Scores of schools around the Black Country and Staffordshire are set to close on Thursday when teachers stage their first national strike in 21 years.
Others will only partially close, leaving a headache for parents who have more than one child in the same school. The industrial action was planned after ministers announced a pay rise of 2.45 per cent, with further rises of 2.3 per cent in 2009 and 2010.
Teachers described the increases as “insulting”, saying they fell below the Retail Prices Index inflation rate of four per cent and staff faced an effective pay cut. To add further disruption, members of the Public and Commercial Services Union are also set to walkout over pay on Thursday.
The union, which represents more than 100,000 civil servants, represents workers from the Department for Work and Pensions, Home Office, Department for Transport, Driving Standards Agency, Driver and Vehicle Licencing Agency. It also represents the Highways Agency,Vehicle and Operator Services Agency, Vehicle Certification Agency and Land Registry.
The National Union of Teachers, which has 13,000 members in the West Midlands, described the pay offer as “damaging”.
The Association of Teachers and Lecturers said that membership applications had trebled since the strike was confirmed.
David Cole, Wolverhampton NUT general secretary, said that his 1,200 members were upset and angry.
He added: “We are reluctant to take strike action, our members are very professional and they do not want to strike.”
“But I think members are very angry and concerned about their pay being cut. NUT industrial action over the years is minimal but there comes a point when you have to say ‘no more, this isn’t good enough’.”
Wolverhampton education boss Councillor Christine Irvine said: “There will be some impact in Wolverhampton, obviously this is very serious action on the part of the NUT.
“We asked schools to do their own assessment as to how many of their teaching staff will be out on strike and whether that means they will need to close or make arrangements to make sure health and safety issues are properly covered.
“The instruction from the authority was to stay open wherever possible.
“Obviously there will be some schools that are not able to do that but we haven’t got the exact number yet as they have to notify us today,” added the education chief. In Worcestershire, more than 5,000 pupils are expected to be affected.
More than 30 schools in the county look set to be either fully or partially closed on Thursday.
27 Comments
Give them what they want…more money,more holidays,every week end off,shorter hours(why should they have to work past 15.30),free trips masquerading as childrens educational excursions.No discipline in schools,kids ruling the roost and when it all goes wrong,BLAME THE PARENTS.
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So easy is it well stressed parent why don’t you do it and why are there a shortage of teachers.
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If you thought it was that easy, you would be doing the job yourself ’stressed’ parent.
The strike is about none of your snipes. It is about getting a promised pay-rise that has never been delivered.
Of course, the persecuted attitide such as the one displayed in your post certainly help me to realise why some staff DO ‘blame the parents’.
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Many of the teachers I know work far more than the 1260 contracted hours. Too much paperwork and too much time spent on behaviour management, as STRESSED PARENTS let their kids get away with insolence at home and at school……..so much for working together…..hey stressed (don’t know the meaning of the word) parent?
Pay rise for all!
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just give them the pay rise so our kids can be at school on thuresday
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Striking teacher,do you mean perceived attitude?
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Nope, I mean PERSECUTED.
As in you believe that the people in this situation are better off than they make out to be/you.
There is no ‘perceived’ attitude in your first post.
There actually is attitude in your first post.
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Think this is bad? Try being unemployed..those teachers would be forced to accept minimum wage and if they ‘created a problem’ they would face sanctions. This whole country is going to the dogs.
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Here we go again - let’s put down teachers. Obviously those of you who have such an ignorant view of teaching don’t know any teachers. I have a number of friends who are teachers and they get to school at least one and a half hours before school starts and don’t leave until the caretaker is there to lock up. they have to deal with no support from parents who believe every word their child comes home and tells them - even when it’s just so they don’t get into trouble. They have their hands tied in school as far as discipline is concerned. They have a mountain of paperwork to do every night and every weekend. My friends spend most of Sunday planning for the next week. They have the stress of OFSTED. And I don’t know anyone who actually takes off the whole of the summer holiday or Easter or any holiday for that matter. They’re in school working. So before these stressed parents start shouting their mouths off, go in to schools, volunteer and spend a day in a teachers shoes. If you can’t say anything positive don’t say anything. You get free childcare 5 days a week so quit complaining. They should be getting double their pay not having to fight for what they deserve for the work they do.
