Scottish teachers strikes

[museumum]

How have other Scots found the teachers strikes?
I’m seeing a lot of stress from English parents I know on Fb as well as on mn but it seems to me in my bit of Scotland parents have said “fair dos” to the teachers and just got in with things/arrangements quietly.

I’m not sure this is necessarily good for the teachers cause….

interested to hear from other Scots around the country….?

NPFS parent opinion survey. I do think they should have mentioned what the offer the unions turned down was:

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSedM17zuenNvY16whQG6WXi5ZNfECUKagl5jjsDIdWQ7Pd8SA/viewform

Thanks @Shelefttheweb

I feel like the tide has turned a bit on support (has with me anyway) so glad to be feed that back.

www.gov.scot/news/improved-pay-offer-for-teachers/

This was the offer not even being put to members. 6% this year. 5.5% next.

I have filled in the survey too, I am very angry that my children are being targeted in this way. And the fact that that teachers aren't losing pay while my children are losing education is just so, so wrong.

We were balloted electronically by our union for an 11% rise over 2 years (NHS) ie broadly similar to what the teachers union rejected - and we accepted- at least we had the choice.

Thanks for letting me know

The courier has ran a story today detailing major council cuts being voted on in Perth and Kinross. Some of which will impact children - cutting all school crossing patrols and breakfast clubs for a start.

I can imagine that these cuts will be worse if they need to find extra money for teachers salaries and suspect support for strikes will fall if these cuts are replicated (which I imagine they will be) over other councils.

I read a bit about this. The parts which are appropriate to schools aren’t actually requirements- swimming lessons aren’t given in our council at all and we have to pay for breakfast club. This is the norm, the fact that this has been free is lovely, but it’s certainly not the norm in many (if any) other councils.

But not at every school, I imagine? And are teachers who have decided not to strike and don’t want to cross a picket line working from home? Working at another site that has no picket line? Taking home their pay but not providing the education they’re paid to provide?

Sympathy is wearing very, very thin.

@SirChenjins at my school there's no picket line and those who choose not to strike just go to school and sign in (cannot work from home).

"I read a bit about this. The parts which are appropriate to schools aren’t actually requirements- swimming lessons aren’t given in our council at all and we have to pay for breakfast club. This is the norm, the fact that this has been free is lovely, but it’s certainly not the norm in many (if any) other councils."

Cutting school crossing patrols will not be popular with parents though. I know locally when that was under threat parents were very vocal about it.

Breakfast club is sometimes paid by PEF I think.

Same here - they are told they must turn up to school even if there are no kids there.

My LA are thinking about a 4 day week which a lot of parents are furious about, and is reducing what little support there was for the strikes.
The LA are also thinking about cutting breakfast clubs but I think people have to pay for them anyway. Also swimming lessons which I doubt many parents care about anymore.
School crossing patrollers - I'm on the fence about that one. There are some crossing patrollers where there are pedestrian lights so in those places perhaps they could be removed.

Yes, it can be but then it’s targeted at specific pupils and those funds are protected for purposes justified by the school. It can not be used for anything that doesn’t benefit pupils from those simd areas, and must be approved by the council beforehand.

That's precisely my point - no picket line to cross, so teachers can just go into school, claim a wage but not deliver the education they're paid to provide. Can you imagine the (absolutely understandable) furore if NMAHP staff refused to see patients but went into their (conveniently non-picketed) workplaces to do paperwork?

Just off for my morning walk, route takes me past one of the striking primary schools - no pickets - will report back how many cars on car park

That is a very good point. Schools should be letting primary kids parents know when a teacher turns up so they can send their children in. And call secondary pupils into school, starting with senior phase, as teachers who can supervise classes turn up. Yes you would get patchy attendance but it would be better than a straight closure.

There’s a picket! About 10 teachers picketing. That’s about half. No idea whether the rest are in.

Wouldn't that be even more disruptive for the children? I'm not going to get the children up and dressed for school, bags packed, to decide whether they go or not at whatever time the teacher turns up. They are supposed to be on a school bus at 8:15 is he going to pick up all the kids and drop the ones whose parents didn't turn up back home? It's a nice idea but doesn't work in practice.

I am so cross that the Union are paying teachers to stand on the pavement in the sunshine and have a wee chat, then piss off home for the rest of the day.

I'm not going to get the children up and dressed for school, bags packed, to decide whether they go or not at whatever time the teacher turns up. They are supposed to be on a school bus at 8:15 is he going to pick up all the kids and drop the ones whose parents didn't turn up back home? It's a nice idea but doesn't work in practice.

Totally depends on the area. There are many city primary schools where everyone lives within a 20 minute walk. Primary school age pupils will likely be up in morning and if they have a parent working from home or grandparents coming round to look after them they could easily be in school by 9.30 if notified at 8.45 that their teacher was in.

I agree. I know that some parents wouldn't want this, but for secondary school pupils like my DS who are missing valuable teaching time right before important exams it would be great to have the option of going in, even if it was a last minute thing.

The whole point of a strike is that it's as disruptive as possible for parents. That's the whole objective here (from the union 's point of view). Surely you all realise that?

I personally don't agree with it at all but that's what they're aiming for.

Fair enough. My children are being dropped off at an activity centre running strike day camps at 8:30am. I have children in two different schools in opposite directions from home (both catchment). I can't work from home so decisions need to be made in advance. I'm sure it'd be nice to have the option for some parents though. I'd be unimpressed if it counted negatively on their attendance record though.

The whole point of a strike is that it's as disruptive as possible for parents

It's disruptive for the pupils - that's who this is affecting the most. 2 years of substandard (non-existent in many cases) education during covid and now this. Pupils in secondary schools esp are experiencing a very difficult time and will continue to do so - and I'm afraid that the unwavering support that I'd hitherto given his teachers and the school is now very thin on the ground.