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More East Lancs schools to close due to teachers' strike

4:20pm Wednesday 23rd April 2008

comment Comments (68)   Have your say »


PUPILS at dozens of schools across East Lancashire will have the day off tomorrow as their teachers go out on strike.

Teachers across the country will be protesting against the government's proposed 2.45% pay increase - an award they say amounts to a real-terms pay cut because of national inflation rates of more than 4%.

JOIN THE DEBATE

What do you think of the strike action? Add your comments below.

It will be the first national teachers' strike since 1987.

Peter Morgan, strategic director of children's services at Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council, said: "Decisions on school closures are the responsibility of the head teacher in consultation with their chair of governors.

"Any decision to close a school is only made as a last resort when there is no alternative available.

"In line with national guidance, all schools in Blackburn with Darwen have looked at how they can stay open for pupils.

"However, after carrying out a careful risk assessment, a number have decided they will have to close and parents will now be informed.

"In most cases the schools will remain open to other staff who are not on strike so that they can continue to plan and prepare lessons."

Lancashire County Council workers have warned that schools do not necessarily have to inform the council if they are intending to shut their doors for the day.

County Councillor Vali Patel, cabinet member for schools, said: "It is unfortunate that the situation has reached the point where teachers' unions feel that industrial action is unavoidable with the disruption to schools that inevitably follows.

"Schools largely run themselves, so head-teachers must decide how to react to the NUT strike, based on the particular circumstances at their individual schools.

"The County Council will, of course, offer support, but they will make their own decisions.

"In the event that a school has to close, it will be the parents' responsibility to look after their children, as they would on any other day they were out of school."

SCHOOLS SET TO CLOSE TOMORROW

  • BURNLEY Barden Junior School, Burnley Holy Trinity Church of England Primary School, Burnley St James' Lanhead Church of England Primary School, Burnley St Stephen's Church of England Voluntary Aided Primary School, Burnley Stoneyholme Community Primary School, Burnley Whittlefield Primary School, Cherry Fold Community Primary School, Ridgewood Community High School, St John the Baptist RC Primary, Burnley, St John the Baptist RC Primary, Padiham, Unity College.
  • CHORLEY: Buckshw Primary School, Chorley Astley Park, Chorley Southlands HS, Chorley St Peter's CE Primary, Christ Church Charnock Richard CE Primary, Clayton Brook PS, Highfield Primary, Sacred Heart Catholic Primary, St Joseph's Catholic Primary.
  • HYNDBURN: Accrington St John with St Augustine CE Primary, Belthorn Foundation Primary, Broadfield School, Mount Carmel RC High, Oswaldtwistle Moor End Community Primary, Rishton Methodist, St Charles' RC Primary, Rishton.
  • PENDLE: Barnoldswick Gisburn Road Primary, Barnoldswick West Craven High Tech College, Barrowford St Thomas CE Primary, Colne Lord Street School, Earby Springfield Primary, Nelson Lomeshaye Junior School.
  • RIBBLE VALLEY: Bowland HS, Clitheroe RGS, Langho and Billington St Leonard's CE, Ribblesdale HS, Thorneyholme RC Primary.
  • ROSSENDALE: Bacup Nursery School, Bacup St Saviour's Community Primary, Haslingden HS Specialist ARts College, Northern Primary, Rawtenstall St Paul's Constable Lee CE Primary, Whitworth Community HS.
  • BLACKBURN with DARWEN: Ashleigh, Audley Infants, Audley Juniors, Avondale, Beardwood, Blackburn the Redeemer, Cedars, Crosshill, Daisyfield, Darwen Moorland, Darwen Vale, Edgworth, Feniscowles, Griffin Park, Hawthorns, Holy Trinity, Intack, Longshaw Infants, Longshaw Juniors, Lower Darwen, Meadowhead Infants, Meadowhead Juniors, Newfield (exempted), Our Lady & St John, Pleckgate, Roe Lee Park, Sacred Heart RC, Shadsworth Infants, Shadsworth Juniors, St Aidan's CE, St Alban's RC, St Antony's RC, St Barnabas & St Paul CE, St Cuthbert's RC. St Francis, St James CE, St James CE, Darwen, St James CE, Lower Darwen, St Joseph's, St Luke & St Philips, St Matthew's CE, St Michael with St John CE, St Paus CE, St Pauls RC, St Silas CE, St Stephen's Infants, St Stephen's Juniors, St Thomas, St Wilfrids, Sudell, Sunnyhurst Centre, Wensley Fold CE, Witton Park.

