The Sixty Third Republic - as we glide into staycations the DfE whip up anti-school media storm

[StaffRepFeistyClub]

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Lordy @Hercisback that seems a huge ask .

I think NQT will still be used for some time. We had a session on three ECF last week which mapped out expectations for our time and the mentors time. I think we get 1/2 day out of class every two weeks in year 2. I am not convinced it will do anything to help retention. I think looking at workload and pay would be better. Actually probably just the workload.

I also agree with pp, from what I've seen in school ITT trainees are not made the same. In my school, I was on a SCITT so was in school all year, and teaching / planning pretty much full time by March. Another student arrived for their last placement in March (pgce) and had at least 1.5 day a week out of class faffing about with their folders. We were very different.

I know I will never be fully prepared but I've had a good experience (though bloody hard) so I feel I have a good basis to start from in September.

Saying that, I think I've forgotten how to teach already!

Behaviour is a society thing. Standards of respect have slipped. Look at parents in public places, most of them aren't great. I sound like my nan now.

ITT providers have a lot to answer for. The university we are linked to is a joke. There's so little focus on practical stuff they can use in the classroom, instead it's all educational theories. I understand why that's important but it feels out of balance

Totally agree with this. I trained on a SCITT. The school I was training in also had trainees from university. Some were good, some were only in it for the bursary and some were god awful.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-57707677

No singing allowed in schools. Or assemblies.

For me, I've always seen one of the major barriers to better retention to be how... ill-equiped or unready some NQTs seem to be after their training year. This has been worse since ITT providers had to loosen their standards at the application stage
I'd agree with this.
I've had to spell out to some trainees that they have to read the novel that they will be teaching before they teach it. One looked at me like I had 3 heads. One ITT provider I know of has had to run sessions for trainees to tell them that constructive feedback on lesson observations is not bullying, it's part of learning.

It all adds more work to experienced staff. I don't think there's been much consideration for how workload is ramped up for strong staff who are always picking up the slack. Eg. Strong staff end up taking on more department planning, the strong staff get pulled to deliver intervention, the strong staff end up firefighting in key year groups because they're viewed as a safe pair of hands to close the gaps, the strong staff have to mentor NQTs and trainees, the strong staff end up running CPD, and so on. Eventually people decide they've had enough.

Actually probably just the workload.

I'm a bit stuck with what we do about workload. All my workload is around inclusion, or altering existing planning (mine or otherwise), to suit the class I'm teaching... and that's not going anywhere. Assessment admin is annoying, but a part of the job.

We had a trainee a couple of years ago whose subject knowledge was so bad that she was actually damaging the children's understanding every time she taught. Her behaviour management was poor and a few times she even went so far wrong with what she was doing that she put the class at risk.

The class teacher worked with her, the deputy head worked with her, subject leaders worked with her but nothing got any better. We involved her provider from the word go.

When it came to the end, we were told that we weren't allowed to fail her and they moved her to another placement school who were happy to rubber stamp her through for that part of her placement.

She's not teaching now but she was allowed to pass her training year and then drop out partway through the next year as an NQT.

Strong staff end up taking on more department planning, the strong staff get pulled to deliver intervention, the strong staff end up firefighting in key year groups because they're viewed as a safe pair of hands to close the gaps, the strong staff have to mentor NQTs and trainees, the strong staff end up running CPD, and so on. Eventually people decide they've had enough.

Strong staff get classes rammed with bad behaviour to 'protect' other teachers. This is happening in my school right now, and a lot next year. Just because a person CAN deal with shit behaviour, shouldn't mean they get all of it. It's still emotionally exhausting and hugely time consuming.

Just because a person CAN deal with shit behaviour, shouldn't mean they get all of it. It's still emotionally exhausting and hugely time consuming.

Very that!
When I worked in a multiform entry school, this happened every single year. The disparity between the classes in each phase was ridiculous! You'd end up with a "bright" class, a "nice" class and then any child who had ever shown an issue ever just forced into one class.

I've had to spell out to some trainees that they have to read the novel that they will be teaching before they teach it.
A very experienced colleague of mine fell foul of this at a level when he unexpectedly came across a very rude word whilst teaching a novel 😂

It's odd. As a non specialist I was just thrown in the deep end in Science and got on with it - I put in the work that was needed and got to grips with the equipment and practical side of things through picking the brains of the tech ladies and thorough planning. Meanwhile we had 2 NQT specialists who were banned from doing practicals for a while because they were unsafe. It did make me wonder what has happened with teacher training and standards that we've basically got some people coming through with no classroom management skills (and I don't mean dealing with mad classes and insane behaviour because that's clearly hard - I mean basic common sense cool headed management of the classroom).

