Unsung Heroes

Now that the new academic year is no longer 'new' many of the parents I speak to seem to be thinking further ahead towards the October half term break.  It has only been a few weeks and yet, we find ourselves craving for the time off again!  Why is that?  I realise that a lengthy 6 weeks of summer fun (8 for those in private education) can quickly turn into the summer that nightmares are made of with the expense of going abroad or staying home and the need to occupy and entertain the children, not to mention the cost of feeding them!  The food thing can't just be my house??  But is it really that bad?

For some, particularly teachers, the summer holidays really aren't long enough at all.  The holidays are a haven from marking books, building displays and ensuring school reports reflected (diplomatically) how badly or well, in most cases the pupils have been getting on. It is a respite from the balancing act of working as many as 12 hours a day and bringing books home to mark at night. 

The interesting thing is how the trend has changed over the years.  Thinking about traditional teaching twenty to thirty years ago, teachers were respected professionals in the classroom that you may have had little to do with outside of school.  Ten years ago the bureaucracy was nowhere near as plentiful as it is today-email has helped the efficiency of reaching somebody easily.  The possibility of hearing the excuse of not having time to get to your pigeon hole is about as realistic as hearing that the dog ate your pupil's homework. 

Teachers are no longer expected to be responsible for just maths and English but should be prepared to take on the nuances that come with primary aged children like social etiquette, relationships, and being a general agony aunt for those that need a safe outlet.  Many teachers are stretched to the hilt because they are wearing many different hats and indeed can sometimes appear to be surrogate parents. The school spectrum is so vast and varied and parenting differs so widely nowadays that clashes between pupils in the classroom and playground can be a product of beliefs and political views that stem from home. Arrangements of referrals and recommendations come with their own paper trail, the administration is never ending.        

Many teachers run extra curricular activities too and some hold senior leadership roles which means even more responsibility and time is required for observing lessons or mentoring and so it's no wonder teachers look forward to the summer holidays, -although many still have to come into school early for INSET days and to prepare the classroom. 

As the workload increases, so do stress levels.  According to the Office of National Statistics, teachers are in the most stressful profession in the UK.  The risk of suicide among primary and nursery school teachers was 42 per cent higher than patterns in the broader population of England during the period 2011 to 2015 and I doubt things have improved very much since then.

So what can we as parents do to help?  After all, this is what they get paid to do, right?  Perhaps, but as part of the home/school partnership, we can try to follow a few steps towards ensuring our teachers have an easier time doing a great job.  Here are a few suggestions we came up with after speaking with a group of primary school teachers from different schools in London.

1. A common trend seemed to be that teachers most want families to get 'on side' with them.  Acknowledge that they share the same end goal with us as the parents and try to listen more intently to the advice given on how to better assist the progress of the child's education.

2. Attend PTA meetings, parents evenings      and offer your support in the classroom.
Gain more understanding about what goes on in the classroom by meeting regularly and communicating often with the class teacher.  Many underestimate how much volunteering means to teachers and schools, but listening to children read in the classroom or assisting with school trips are invaluable ways to show  your support.

3. Last but not least, try to consider how best to help the teacher by monitoring your child's progress as a whole, not just academically.  How are the social skills developing?  Have you noticed a change in the way your child communicates with peers and teachers? How about doing things independently?  Encouraging the progress of these behaviours across the board is worth noting because teachers are constantly aiding the development of a child for life, in and outside of the classroom.

Teachers are our unsung heroes and here at SWP we take our hats off to those that work tirelessly for the sake of our future generations.  Primary teachers in particular have a hard time balancing the requirements of the job with the ever increasing requirements from Senior Leadership and Ofsted above them.  Many teachers express that the profession they signed up for has indeed changed and no longer matches the job description they once applied for.  The interesting side of this debate is that although some teachers are probably at their most unhappiest, this is a service the public will always require. 

Perhaps we need to pay more attention to how Senior Leadership, unions, parent associations and government can help teachers and their work-life balance so that we can get the best of them and continue to depend on this invaluable public service.