Your Say YourLancashire Telegraph

stressed out mum, bburn says...
10:54am Tue 22 Apr 08

yet another day where we have to fork out for childcare during the school term or lose a days annual leave.

Darrener, says...
10:55am Tue 22 Apr 08

Quite a few of those 'Blackburn schools' that will be closed are actually in Darwen.

stooball66, backburn says...
10:56am Tue 22 Apr 08

Isnt 3and a half months holiday enough for them.Some one here is milking the system.

WayneKerr, says...
11:22am Tue 22 Apr 08

These are just ANOTHER group of people wanting to go on strike.

Add to the list:

Prison officers

Pensions dept

Benefits dept

Police

fire Brigade

Mental health workers

Royal mail

BA Pilots

Not forgetting the oil refinary workers who are going out next week for 2 days.

No doubt there are many others too.

NuLabour same old problem. The country at a standstill.

Bill, Burnley says...
11:24am Tue 22 Apr 08

stooball66 wrote:
Isnt 3and a half months holiday enough for them.Some one here is milking the system.
Whether teachers are appropriately remunerated is not the point here. The point is that you seem to think they should not have any right to take industrial action because you think they are well-paid. Imagine if the government only allowed people to strike if they agreed they should have been paying them more anyway. A bit more thought please, before you unleash your devastating intelligence on a world that may not be ready for it.

escaped, Spain says...
11:50am Tue 22 Apr 08

25 hours a week.
25 weeks a year.
£25/30 grand a year.
That to me is very good pay for a part time job.
Having said that though, Teachers are no different from their political masters who also work few hours per day and have extremely long 'recesses' and award themselves huge inflation busting pay rises.

nicola, blackburn says...
12:31pm Tue 22 Apr 08

well i work for the nhs and we have just been told that for the next 3 years we are to received just over 2% payrise for each year so the school aren't the only ones out of pocket

iain, Burnley, says...
12:39pm Tue 22 Apr 08

4 years University/training.
With no goverment handouts unlike nurses
3/5 hrs day in preperation or marking after school
20k starting wage if they can find a job at all. Aggressive pupils and evenmore aggressive parents.Sounds like agood part time job to me find out the true facts before you spout off about the average teacher today

anon, darwen says...
12:55pm Tue 22 Apr 08

please can you get your facts right LET. i have just spoken to St Barnabas C of E who say they are open as usual, not as in your article!!!!

That's so raven, says...
1:09pm Tue 22 Apr 08

We go up, we go down, we don't care if the school falls down. No more Englise no more Maths no more sitting on the old school bench. If the teacher interferes we'll tie her up and box her ears. If that doesnt serve her right we'll blow her up with a dynamite.

simon, harwood says...
1:58pm Tue 22 Apr 08

stooball66 wrote:
Isnt 3and a half months holiday enough for them.Some one here is milking the system.
you need to get yourself into school and see what they have to put up with, then you need to go home with them and see how much work they do, then vist the school during hols and just see how many teachers are actually in. dont forget that they also work during breaks and lunch breaks. Different matter when you want to take your kids on holiday during term time, that should compensate you for any loss of earning during the strike, come on teachers you go for it!!!

Burnley Taxpayer, Burnley says...
4:35pm Tue 22 Apr 08

iain, Burnley wrote:
4 years University/training. With no goverment handouts unlike nurses 3/5 hrs day in preperation or marking after school 20k starting wage if they can find a job at all. Aggressive pupils and evenmore aggressive parents.Sounds like agood part time job to me find out the true facts before you spout off about the average teacher today
Well said Iain. You wouldn't get me back in a school for double the salary. Some of those complaining should try it sometime - assuming they can manage the years of training and poverty before starting.