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do we get a reduction in our council tax if the teachers are on strike for the day or do they get payed as normal
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I work as a teaching assistant in a secondary school and i am also a father of 2 so i feel i sit somewhere in the middle. The teachers at my school are under a tremendous amount of stress from the, at times, almost uncontrolable behaviour of the pupils, it can sometimes take 10 minutes or more to get order in the classroom. I, and others, feel a lot of the behaviour comes from the lack of discipline at home. When we were at school our behaviour was somewhat controlled by the fear of taking it too far and ending up in trouble at home. I feel this ‘fear factor’ does not exist to the same degree !!
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Im a teacher and i am in at 7.30 every morning to prepare for 4 lessons in the day. I would ask anyone who thinks its easy to come into my classroom and teach 30 reception children! Anyone??. You cant let your guard down for a second, no having a cuppa tea and chatting with your collegues during the day for 5 minutes. it is a constant focus. Plus we have parents bringing their children to school when they are ill, making other teacher unwell and having to have time off! I have been abused more than once by parents thinking there children are angels and wont accept bad behaviour, and when we finally get time off i spend half of the week planning and marking work. We deserve a pay rise and more!
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I can’t see that teachers today have improved. We had wonderful teachers, they controlled their class and taught us well. We respected them, the damage started when teachers said call me ‘by my first name’, became more like a buddy than a teacher, and because of leftwing bias anyone could obtain a teaching certificate.
Having seen children leave school with poor reading and writing skills, unable to communicate, you have to wonder exactly what they are being taught today.
Maybe teachers would have more respect if they did the job they were paid for, instead of banning the Army etc. from recruiting, if they thought twice about striking, and if they were able to manage the English language better themselves.
I understand they have difficult children, but so did teachers in the years gone past, unfortunately, their leftwing ilk are destroying the Country.
Sympathy with teachers, sorry none at all, they need to work how the private sector does, without all the benefits they have.
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Fair enough they were promised a pay rise and havent got it but if everyone everywhere walked out of there job due to promises not happening then the whole country would come to a standstill.
I am a parent and I work around the school hours for poor wages as this is what you have to do, if teachers truly arent happy then choose another career.
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all the teachers think about them self never mind the childrens edgeucations don’t you think they get enought time off without haveing more
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Friend of teacher - totally agree with you - I know teachers work very hard during the summer, preparing new ciriculums etc, marking work……. Oh an Ken get a job and stop moaning!!
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So teachers are going to get a pay rise for the next three years? Why are they striking? The way things are going with the economy, many people will be spending the next 3 years dodging redundancy and thankful to keep hold of their jobs! If you think the private sector is a breeze, think again - certainly no transparency re pay deas. We would all enjoy better pay but time for a bit of lateral thinking and a reality check. And, to be perfectly honest, could do without the distruption on Thursday. This won’t win you any friends NUT.
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I think some parents would like their children in school 24/7 so that they don’t have to look after them themselves, I gave up work to spend the early years with my children, I can do without the fancy holidays, the fancy cars and the big house, it’s all worth it when I can be there for every holiday, every assembly, every christmas concert, and i’ve seen the sad faces on the children who’s parents “could’nt get time off work” to attend, I do a morning stint on a voluntary basis in my childs’ primary school, it is mentally exhausting and you are never alone to carry out everyday tasks, some children are lovely. some are difficult and some are tomorrows ‘asbos’, but they are all cared for, they are all safe and they are all taught equally, I am starting a course to become a classroom assistant and thank the school for giving me an insight in to school life without having to put up with ignorant parents and their “little angels”, everyone deserves and needs a payrise, I feel in the currant climate there will be many more strikes most of you are just brassed off that you were not the first!
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Fair comment Karen HOWEVER, in your day Society was more controlled. The rights of the thug did not outweigh the rights of the many. Respect for adults was greater and so was that for authority. Try disciplining a little erk who will openly turn round and say “what can you do to me .. now *^$£ off”. Its easy to draw on the past when your not in the thick of it now !
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Obviously Victoria Green wants more from education than she was prepared to spend.
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I agree with comment nine apart from free childcare quip….As a working parent I’ve paid high costs for childcare and don’t see school as childcare - I see it as hopefully giving my daughter the education she deserves.
