Striking Problems
Striking Problems
More than a fifth of England’s schools were closed on Thursday 10th July 2014 during a strike by the National Union of Teachers, according to government figures. The NUT said most schools had been completely or partially closed. Schools were closed across England and Wales. Many parents had to find emergency childcare or take the day off work.
The strike was over changes to teachers’ pay, pensions and conditions. The Education Secretary Michael Gove wants to introduce Performance-related pay, which is not suitable for schools, as they work in a collaborative fashion. While no teacher expects to work nine to five, many are working 60 hours a week, which is not sustainable. Consequently, thousands of good, experienced teachers are leaving or considering leaving their job. Ofsted itself says that two in five teachers are leaving the profession in their first five years. Further strike action will only disrupt parents’ lives, hold back children’s education and damage the reputation of the profession.
Fundamentally, this is all due to a squeeze in public spending. So who is going to suffer the most? In my opinion, it is the children and the parents. Therefore, at Excel in Key Subjects, we aim to help fill all the gaps in children’s understanding by providing outstanding teachers with very small groups of 6-8. This enables them to fast track in their preparation for their exams.
If you have any questions relating to the topics raised in this post or education in general please let us know. If you would like to speak to a member of our advisory team about any education-related matter, please feel free to contact us through the following media: Tel 020 7112 4832; Email [email protected]; Web: www.excelinkeysubjects.com
Dr Jon Cartmell
PhD MA(Cantab) MA(Leadership) DMS PGCE
Director of Curriculum