Jo, Darwen says...
5:10pm Tue 22 Apr 08

Bill wrote:
stooball66 wrote: Isnt 3and a half months holiday enough for them.Some one here is milking the system.
Whether teachers are appropriately remunerated is not the point here. The point is that you seem to think they should not have any right to take industrial action because you think they are well-paid. Imagine if the government only allowed people to strike if they agreed they should have been paying them more anyway. A bit more thought please, before you unleash your devastating intelligence on a world that may not be ready for it.
Love it! Excellent reposte Bill...

Karen, Blackburn says...
5:11pm Tue 22 Apr 08

Bill wrote:
stooball66 wrote: Isnt 3and a half months holiday enough for them.Some one here is milking the system.
Whether teachers are appropriately remunerated is not the point here. The point is that you seem to think they should not have any right to take industrial action because you think they are well-paid. Imagine if the government only allowed people to strike if they agreed they should have been paying them more anyway. A bit more thought please, before you unleash your devastating intelligence on a world that may not be ready for it.
Bill from Burnley, not a teacher by any chance? Your response is typically patronising enough. What about all the Support staff receiving cuts of £3000 a year in Blackburn. There isnt any money for those, why do the teachers believe there is any for them. Pure selfishness.

simon, Gt Harwood says...
5:14pm Tue 22 Apr 08

Karen, so thats the teachers fault then, lets blame them for the closure of coal mines amd Raffa when he loses his job!!!!

John, Accrington says...
5:20pm Tue 22 Apr 08

I understand Teachers have a tough job. but why are they not striking to address the issues which make the job difficult. They would get more support. More money won't really improve things. Besides, only 33% of the one out of 3 unions is hardly a mandate to disrupt our childrens education.

Karen, Blackburn says...
5:27pm Tue 22 Apr 08

simon wrote:
Karen, so thats the teachers fault then, lets blame them for the closure of coal mines amd Raffa when he loses his job!!!!
Read my post, I did'nt say that the teachers were responsible. I am just reminding people that others (including school support staff) have just faced incredible salary reductions. This is because this Government has bankrupted us (Again)so there is obviously no money. I feel that to strike now is insensitive.

simon, gt harwood says...
5:33pm Tue 22 Apr 08

Thats Blackburn who pull out of Traveller education service to save money and not put much in its place to support these children!!

Retired Teacher, says...
6:28pm Tue 22 Apr 08

Not all schools are closing...check with your child's school to find out for certain

asif khan, blackburn says...
10:29pm Tue 22 Apr 08

the lower paid workers never get to strike,it either you do your job or you know where the door is

trev, barrowford says...
1:26am Wed 23 Apr 08

So much pay for so little work, How about giving them miniumum wage to start on , they dont know how lucky they are,god help the kids

Jacquie, says...
2:26am Wed 23 Apr 08

Going on strike! for what. The cheeky B's had the cheek to ask us to pay £700 for 1 weeks sking for my 2 kids. We can all go for 10 days for £900. Two adults and two kids, when i read the small print it states.
We are paying for the teachers to go and for all their food Ect. What p8888D me off most of all is they get paied their full money on an over time basis for going on a trip we are paying for them to go on.
Now that is taking the P**s.
Never mind that they get so many free places because of the numbers going yet we are still paying for all of them!!!

Q. How many other parents have been raped or bu****ed by their schools without as much as a thankyou for the plaesure.
If you dont let you kids go then the other kids take the P**s out of them because they are not going and i can tell you the School are aware of this but dont give a dam.


Jacquie, says...
2:29am Wed 23 Apr 08

Sorry i have miss led you a little its not £700 for my two kids it's £700 for ecach of my two kids £1400. Lets all go!

Andy, Blackburn says...
6:44am Wed 23 Apr 08

Who forced these people to become teachers? They knew the terms of employment before they joined. If you hate a job so much (for whatever reason) then leave! Oh, actually they probably can't - they won't get a job anywhere else because they are not used to working a full time hours or having weeks and weeks of holidays. Surprised that the strike day isn't on Friday so they can have a long weekend.

john, blackburn says...
9:14am Wed 23 Apr 08

what a cheek these teachers have ,if anything they need a pay cut ,as for the school my kids go to ,sport is a no go, no breakfast club, footballs are banned ,and targets are more inportant than the pupils education and you want more money ,WHAT A JOKE

simon, gt harwood says...
9:29am Wed 23 Apr 08

Jacquie wrote:
Sorry i have miss led you a little its not £700 for my two kids it's £700 for ecach of my two kids £1400. Lets all go!
ah! so its the teachers fault you have to pay 1400.

fed up, blackburn says...
10:25am Wed 23 Apr 08

for all of you who obviously have no respect for teachers, who think they are lazy and overpaid, take your kids out of school and home school them. Their teachers obviously aren't good enough for them in your eyes so do it yourselves. See how well your kids do then.

