Online lessons because schools can't recruit and retain teachers

[Hayliebells]

A school local to me has written to parents to explain that some science lessons will be via pre-recorded online learning, with students in computer rooms, as they haven't got enough Science teachers to teach all the timetabled lessons. This is where an inability to recruit and retain teachers leads, and it's shameful. We really are a two tier society now, with students in private schools in small classes, taught by specialist teachers, and students in state schools effectively teaching themselves at a computer. Pre-recorded lessons aren't even as good as many schools were offering for online learning during lockdown, it's the opposite of responsive teaching. Where's the opportunity to address misconceptions, to answer the students questions? This is not teaching, and only a minority of students can learn this way. Online lessons are standard in countries like Mexico, for families who cannot afford private schools. They have schools made up of computer suites, with students sat learning via online lessons all day, and staff just there to supervise. This is not just the future of schools in the UK if we carry on as we are, it's happening now. How anyone can think this is OK is beyond me. The government should be ashamed.

My DS is possibly about to embark on a two year postgraduate traineeship. So paid for training. Local Government.
29k.

You would be surprised you can teach in independent without QTS. We are considering private vs moving house (it's one or the other potentially both) and it's one of the things that has interested me. I also wonder if state schools could set up some kind of skills share with local businesses releasing qualified staff to teach subject specifics to higher sets. I've been thinking about lecturing recently, but would have no interest in teaching a disruptive lower set or in a school with behaviour problems.

Rishi can do little about it, and I don’t blame him for putting his daughters in a private school. The unholy alliance of gentle parenting, neglectful parenting and “my rights” has raised a generation that is unteachable. You only have to look at thread after thread on here to see the lack of support that teachers get from the “my child can do no wrong” posters. Then combine that with the parents who are actively abusive, kids who are violent, and now rioting in schools, ffs. It wouldn’t matter how good the pay was, I’d never set foot in a school. It’s bad enough teaching the no-consequences generation as university students.

I do think some parents need to take a look at themselves and ask themselves why teachers are running a mile from them and their kids.

I also wonder if state schools could set up some kind of skills share with local businesses releasing qualified staff to teach subject specifics to higher sets

What do you mean by ‘qualified’? I suspect you don’t mean qualified as a teacher.

Lecturing even a top set will lead to poor behaviour. Teaching is a skill in addition to subject knowledge.

Where would the incentive be for the local business person to learn the teaching skills, and the exam specification though? Such a professional couldn't just stand up in front of a room full of teenagers and talk to them about X, even if the students were perfectly behaved. We don't have time in the curriculum to deviate from the exam spec, there'd be so much that such a professional would include that wasn't needed, and likely a lot that they'd miss out. Are they going to learn the spec and study past paper materials before delivering these lectures? Why would they do that, when it's not their job?

Teachers need better pay and conditions because the job is a horrendous one. I got out after teaching for over fifteen years. I don’t miss it

A lot of schools can employ unqualified teachers (I.e. without QTS) not just private. They even have their own payscale. www.nasuwt.org.uk/advice/pay-pensions/pay-scales/england-pay-scales.html

Very much agree with this. I’m sorry, but a GCSE physics teacher shouldn’t be paid the same as the Classical Civilisation teacher. To put it bluntly, one we need the other is nice to have and their respective salary should reflect that.

We only 'need' physics teachers because someone decided all students have to study all three sciences at GCSE. What about English? PE? RS ? Primary teachers? All compulsory.

What about class sizes as a factor? Marking load? Extra curricular?

MN seems blind to it but there are shortages in most subjects and incoming recruitment shortages in English.

Oh, and by STEM no one ever actually means the T...

Yes, most schools are Academies, and most can employ unqualified teachers. What schools are finding is that they can't even get unqualified teachers, they can't get anyone, so they resort to recorded lessons instead.

Just might be harder to deliver than assumed😉

Education is in crisis.
www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools-toilet-protest-riot-uk-b2288977.html?amp

Can't see these kids ( and know that the Arrete Trust school in Richmond is in a decent catchment) sitting watching videos....

And what about practical learning, especially for science subjects...shocking to think that education is going to be reduced to online learning for those that will access it. 😞

If one of the main problems is behaviour, and poor parenting, what should the government be doing about it? What are we going to do to ensure that the students who don't have a teacher this term, have one next term, or even next year? Surely sorting out poor parenting doesn't have an easy fix? So are we just relegating a whole generation to the status quo, whilst they figure out what to do about that problem? If schools go zero tolerance, which I'm not against, schools like Michela do incredibly well, we're going to need a lot more exclusions. Schools don't actually have anything else in their armoury to tackle behaviour, and permanent exclusion is the only ultimate sanction left in any school, even one with zero tolerance. Schools like Micheala don't need to exclude enmasse, as their cohort is self selecting, those parents not on board with the schools ethos, don't send their students there. But, if all schools are zero tolerance, and we exclude all students who really won't behave, what do we do with those students? What's the answer, to address the problem today? It probably needs a decades long project, with multiple government agencies involved, and multiple radical policies, in everything from Mental Health services, to tackling child poverty. But what are we going to do now, for the students in schools without teachers now?