I think lack of support is an issue with retention but not formal support more an actual supportive environment and kindness and back up and being bothered to look out for each other. That may be because people are so busy but there is clearly something about the culture of schools too that imo means bullying is not that rare and bullies, just as an example, are allowed to continue so long as they're good on data or don't make a fuss about workload or something.

I think the criteria for promotion and management positions is seriously messed up sometimes - genuinely giving a shit about your students AND your staff should be high on the list but sometimes seems like it works against you in reality. That has an impact.

Yes workload but I think it's sometimes more about the meaningless of the work and the poor planning and lack of notice of when things get dumped on you at the worst possible pinch point in the year and the sense that ticking a box is taking priority over what is actually best for students and staff and makes sense.

I also think, and I feel the difference between when I started and now, there is very little autonomy but a hell of a lot of responsibility. The workload was way more manageable when I had control over it 15-20 years ago and could organise my own time far more freely than I can now. I don't think the use of emails has particularly helped either - what should make life easier has resulted in things being dumped in an all staff email and landed on teachers shoulders and someone higher up the food chain thinking that's their job done. It sometimes feels like there's a huge gap of understanding and reality between the office based email senders and the classroom based receivers. It may just be my school but there's a lot of people in lowish management positions like pastoral roles who have literally never taught now and have no comprehension of what a teachers day and time limitations are or how unrealistic their expectations of eg. telling you to do something mid period 1 by email and expecting it by end of day are.

Sorry for long post.

My plan now is to try for part time - see if that gives me enough of a break in a week, enough time with my family etc. If it works better, then I'll stick with that for a few more years while my child is at primary school. If it doesn't work by next summer, then I'm going to leave and do something else. I'll plan to try something else for a year. I can always come back. If I like it 'out there', then I'll stay.

@RuleWithAWoodenFoot

Strong staff end up taking on more department planning, the strong staff get pulled to deliver intervention, the strong staff end up firefighting in key year groups because they're viewed as a safe pair of hands to close the gaps, the strong staff have to mentor NQTs and trainees, the strong staff end up running CPD, and so on. Eventually people decide they've had enough.

Strong staff get classes rammed with bad behaviour to 'protect' other teachers. This is happening in my school right now, and a lot next year. Just because a person CAN deal with shit behaviour, shouldn't mean they get all of it. It's still emotionally exhausting and hugely time consuming.

Agree with this and it goes broader too. I remember feeling effectively punished for getting great GCSE grades from weak groups in my NQT year. The next year I had all of a shit teachers year 10 groups transferred to me for year 11 and had to unpack all of the poor teaching and classroom management to turn it around.

I think what made it worse, and this probably remains true in many places, was there was no 'well done' or thank you or recognition of what you'd managed to achieve and no, 'could you share with us what made it work' even though I'd offered resources I'd developed etc. I just got landed with a load of challenging groups. If at least they said you're really strong on behaviour so we'd like you to take these groups but we know they will require a lot more work so we can offer you an extra free a week or something like a tlr or some kind of compensation then you might feel differently. When it's just landed on you and you're effectively doing more work than colleagues for the same pay and nothing is being done to drive up their standards then it sucks.

And I know this sounds wanky and petty but my performance review will flagrantly ignore the fact that the groups I lead on have higher value added scores than my colleagues because god forbid it might make me feel good or make others look bad. Surely performance should include what you've achieved with your groups?

And I suspect the better you do in the classroom without any recognition the more reluctant they are to promote you because you're a good frontline soldier who is relatively cheap but effective. Why promote good classroom practitioners if it will take them out of the classroom?

When I started there seemed to be a trend of promoting smarmy 'yes men' in cheap burtons suits who clearly had no real affinity for teaching and education but would agree to shaft their colleagues and students willingly to keep heading towards that chance of being a HT in under 10 years.

There seemed to be a glass ceiling for colleagues who were good at their job and cared about their colleagues and what was in the best interests of kids.

@TheHoneyBadger

And I know this sounds wanky and petty but my performance review will flagrantly ignore the fact that the groups I lead on have higher value added scores than my colleagues because god forbid it might make me feel good or make others look bad. Surely performance should include what you've achieved with your groups?

And I suspect the better you do in the classroom without any recognition the more reluctant they are to promote you because you're a good frontline soldier who is relatively cheap but effective. Why promote good classroom practitioners if it will take them out of the classroom?

When I started there seemed to be a trend of promoting smarmy 'yes men' in cheap burtons suits who clearly had no real affinity for teaching and education but would agree to shaft their colleagues and students willingly to keep heading towards that chance of being a HT in under 10 years.

There seemed to be a glass ceiling for colleagues who were good at their job and cared about their colleagues and what was in the best interests of kids.

It’s always been a bit fucked up hasn’t it?! Couldn’t agree more.