Dave, Out of here soon says...
10:31am Wed 23 Apr 08

Andy wrote:
Who forced these people to become teachers? They knew the terms of employment before they joined. If you hate a job so much (for whatever reason) then leave! Oh, actually they probably can't - they won't get a job anywhere else because they are not used to working a full time hours or having weeks and weeks of holidays. Surprised that the strike day isn't on Friday so they can have a long weekend.
Well said Andy. Those that can DO. those that can't TEACH!

You made your choices teachers. Now live with it or get a job in the REAL world. I really worry what these NIMBY PC pratts are filling my kids heads with.

P.S. If you really feel the need to strike, why not hold the strike on a "Teacher training day"......? You sad excuses.

Simon, harwood says...
10:47am Wed 23 Apr 08

Dave, get yourself to a local school and see whats going on, its a good job they did make them choices because with people like you around, what hope have we got!!

Ruth, Burnley says...
10:54am Wed 23 Apr 08

Most private-sector workers have had no more than 2.5% this year, and we haven't had the 3-4% increases that the public sector had in the years the government was feeling flush.

My wage increases are well below inflation, as are all my friends', so I don't see why my money should be used to give public-service workers an even better deal than they get already. Flexitime, properly-regulated overtime, holidays when you actually want them, protected pension schemes are all pipe dreams to most of us.

Teachers, economy can't afford your pay increases, and sorry, but your job is no more difficult than the rest. The economy is in a state and its squeezing all our wages. Get used to it.

justme, bburn says...
11:21am Wed 23 Apr 08

Although i'm not in agreement with the teachers strike,i have to just say that my childs school(our lady's) has cancelled the next teacher training day to make up for the day lost through the strike action.so, a little common sense at one school at least then.

Steve, Oswaldtwistle says...
11:25am Wed 23 Apr 08

Ruth, "Flexitime" - Teachers don't get flexitime; "properly-regulated overtime" - despite working long hours in the evening marking work and at the weekends planning, they don't get overtime; "holidays when you want them" - I don't see teachers having time off during the term time to allow them to get cut price holidays like the pupils parents can !!. As for your last comment, are you offering to take a class for a day ??? Have you and all your friends spent 4 years at university learning for your job??? (And no, I'm not a teacher !!)

Tony, Darwen says...
11:25am Wed 23 Apr 08

Typical teachers they get the pay rises then dont perform then say they need more money, what to under perform again whinging about the pressure of SATS guess what if they were good at their jobs they would not worry and lets put into prospective they have a decent wage and what they forget is being under the council umbrella they unlike most non council workers are not having their pension benefits cut while being asked for more contributions what effect does this have, this in itself compared to most is a very good pay rise which as to be paid by the council tax payer

Paul, Rishton says...
11:34am Wed 23 Apr 08

Steve wrote:
Ruth, "Flexitime" - Teachers don't get flexitime; "properly-regulated overtime" - despite working long hours in the evening marking work and at the weekends planning, they don't get overtime; "holidays when you want them" - I don't see teachers having time off during the term time to allow them to get cut price holidays like the pupils parents can !!. As for your last comment, are you offering to take a class for a day ??? Have you and all your friends spent 4 years at university learning for your job??? (And no, I'm not a teacher !!)
I'm sure Ruth would do a good as job as you Steve, if teachers weer so good after their 4 years training why do so many schools under perform, why after this training vcan they not control the cleassroom, seems that they are not actually doing what they are paid and trained for, oh and dont forgety Steve the training is not totally paid for by the teacher

Steve, Oswaldtwistle says...
11:37am Wed 23 Apr 08

Tony, The issue with performance is that you can't put brains where there aren't any. A large number of the kids today aren't interetsed in learning and their parents aren't bothered. Kids are going into schools at 5 years old and some of them can't even count to 10 or write their name. Why? Because the parents aren't bothered either and can't be arsed sitting with them to teach them simple basics before they get to school. So before you start tsalking about underperforming teachers, try taking a look at their parents !!!