But lets look at this from another angle:
Before Xmas my daughter said most teachers opted to let the children read mags or watch dvds for about a week prior to break-up. Shes in a good set so if her class watch Mr. Bean dvds then what chance have pupils who are struggling got?
Last week the same high school was closed for a ‘moderation day’(?).
This week its the strike (school closed)
And the week after will be Election Day (school closed)
Followed by May Day Bank Holiday but if I dared to take her out of school during termtime for a much needed cheap family break there would be hell to pay.
Comment 15 obviously didn’t have much education due to poor spelling.
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i dont blame the teachers at all i just think the timing is all wrongs s a t s & g c s es its shame for the kids because they do stress about these things
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no.5 i think you need to go back to school your spelling is terrible,plus the teachers get tons of holidays, then they have monday’s off after the holidays for teacher training,they should try living on between 5-6 an hour like 40% of the country do, then they would have something to moan about,just get back and do your jobs before the polish start teaching our kids.
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I am a single parent, (through no fault of my own) who has to work because the government says I have to. We last had a holiday three and a half years ago, my car is old and battered and most of our clothes come from charity shops. We seldom go out as a family because things cost too much and yes, when the weather is good we do go out to parks and for walks. I survive on 12k p.a…….Maybe the time is coming for children to be treated like children again, instead of letting them dictate as much as they do. Bring back the old respect and values then perhaps there will be fewer teachers suffering from stress.
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I agree with Carol and also have to say that I have also seen both sides of the coin.
I used to work in a supermarket trying to make ends meet as a single parent and chose to retrain at great cost to myself and become a teacher.
I don’t think lots of people realise how much planning etc has to be done. I, for one am in work at 7.20 most mornings and work late most evenings, not to mention weekend and holiday work!! How many ‘parents’ still work once they clock off or drive home(apart from housework, which we all have to do)?
For those parents who I’ve encountered who can’t make parents’ evenings(which are planned well in advance) or who come into school and complain that they ‘can’t do anything with their children’ and ‘our **** wouldn’t do that’, I’d like to say accept your responsibilities as parents; stop blaming teachers for your own shortcomings and support the schools your children attend. Spend a day in classes with your child and then judge the teachers!!
Education starts at home; parents should spend time and provide their children with the basic skills of reading and writing instead of creating their ‘own space’ by sending them to ‘play’ with computers,etc in their rooms.
Some kids don’t know what it’s like to spend quality time with their parents-probably the first ones to criticize us!!
To agree with working mom, comment 21, I sympathise as regards the holiday prices at peak times-but we have to pay them too!!Our holiday times are not optional, what’s a cheap, well needed break?
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For people commenting about working for minimum wage - did you go to university for 4 years?
‘If teachers are not happy then find another job’ - whos going to teach when all teachers leave the profession? We are struggling as it is!
‘all the teachers think about them self never mind the childrens edgeucations’ - as a teacher and parent I am more concerned about my sons future and his education. I want to provide him with everything that I can.
Beleive it or not, teachers do care about the children they teach. Does the government care about the children?
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I do not know whether to laugh or cry! Did someone say something about the Polish teaching their children? Well, here is an African who is already teaching your child!
Today, I chose to be in with my 6th form class so they can complete their coursework even though I could have gone on strike. I am in school everyday about 7.20. I do not leave untill about 4.30 and sometimes 5.00pm. Because I hate taking work home apart from reports on the laptop, I prefer to come into school some Saturdays to catch up with my marking and planning. I will be in school this Saturday to help out with year 11 coursework. And it goes on and on.
The best part of my job is working with delighful pupils who show respect, are polite and willing to learn. The worst, getting no support from parents whose children are rude, abusive, loud, disruptive, prevent me from teaching and their peers from learning.
The pay - I used to survive two or so years back. Now, I really struggle a lot to make ends meet. The stand-off between parents and teachers is regrettable and unhelpful, and untill there is discipline and respect for teachers in the classroon, and untill the pay reflects the stress and workload of the profession few people will want to be teachers. Few of the pupils that I teach do actually want to be teachers and it seems the trend will continue. Had I known that teaching in the UK was not as satisfying as teaching in Africa, I would not have chosen that as my proffession in the UK and yes, I will be leaving teaching soon!
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