Even maintained schools can and do employ unqualified teachers. If the head seems them suitable, they can teach.

I do wonder if exclusions were made a more readily available option, whether some parents might suddenly support the school to tackle their child's behaviour instead of arguing against it? That would be wonderful!

Part of this strategy would have to supporting parents to actually develop the skills to tackle the behaviour of their children.

Parenting is a skill that must be learnt and improved upon over time. In some other countries, they recognise this and all parents, whether it's your first or your ninth, are given support and classes/training to help improve the overall quality of parenting. In this country, however, implying that someone's parenting skills are not where they need to be is seen as a personal insult and is seen as unacceptable.

And yet when schools implement measures to safeguard pupils and limit poor behaviour parents kick off about 'human rights'. And when pupils literally riot, people go on twitter to say it's because the headteachers are child abusers.

We need more schools like Michaela around the country. Then parents can choose whether they want to send their child to a school where education is prioritised or to one where the “rights” of children and parents to behave however they like are the most important thing. I think we can anticipate which kinds of school will have the teacher shortages. Whatever people on here say, whenever Michaela comes up on a thread everyone is horrified by that school and its head, so I don’t think there’ll be much appetite for anything other than the status quo of massive behavioural issues and teacher shortages.

Mercia school in Sheffield which seems very much like Michaela just went viral on edutwitter for putting out a job ad for a member of SLT which said you'll need to work ridiculously hard and basically give your life over to the job. Which is honest, but not going to solve the teacher shortage either.

It really comes down to resourcing. If schools were properly resourced and teachers paid properly, schools could employ enough teachers and provide enough resources, so that the difficulties which make teaching impossible and cause people to leave would be reduced.

Poor behaviour can be dealt with to a degree if there are enough staff to man the discipline system. It can be dealt with better if class sizes are not allowed to be too large and if experienced teachers are retained.

The trouble is, teachers are leaving in droves because of the conditions they are working under, which are mostly due to under resourcing, and also due to pay. But primarily it’s about the conditions they are working in being untenable . And as teachers leave, the burden in the remaining ones gets greater still. It’s a downward spiral.

Please support the teacher strikes. They are about the resourcing and funding of schools. Take a longer term view rather than just thinking about a particular day when your child will miss learning and you’ll be inconvenienced.

This thing with an online teacher will be come more and more common. Perhaps the government knows this and this will become the new model - schools have a few qualified teachers who make videos and most see a video rather than have a live teacher interacting with them.

Yes, private schools will be more able to recruit and retain teachers due to better pay and conditions, but they aren’t the source of this problem. In fact independent schools are also struggling to recruit as the pool of staff drops. Government might like people to think independent schools are the problem because then attention moves away from the government role. Quite simply, government has been underfunding the school system for years. Schools and teachers soldiered on papering over the cracks. But the cracks are so big now, that they can’t be hidden….another thread was running bout a lack of school trips. Yes. Not enough teachers to teach all the classes - yes. And it will get worse.

Parents shouldn’t be standing for it. Blame the government not individual schools and teachers. It’s all down to resourcing.

I saw the job add, and I don't think a zero tolerance behaviour policy needs to go hand in hand with teachers sacrificing themselves for the job, which is basically what that job ad said they wanted. You could have a zero tolerance behaviour policy, and still allow teachers to have a work life balance, indeed it would probably help work life balance a lot. But, what would be do with all the excluded students? If the threat is there, so parents have to take that threat seriously, we're still going to end up with loads more exclusions. We'd need loads more AP schools before we can do that.

Yep @WombatChocolate , you've well and truly hit the nail on the head there! Non of the solutions to any of these problems can come to fruition without a significant increase in resources going to schools.

Nonsense. I’m sorry, but a PE teacher does not need anywhere remotely near the same ability as a physics teacher. There is just no comparison to the job either, marking, exam prep etc. No way should they be paid the same.

It’s really hard for some children though, and there will be no one to se them struggling, or take time to explain things to them, or notice the issues that teachers pick up additionally (like signs of abuse or neglect)

@GCAcademic there’s plenty of evidence from professionals about how to run an inclusive school which caters for all and has good behaviour. Michaela type schools just squeeze out all the pupils with SEN and destroy mental health. A lot of behavioural problems are caused by the school environment and current curriculum. There’s a reason children’s mental health is getting worse.
education needs a lot of investment but for goodness sake make sure the decision makers have a background in child development and teaching.