Fenni Parent, Feniscowles says...
12:05pm Wed 23 Apr 08

Get your facts right LET. Feniscowles primary is closed on Thursday and you have stated it's open !!

I give up, Up North says...
12:24pm Wed 23 Apr 08

Most teachers these days are c**p.Not all but most.
I have a good friend who did miserably in her GCSE'S.She got 2C's n the rest were D's E's n F's.
Now will some one please tell me how the hell she went on to do A levels (n did pretty awful in them to),N then guess what....?
She went to Uni for teacher training!(n still wasn't the brightest ).N she has been teaching kids down south as a Primary teacher for the last 12yrs.
Best of it is she has told me herself that she puts sums on the board n then asks the clever kid to show the class because she hasn't got a clue!Basically she has blagged it n earns a good wage for it.

N surely teachers should be the cream of the crop.Only the best should be allowed to train.But no - do appalling in your exams n you too can still apply to teach kids.
Its a joke.Which is why teaching standards have gone down and down.

I give up, Up North says...
12:28pm Wed 23 Apr 08

In response to Jacquie.
My teacher friend has been all over the world on school trips.You wouldn't believe some of the places.N yes she puts forward to take a trip abroad because you guessed right....she gets an all expenses paid freebie on the backs of you lot.

Anthony, blackburn says...
12:35pm Wed 23 Apr 08

Those who can't - teach!

anthony, blackburn says...
12:37pm Wed 23 Apr 08

Those who can't - teach!

Burnley Taxpayer, Burnley says...
2:36pm Wed 23 Apr 08

anthony wrote:
Those who can't - teach!
And those who can't teach sit around complaining about teachers! Try the job yourself and see how the reality is different from the perception - assuming you have the brains to do so.
And no, I'm not a teacher, just a parent who knows the difference a good teacher makes to a child.

Teacher on Strike, Home says...
2:42pm Wed 23 Apr 08

It's great this teaching lark..........you should try it some day!

Anthony, Blackburn says...
2:58pm Wed 23 Apr 08

Burnley Taxpayer wrote:
anthony wrote: Those who can't - teach!
And those who can't teach sit around complaining about teachers! Try the job yourself and see how the reality is different from the perception - assuming you have the brains to do so. And no, I'm not a teacher, just a parent who knows the difference a good teacher makes to a child.
Yes I do know what makes a good teacher and unfortunately there are not enough of them. When I was at University those who could not get jobs decided to do an extra year teacher training 1) extend the student life 2)because they think its easier to get a job teaching. I know someone who always wanted to be a teacher and they are a good teacher, thats the difference there are to many of the former kind and its is the bad ones who enjoy the perks and do the bare minimum which gets on everyones wick when they complain, expecially about pay which is not bad compaered to other more demanding jobs.

put kids first, Darwen says...
4:17pm Wed 23 Apr 08

Stressed out mum ; Why did you have kids if you farm them out to a childminder ?? You will probably end up with stressed out kids to follow in your footsteps. The teachers are exercising their right to strike like most other occupations are free to do.

Jack, Blackburn says...
5:34pm Wed 23 Apr 08

Just for the record, remember that not all teachers are going on strike. Some have got principles, and actually the ones that are striking are generally the worst examples. Very Sad.

School of Rock, Blackburn says...
5:36pm Wed 23 Apr 08

"Those who can't do teach, those who can't teach, teach gym. Am I right?"