One of our recently retired staff was talking about the training she had- at a college for a diploma, not a degree.

They even had blackboard classes, which made us all laugh, but it was really a class in how to set out a lesson and present it to children. Students now only get Piaget and the wonders of relationships.

And in Secondary (not sure about Primary), let’s not forgot those thankfully few but there is always at least one members of staff who have things taken off them (such as being a form tutor) as an easier management decision and their workload dumped on everyone else

Yep. I think more attention needs to be paid to the atmosphere of schools. Let's face it a good department with kind people who notice when you're struggling or just generally bother to ask how you are and share how they're doing with you makes teaching a completely different ball game than being in an every man for himself and let's see who we can dump the most work on department.

They could start by thinking about how staff are treated - whether they ever receive any praise for jobs well done and therefore feel valued.

I can imagine MrsHamlet

In the situations I was talking about, the text had already been approved and was part of a scheme of work. Unfortunately the people in question seemed to think that reading the book in preparation for teaching was an unreasonable expectation.

Honey I've had a similar experience regarding being given challenging classes. It would get me annoyed that I'd be busting my gut in Year 11 unpicking damage caused by colleagues, meanwhile they'd tell me how their Year 10s think they're amazing. Predictably their Year 10s quickly became someone else's Year 11s and the same few staff had their performance management targets based on half a GCSE course of teaching.

Until the culture of accepting a warm body is challenged, I don't think there's going to be sweeping change. Of course the problem is that until there's a sweeping change then warm bodies in rooms are needed.

When I started there seemed to be a trend of promoting smarmy 'yes men' in cheap burtons suits who clearly had no real affinity for teaching and education but would agree to shaft their colleagues and students willingly to keep heading towards that chance of being a HT in under 10 years

This still happens.

There is definitely a ceiling if you're pretty good at classroom teaching and female.

chloe Those sorts of decisions can really damage workplace and department culture too. Over time it sends the message that if you're entitled/complain about reasonable tasks/don't follow behaviour policies then you get more time off and those who are working hard feel undervalued.

Yep, every time I want to move year groups the decision seems to rest on others - apparently, despite my years of loyal service, the fact that I’m ‘capable’ means that I get sent to deal with weaker/tricky cohorts so they don’t have to 😡

Side question: If I get caught in a bubble pop in the final week of term, can I still move house on the 24th? We’ll be moving ourselves and leaving current place empty. DP will have a friend and a van to help him, but if I’m ‘just’ a contact rather than a positive case can I sit in the garden till they’ve moved the heavy stuff, then DP and I finish off afterwards?

I don't have a form group now as a) I'm 0.4 spread over 3 days and b) my health problems post bowel surgery mean I have a much better chance of managing work if I start from period 2 allowing time to take medications that have to be spaced out etc. However I have over double the amount of duties I should have and do 0.5 of meetings and 0.6 of parents evenings and open evenings etc and it balances out but I doubt anyone sees it that way.

From September we are having hour and 20 minute dept meetings every week plus an hour plus of after school cpd each week except cpd won't happen on parents evening/intake evening weeks (dept meetings still will) and there is excessive trapped time between end of school day and the meetings starting.

They've added it all up and reckon it fits directed time but the fact is it eats the time where your brain might still be working enough to get through the onslaught of emails that arrived whilst you were teaching and the marking etc. It will add on an hour and a half to our days twice a week and I'm dreading it and I don't even have to worry about picking up small children from after school care as I have a teenager.

Also what will the cpd be? There'll be no options as to how that time could be best used and you won't be able to say actually this is what I could really use development with - it will be one size fits all and potentially yet more undermining of any remaining autonomy of how you do things and what works for you and your classes.

Oh and making the kids write down the learning objective is back it seems which drives me fucking nuts because it's such a waste of time and the kids write at such different speeds so you've got kids sitting around waiting or doing the starter task that the others will miss out on because it takes them ten minutes to write down the bloody LO. I tend to aim for titles that are a question in which the LO is implicit.

Sorry I'm on a roll with the moaning.

Add to that that all of the bits that used to actually lift spirits and create a sense of comradery like Friday night department trips to the pub etc are gone and it just does all get a bit joyless.

I don't have a form group now as a) I'm 0.4 spread over 3 days and b) my health problems post bowel surgery mean I have a much better chance of managing work if I start from period 2 allowing time to take medications that have to be spaced out etc. However I have over double the amount of duties I should have and do 0.5 of meetings and 0.6 of parents evenings and open evenings etc and it balances out but I doubt anyone sees it that way.

I was referring to full time members of staff with mo medical health issues and are usually menbut I should have made that clearer, so I am sorry if that sounded like a dig .

Oh and just to say, they have the role of form tutor taken off them rather than support and deal with their lack of turning up on time, being able to take a register etc…