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Why we’re going on strike
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| Lessons - Lexden Primary School deputy head David Milligan with pupils Nathan Allen, Tyler Lonkings, Ellie-May Griggs, Beth Spear, Fiona Scrimgour and Lucy Parker. Picture: STEVE ARGENT (77124-1) |
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There is probably no profession as in-your-face as teaching in a primary school.
The children are there, in front of you, expectant, but with not much attention span.
You can't fob them off by telling them to read text books for half-an-hour; you have to grab their imagination by making them feel part of the lesson. And it isn't easy.
But this is what attracted Helen Strutt to teaching. Before spending three years training to be a teacher, she worked in finance. The money was there, but the job satisfaction wasn't.
"I wanted to work with people and children, not figures," she said. "I wanted to do something which counts. I wanted to make a contribution."
Nine months ago, she took over year 4 (eight to nine-year-olds) at Lexden Primary School in Colchester. But tomorrow Ms Strutt will be on strike. Unless the National Union of Teachers (NUT) pulls the plug, she will join eight other NUT members from the school in the union's first national strike for 22 years.
The school, like many other primary schools in north Essex, will close, others will face the disruption of too few teachers and Essex County Council is already predicting the worst. The strike, it insists, will "adversely affect the education of our county's young people".
Which, at face value, does beg the question why do teachers, with what many would see as good salaries and more than adequate holidays, feel they have to strike?
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| Lexden Primary School teachers Helen Strutt, Debbie Newbold, Carole Farrer, Alex Candler and Lauren Turner. |
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Lexden Primary School, with its outstanding Ofsted report, pulls no punches.
The school is a little bit special. It is also the home of north-east Essex's hearing impaired unit. Currently, the unit has 19 children - some are deaf - who speak through sign language and, thanks to the efforts of the unit's staff, mix with the rest of the school.
Debbie Newbold is the unit's head.
She has been teaching for more than 20 years and came to Lexden Primary in 1990. Strike action, she said, is not an easy option.
"It has taken a long time to reach this point," she said. "We haven't just decided we want a pay rise because of the current economic climate. Strike-action was decided at the NUT annual conference last Easter (2007) after a ballot, and the Government and LEAs have known this.
"For the past three years teachers' pay awards have fallen below inflation - and, if the trend continues, they will for the next three years. Teachers want to be paid in line with inflation, especially as the pay we receive does not reflect the work we do.
"More and more teachers are leaving the profession because they are disillusioned. More than 50 per cent of new entrants leave in the first three years, and that has a direct impact on education. So, we are making a stand to prevent worsening standards in education."
Head teacher Carole Farrer came to Lexden school in 2002 as deputy head. She is right behind her staff.
She knows how hard they work, both in the classroom and in preparatory work. She also knows there is not the freedom in the classroom there once was. As Ms Newbold pointed out, teaching is "planned within an inch of our lives" by Government.
"There may be more autonomy now than there was a decade ago, but there are far more initiatives and projects generated both at county and national levels which we have to take on board," said Ms Farrer. "And teachers do, especially at this school. There is a very definite can do' attitude. My staff don't whinge."
As David Milligan insisted, there is a lot more to teaching than, well, teaching. Mr Milligan, who is deputy head and in charge of years 1 and 2 (five to seven-year-olds), said the amount of reports which teachers had to compile is "staggering".
The hours are not much better. An average day is 8am to 5pm. After 6pm there may be a teachers' meeting or meeting with parents, which frequently happens.
"This is very definitely not a 9am-5pm job," stressed Alex Candler, who takes year 5 (nine to ten-year-olds). "What people do not realise is we never get two complete days to ourselves at the weekend.
"And, yes, the holidays are good (13 weeks), but we are working for part of those holidays."
The starting salary for a teacher in Essex is £20,133.
Lauren Turner, year 3 teacher (seven to eight-year-olds) is also in charge of literacy. She began teaching three years ago and is still paying off her student loan. Negligible pay rises haven't helped. Unless that changes, that loan is going to hang around for a very long time.
A TEACHER'S WORKLOAD
Planning lessons
Classroom work - working with the whole class, groups of children, individuals
Liaison with other teachers, teaching assistants, parents and other agencies such as social services
Managing the curriculum; ensuring subjects co-ordinated across the school
Tracking - producing information and analysis on the children's strengths and weaknesses
After-school clubs
Marking schoolwork
Keeping abreast of new initiatives from the Department for Children, School and Families and local education authority (LEA - Essex County Council)
Updating IT skills
9:53am Wednesday 23rd April 2008
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CommentPosted by: Emma Gaze, Earls Colne on 4:55pm Fri 25 Apr 08
I would just like to say my children were not effected by the strike however some teachers do not deserve a pay rise!
Teachers train because they want to make a difference in childrens lives but some in my experience dislike children.
They constantly moan about their work load even when they seem unable to do right by the children their in charge of.
My experience of school was dreadful,i was bullied and beaten up,to scared to tell my mother and the teachers did nothing even when they knew exactly what was going on!
If you don't like your pay get a new job,or maybe like in some jobs they should get a pay rise by merit.
My school days were hell,should my teachers of got a pay rise while they sat on their back sides while i was beaten in the corner of the play ground?
I think not!!!!
I would just like to say my children were not effected by the strike however some teachers do not deserve a pay rise!
Teachers train because they want to make a difference in childrens lives but some in my experience dislike children.
They constantly moan about their work load even when they seem unable to do right by the children their in charge of.
My experience of school was dreadful,i was bullied and beaten up,to scared to tell my mother and the teachers did nothing even when they knew exactly what was going on!
If you don't like your pay get a new job,or maybe like in some jobs they should get a pay rise by merit.
My school days were hell,should my teachers of got a pay rise while they sat on their back sides while i was beaten in the corner of the play ground?
I think not!!!!
Posted by: AG, Colchester on 3:16pm Sat 26 Apr 08
You are very much appreciated- money isn't everything. You are giving an excellent start to these children
You are very much appreciated- money isn't everything. You are giving an excellent start to these children
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