Comments on: Supply & demand: the school staffing crisis

By: Vicki

Vicki — Sun, 22 May 2016 07:25:04 +0000

Hello!what an honest depiction of teaching! It’s so refreshing to read thus article. I know that there is a very real reason for why teachers are leaving the profession! I’m a trainee teacher on a School’s Direct course and I see teachers all the time who say they are not coming back on Monday due to stress! After reading this article I am definately going to consider supply work. I am somewhat of a realist and I know all too well the nightmare of the NQT year! I am not looking forward to the horrors of working 24 7!!

By: blogmywiki

blogmywiki — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 22:42:46 +0000

Sorry to hear that, but I understand your decision. I am lucky that I have now found a job in secondary education teaching a subject I love, in a school where we are trusted to do our job and teach as we see fit. Without that I doubt I would still be teaching myself. Good luck for the future.

By: Suze

Suze — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 21:03:00 +0000

I have just resigned from teaching after 21 years. Love the students but cannot stand the constant assessment and the lottery which is the exam marking…the students may as well pick a grade out of a bag on the way out of the exam. It is utterly soul destroying and not worth the toll on mental and physical health. BUT, I do have a solution for the teaching staff shortages, two actually: 1. Make it a kind of national service so that all parents have to qualify and do at least six months in the classroom (thus reducing parental complaints) 2. Get all those people who resent our long holidays and offer them or jobs.

By: polarbear

polarbear — Thu, 02 Apr 2015 18:14:33 +0000

It is so sad to read this but it hits the nail firmly on the head. Education is in crisis. It is dying. The government has started something that may prove to be irreversible. AND..education isnt even featuring in the leaders debate….they have got away with it and no one cares…..only those actually working in school realise what is happening

By: Louise

Louise — Wed, 25 Mar 2015 18:24:45 +0000

I am a primary teacher and agree totally with everything you have said. I have been teaching for 21 years and worked as a supply teacher a couple of years ago and loved it. I would have loved to have continued on supply for the rest of my working life but could only do it for a year as I needed the higher and more regular salary that a permanent job brings. I am lucky as I work in a nursery with a great Head who does not put too much pressure on the staff. But I see all my teaching friends getting really stressed out and complaining constantly of the high work loads. When anyone tells me they are thinking of becoming s teacher I tell them to think very carefully. These days if you want to be a teacher you might just be able to cope with the stress and workload if you are a)single, b) have no children and c) have no social life!!! You are literally married to the job!!

By: j snell

j snell — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 13:37:16 +0000

An excellent article! Agree wholeheartedly. I left teaching after 31 years as it had become unsustainable as a job and I only worked 4 days a week! I became a supply teacher. I get work every day and I love it! Definitely a wise decision.

By: Jo

Jo — Sun, 22 Mar 2015 00:04:45 +0000

I’ve been teaching for 25 years. Last July I left a school I’d worked in for 22 years as the workload was crushing me. 120 books per night to ‘quality mark’ were the tip of the iceberg. Now I’m on supply, loving my teaching again and I’ve got a life again. I agree with your opinion regarding a teacher shortage-I’m in the West Midlands.