“What I’m asking for is hard. It’s easier to be cynical; to accept that change isn’t possible, and politics is hopeless, and to believe our actions and voices don’t matter…”
Barack Obama said that in his 2016 State of the Union Address, but it could just have easily been someone this week on the various education platforms we all frequent. The Support Staff pay award, SEND provision, School Estates and capital bidding, Asbestos, Free School Meals – the cost of the meals themselves… and those are just the headlines which caught my eye.
In today’s world of the “I’m right, you’re wrong” debating stance, which even in a professional sphere can quickly become abusive, it’s hard to stay engaged. Also, having just stepped away from an in-school Business Leadership post, into a consultancy role, I know I’m vulnerable to the imposter syndrome demons of “everyone knows more about this than I do, and can speak so much more eloquently about it”.
But there have been various blogs and posts this week which have made me reflect. Of course I don’t agree with everything being said, but that doesn’t make me, or you, right, or wrong, does it? If I do say what I think, is it going to have any effect? Does my voice matter?
Once you start getting into that train of thought, we’re all doomed. Of course, my voice matters, and your voice matters. If we don’t talk about this stuff, nothing will ever be resolved, evolved, improved or developed (whichever word causes you least offence).
My problem is that I know I am cynical. I find it hard to trust that our new government is going to do anything to improve Education funding, SEND allocation, public sector pay parity or the integrity of school buildings. We’ve already been talking about it for-ev-er! Are we ever going to stop talking and just get on with sorting it out? I’m not even convinced, in the current climate of change and media driven take-down, that this government have got long enough left in power to embed any changes anyway.
That doesn’t mean I think that a different government will be any better, I don’t, and I’d also say that the previous incumbents had their chance. It just seems to me that there isn’t enough of anything left in our systems, and that our expectations of what we should have, are just too high.
We all seem to be happy to forgo a sustainable farming community so that we can have cheap food. We want the NHS to be able to instantly fix our body’s every ailment and shortcoming. We want our children to have the highest standards of teaching, alongside full-time childcare supporting their social, emotional and academic needs, in line with their parents’ perceptions of their individual requirements. We want roads without potholes… We just don’t want to pay for any of it.
So, even with all my cynicism as to my ability to influence change, as I’ve been given a voice, eloquent or not, I have a duty to use it, and so should you.
- The 2024 Support Staff Pay Award. I’m hugely annoyed by this. It is disrespectful of all those loyal and hard-working staff who make the learning happen. It’s even more insulting when you note that this recent pay award is for April 2024 and therefore in the same academic year as the Teachers 2023 pay award of 6.5%. It is also much less that the £1925 agreement for April 2023.
- “Support Staff”. I’d much rather this term, to describe the variety of vital roles in our schools whose function is to support the teaching and learning, than any of the other options. If we start splitting them down further, they will receive even less representation than they do now. Maybe if Support Staff were part of one union, the voice would be stronger. I’ve never understood the thinking behind a support colleague being a member of a teaching union.
- FTE. The last I’d say on the topic of pay is that the Support Staff acceptance of term time only has got to change. If you want term time/school hours only, accept that you are only going to get 75% of the full-time equivalent pay. If you want full time work – you should be able to have it in a school, as you would anywhere. Don’t try telling me there is nothing to do when pupils and teachers aren’t there.
- School Estates. I never cease to be shocked by this. I’m worried that it is going to take a disaster to lead to the funding being found to sort out roofs, boilers, heating, alarm systems and drainage. Can we please go back to the fundamentals of “priorities”, “needs” and “wants” in sharing the pot, and take out all the political shenanigans.
We all know change is possible, but if I’m honest, I think right now there is too much noise. Too many shouting with a “one mandate” focus. Access to good education is one of the fundamental principles of a functioning, sustainable society. That access relies on a watertight, warm building, staff who are respected for their contribution, and a supportive community who see the benefit of educating and care of their children. Everything else is just fluff.
I haven’t got all the answers. I’m not going to force my viewpoint on you or let rip a torrent of abuse if you disagree with me. But if you do agree with all or some of this – you must say it too. Barak Obama was right; it is hard to make one voice heard, but I’ve left the last sentence of the title quote for the end…
“…if we give up now, then we forsake a better future.”
