TTR0068
Written evidence submitted by Mrs Sarah Mallalieu
I am a primary practitioner, SENDCo and have been an Acting Head Teacher. I have been in the profession for 30 years. I am responding because I think the profession is in crisis and the government is looking at a catastrophe waiting to happen. Schools are not able to recruit and so are juggling the staff they do have, to do the best they can for the children in their care. It is noble, but cannot be sustained. The longer they do this, the more teachers will leave because it is simply doubling their workload for the third year in a row – first covid; then the return to school after covid; and now this. What will the government do when schools do not have anyone who is willing to stand in front of a class and teach because they are so demoralised, undervalued, underpaid and exhausted? At some point you have to put yourself and your health first. That time, for many of the profession, has come. Those left behind will end up following, if they are not replaced, because what is being asked of them is impossible. Eventually, they too will break.
These are a few of my thoughts.
Factors leading to difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified teachers – to name but a few…
It seems to be accepted by the Government as a fact of life for teachers since there is a perception that the job is done because you have a love of it. This is wrong of itself but also becomes less and less convincing as an argument when teachers lose their love of it because the lived reality of teaching does not allow you to focus on the children in the way that you would like. Once teachers realise how hard they have to work and how low their pay is compared to people with other jobs where they either work far less hours for the same money or work equally hard but receive a much greater salary, they decide to leave.
unreasonable workload – class sizes are too large, given the number of children with additional needs in each class and the amount of paperwork that is expected for each child and the planning and tracking of progress that is necessary to do a good job; behaviour of children in school, which is their way of expressing that they cannot cope with the expectations that are placed on them – not necessarily that they are badly behaved; behaviour of parents who have been empowered by the government to complain – without taking any responsibility themselves for their child’s progress and without feeling the need to support the school in any way – not just with regard to behaviour but with regard to homework or taking an interest in their child’s learning; unreasonable leadership expectations with regard to paperwork which is borne out of their fear of being able to prove to Ofsted that we do all the things that we do do, when paper evidence is not needed as the progress the children make should be evidence enough (there is no trust in the profession); not enough hours in the day to do all that is required of you – as a generalisation, most teachers when they start teaching, are conscientious people. Not being able to do the job as well as you would like to, despite spending every hour available to you, brings stress to a conscientious person.
From the Government - teaching has to respond the whim of successive governments who are not willing to have an open discussion about what the purpose of education is and how much this would actually cost to deliver. Teachers have been expected to adapt to each government’s philosophy without being given the resources to enable them to put it in to practice. Ofsted is a noble idea but it would be effective if the inspection reports were shared only with the school and their local authority. Parents do not need to know a grading – they should make their judgement on a school, having visited it. If a school was RI, then this would trigger support rather than damnation. If it were Outstanding, then it could be asked to support other schools. Used as a performance management tool rather than a marketing tool, it might be effective. It would allow governments to drive improvement where it saw the need. Public humiliation is never going to be a successful way to encourage teachers to remain in the profession.
From parents – who often believe that the education of their children is not their own responsibility but that of the state. They do not see it as a partnership between them and the school. They do not understand the purpose of education (understandably as the government is not entirely clear either) and simply expect their child to succeed without ever having to work hard – they see success is their right.
When people realise how hard you have to work to do the job well, they leave. A teacher does not only educate and inspire pupils during lesson time (which is what brings many teachers to the profession), but there is also all the paperwork and meetings with parents as a result of those lessons. They are expected to meet all the needs of the children in their class and in a class of 30 that will be (in my experience) at least 5, and often more, in each class with a different special need, with all the paperwork and meetings that entails. They are also expected to be a social worker for every child in their class on a daily basis, with all the paperwork this often entails. They are expected to lead different areas of the curriculum, with all the paperwork and meetings that entails. They are expected to be responsible for safeguarding the children, with all the paperwork and meetings that entails and to provide opportunities which make their experience of school a rich and varied one – providing cultural capital because the parents fail to do this, with all the paperwork and meetings that entails.
Previously you could satisfy yourself that it is ok for you to be paid less and work harder if in the long run you will receive a guaranteed pension pot – with the possibility of taking it at 55.
Particularly post covid – the expectations placed on teachers during covid, with no notice, of remote teaching whilst simultaneously teaching the vulnerable children or key worker children face to face, have taken their toll. Overnight that doubled the already cumbersome workload. Even now that the children have returned, we are expected to fill the gaps of their lost learning and in primary schools it is particularly noticeable that the new children coming in have suffered significantly from lack of socialisation. Continuing the trend of increasing the workload of an already overburdened profession.
Which subjects are most affected?
Obviously this matters – but the truth is that every subject is affected – even primary schools where we do not teach “subjects”, instead we teach “children” – and so there needs to be a solution that attends to the decline in ALL TEACHERS, not just the subjects “most” affected.
Impact on most disadvantaged and SEND
These children are the ones who benefit most from consistency. The disruption caused to them by staff turnover is therefore felt more acutely.
ECT training
As a concept, rather than just one NQT year, it is a good idea since covid as the ECTs are not at the same level as the NQTs when they started. This may not be the case as time passes, however. The need to train on the job for two years may keep some people in the job longer, but it may also put people off as they may feel trapped if their school has a tough catchment or senior leadership are not able to ensure their needs are met because they have issues with staffing numbers.
Teacher training
I think it is vital that teacher training includes sessions on exclusion. It ought to highlight what the likely life chances are of children who are excluded. It should emphasise that schools need to be inclusive places and that everyone has the right to a good education.
There should also be a session which explains that a teacher is also a social worker for the children in their class. They need to build relationships so that the pupils can talk about the challenges/difficulties they face at home and are then ready to learn.
Action the DfE can take
Decide the purpose of education. Decide how this can best be delivered. Ensure that what they decide is needed has the appropriate funding. Reduce class sizes to cut workload. Stop moving the goalposts. Make Ofsted an internal inspection process. Show how much the profession is valued by paying teachers a salary (and pension) commensurate to the importance of the job they do. They are responsible for the future of the country. Do NOT expect teachers to be able to educate children when they themselves are aged 60 or beyond (let them retire at 60 with their full pension – a bonus that might make up for the change in pension policy). Put yourself in their shoes. Can you imagine, as a child/teenager, having a teacher who is nearly 70 in front of the class? Can you imagine being that old and having the energy to TEACH that class?
April 2023