Things are shit.

[MadSprocker]

I work as a TA in a Primary School. We are in special measures. We are converting to Academy status in September. We are haemorrhaging teachers. By July the whole original SLT will have left this academic year. Parents are commenting on FB, of course they are.
I'm hoping things will get better.

That is shit. I'm sorry you're all going through this. The poor kids too. :(

Hope you're happy Nicky Morgan.

Things won't get better-it's a compete shitstorm. It's the same at the schools around here; things are going to get a lot worse, I think.

Things will get better. Think of it this way, only way is up. Be honest why in special measures? If it's the truth then a line will be drawn and needs to be drawn and the only way is up. Those who are gong or have left, then when you have the party when you are outstanding you can stand there proud and head held high.

New head starting in September. Special measures was a combination of things. Head retired 3years ago, was replaced by another head who basically was driven out of her job, interim head brought in with a plan to improve the school. That's when Ofsted arrived. Ofsted didn't acknowledge that plan was already in place, some statements were totally untrue, most were applicable. Lots of the teachers didn't cope with what was now required by Ofsted, and now we are here. Special measures was definitely partly political as similar has happened to other schools in the area.

This sickens me. I was looking at lots of jobs the other day in the local area (for primary) and all but one was offering the lowest bands of pay. There will be a huge imbalance soon in schools. I'm a much better teacher now than when I started in terms of managing behaviours, understanding special needs and even the way I speak to parents I think. I'm sorry that dedicated people are being pushed out. Of course not all schools and pupils can be above average. When pupils are struggling we don't give up on them or expel them, we encourage them, help them, give them partners to work with. Remember that ofsted have looked at data before they come in and are just looking to confirm their opinion.

Never mind, I'm sure you will get a lovely new uniform as an academy!!

I don't know why parents don't get more angry about this tbh. Their children's education is being ruined through pursuing an ideology. The press is very keen to hide nepotism, poor financial conduct and the use of unqualified teachers in academy schools. I can assure you that these cover teachers are not retired classical musicians or engineers wanting to give back to society, they are often youngsters with very poor qualifications themselves (much like Victorian schooling where older pupils acted as teaching assistants).

Uniform staying the same! I know that what is being required of us is ridiculous. I want to shout it from the rooftops. We have a group of about 10 pupils in the class I work in who struggle, properly struggle. Some have a diagnosis, most don't. I really want them to achieve their best, I am passionate about that. But they are made to feel like failures because they are not able to meet the expected targets for their year. Some are struggling to meet targets for Y2 (they are Y4). Ofsted had definitely made up their mind about us before they arrived.

Think parents are more angry at the school rather than the wider picture tbh.

I can assure you that these cover teachers are not retired classical musicians or engineers wanting to give back to society

This is the bit that bothers me the most. in my experience, unqualified teachers are just used because they are cheap. They aren't fantastic artists or maths whizzes-they are just cheap bodies in front of a class.

If this white paper goes through saying no schools have to use qualified teachers- where does that leave us?

It will come down to us TA's holding the fort.

Letsea The white paper doesn't really say that about unqualified teachers. This is the relevant part of the white paper:

"b. Strengthen university and school -led training, increasing the rigour of ITT content with a greater focus on subject knowledge and evidence-based practice
c. Continue to move to an increasingly school-led ITT system which recruits enough great teachers in every part of the country, so that the
best schools and leaders control which teachers are recruited and how
they are trained
d. Introduce new quality criteria for ITT providers and allocate training places accordingly, providing greater certainty to the best providers
– both school and university-led – by giving allocations over several years
e. Replace Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) with a stronger, more challenging accreditation based on a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom, as judged by great schools. This new accreditation will raise the quality and status of the teaching profession, better recognising advanced subject knowledge and pedagogy that is rooted in up-
to-date evidence"

The most worrying thing to me is the power they intend to place in headteachers' hands with regard to attaining qualified status.

Have to say that the debate of who teaches and the qualifications of those standing in front of children will cause debates till the cows come home. As will whether schools should be academies. As will how effective Ofsted reports are. If you happen to work or are involved in a school that is an academy, is outstanding and 50% of the week classes are taught by people who are not in holding of a qts qualification but you still see fantastic results you are going to say wow things are working great so carry on. If however you find yourself in a situation where you are not then scapegoats can be looked for or reasons to see where the problem lies. The basic facts are though children still need to be taught by people who want to teach, who are passionate about teaching and passionate about seeing a child's eyes light up when they think wow I have just achieved something. What is happening now is now someone somewhere is doing there best to stop this happening. They walk into someone classroom and make a judgement sometimes before they even walk in which is so wrong Wight talking to the mid important person and that's the child. Just makes me so do sad.