even have parents keeping their children off so as to 'not cross a picket line'. So fortunately no real lack of support here.

PonkyPonky · 21/04/2023 20:09

Am I wrong in thinking the government have said they will come to the table again for negotiations if the strikes are called off? Isn’t that what the unions are asking for? To negotiate? I fully support the cause but it’s bloody hard to manage all the extra days and it’s really sad to think about some children missing all these days and some missing none. It’s a shame all the unions didn’t back striking. If it was every teacher in every school, it possibly would be resolved by now. Having 1 or 2 teachers strike in each school is just making a few people listen but mostly they’re just frustrated at this point that it’s only their kids missing out on their education.

TortolaParadise · 21/04/2023 20:12

cantkeepawayforever · 21/04/2023 17:43

For the vast nanority of teachers, that would be a oay increase with very little change in conditions, so would be an improvement. The weeks when children are not in school would be working from home - as we currently do for those periods. Would you suggest that teachers gave the flexibility to take holiday at dates if their choosing, or inly when the schools are physically closed to pupils?

(5 weeks of actual holiday, absolutely no work, paid for the unpaid work we do in the rest of the weeks schools are closed to pupils? - sounds bliss)

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This
...and if you are the DSL you still work during the 'holidays' that aren't really holidays!

Maximo2 · 21/04/2023 20:13

The other three unions are balloting (get a move one, NASUWT. It’s notable that neither of the two headteachers’ unions have balloted to strike before this year. The next strikes may well be the entire teaching profession.

cantkeepawayforever · 21/04/2023 20:15

PonkyPonky,

The Government’s first offer was so insulting that the 3 other teaching / leadership unions are now also planning to ballot for strikes later this term. So your wish for co-ordinated strikes seems likely to come true…. thanks to the Government’s negotiating strategy.

noblegiraffe · 21/04/2023 20:46

PonkyPonky · 21/04/2023 20:09

Am I wrong in thinking the government have said they will come to the table again for negotiations if the strikes are called off? Isn’t that what the unions are asking for? To negotiate? I fully support the cause but it’s bloody hard to manage all the extra days and it’s really sad to think about some children missing all these days and some missing none. It’s a shame all the unions didn’t back striking. If it was every teacher in every school, it possibly would be resolved by now. Having 1 or 2 teachers strike in each school is just making a few people listen but mostly they’re just frustrated at this point that it’s only their kids missing out on their education.

Yes,, you are wrong.

The government have said that there will be no further negotiating and the matter is closed.

SmurfHaribos · 21/04/2023 20:48

Our local church offers drop ins for strike and INSET days.

KittyAlfred · 21/04/2023 21:05

TheCrystalPalace · 21/04/2023 16:22

But I will just say this.
"When you equate the salary for the amount of weeks worked, it's a reasonable salary with an excellent pension."
Well, it's clearly NOT a reasonable salary if so few people are prepared to apply for or remain in the job.

That’s the thing isn’t it. It’s like saying a house isn’t worth what it’s being sold for. It’s supply and demand. A house is worth what someone will pay for it. And a job might look well paid on paper, but if not many people want to do it, then it’s clearly not well paid enough. Same with my profession - I’m a GP - if our jobs are so easy, why are there hundreds of vacancies?

ThreeImaginaryBoys · 21/04/2023 21:21

@EllandRd It's 'public's'.
Happy to teach you that, even though I'm off the clock.

LadyPenelope68 · 21/04/2023 21:33

Okunevo · 21/04/2023 17:33

I know they can't get cover teachers in of course, but what's wrong with the current staff covering another class so it impacts two classes in a year group rather than the one repeatedly?

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Because other teachers can’t cover striking teachers, that’s how strikes work 🤦‍♀️

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