Jack Black

Liz, Blackburn says...
6:04pm Wed 23 Apr 08

justme wrote:
Although i'm not in agreement with the teachers strike,i have to just say that my childs school(our lady's) has cancelled the next teacher training day to make up for the day lost through the strike action.so, a little common sense at one school at least then.
Don't worry, if its OLSJ, the kids wouldn't be missing much anyway.

adam, London says...
7:31pm Wed 23 Apr 08

I give up wrote:
Most teachers these days are c**p.Not all but most. I have a good friend who did miserably in her GCSE\'S.She got 2C\'s n the rest were D\'s E\'s n F\'s. Now will some one please tell me how the hell she went on to do A levels (n did pretty awful in them to),N then guess what....? She went to Uni for teacher training!(n still wasn\'t the brightest ).N she has been teaching kids down south as a Primary teacher for the last 12yrs. Best of it is she has told me herself that she puts sums on the board n then asks the clever kid to show the class because she hasn\'t got a clue!Basically she has blagged it n earns a good wage for it. N surely teachers should be the cream of the crop.Only the best should be allowed to train.But no - do appalling in your exams n you too can still apply to teach kids. Its a joke.Which is why teaching standards have gone down and down.
You need Maths, English and for Primary Science too. These subjects must be grade C and above. If you friend does not have these they are not a fully qualified teacher. Looks like she has "blagged" you too.

Tony, says...
9:23pm Wed 23 Apr 08

Strange I saw one of the other unions representing teachers on the news saying the body which as been in place for the last few years said the pay offer was fair yet this is not accepted by the NUT, the representative went on to say how unfair they thought the NUT calling for this strike before exams are due, to me its a true reflection of how arragont and ignorant the NUT are to helping our kids

Tracey, Burnley says...
9:54pm Wed 23 Apr 08

I cannot believe the ignorance of people out there. I arrive at work at 8am and don't leave before 5.30pm. I then take work home in the evening. On nights when there are meetings it can be after 9pm when I get home. Parents just expect us to give up our time to look after their kids for longer. And what thanks do we get? Teaching is a difficult enough job without the numerous initiatives put on us by the Government (without the money given to schools to implement them), and the parents who constantly complain about schools and lack of discipline etc. It's about time parents took responsibility for their own children's behaviour and discipline them themselves. We are there to TEACH, not do the parents' job. It's about time teachers stood up for themselves - they've been walked over for far too long. And yes, I am a teacher and proud of it!

teacher, Blackburn says...
10:47pm Wed 23 Apr 08

quote
I'm sure Ruth would do a good as job as you Steve, if teachers weer so good after their 4 years training why do so many schools under perform, why after this training vcan they not control the cleassroom, seems that they are not actually doing what they are paid and trained for, oh and dont forgety Steve the training is not totally paid for by the teacher
quote
Paul in Rishton, perhaps if the parents who are all on here complaining about teachers striking actually brought their kids up with a bit more respect for their teachers then the job might not be as hard and we wouldn't be asking for more money for basically being parents, as well as trying to teach them something.

You get in a classroom and try to teach disinterested kids who no matter how exciting you make each lesson, refuse to co-operate, swear, shout and be generally obnoxious to those who they should have a lot more respect for.

The trouble is with our society these days is that we find it too hard to say no and are not harsh enough when it comes to telling parents how they should bring up their children.

Less of this namby pamby 'human rights' rubbish. Right or wrong needs to be brought back with consequences for the wrongs in our society. Until that changes and children have a bit more respect for their elders then teachers will continue to demand more money and rightly so. End of.

jay, Blackburnia says...
11:56pm Wed 23 Apr 08

25 hours a week.
25 weeks a year.
£25/30 grand a year.
That to me is very good pay for a part time job.
Having said that though, Teachers are no different from their political masters who also work few hours per day and have extremely long 'recesses' and award themselves huge inflation busting pay rises.


You are a dumb if you think thats all they do.

Try 50 - 55 hours a week.I should know






I give up, Up North says...
12:51am Thu 24 Apr 08

adam wrote:
I give up wrote: Most teachers these days are c**p.Not all but most. I have a good friend who did miserably in her GCSE\'S.She got 2C\'s n the rest were D\'s E\'s n F\'s. Now will some one please tell me how the hell she went on to do A levels (n did pretty awful in them to),N then guess what....? She went to Uni for teacher training!(n still wasn\'t the brightest ).N she has been teaching kids down south as a Primary teacher for the last 12yrs. Best of it is she has told me herself that she puts sums on the board n then asks the clever kid to show the class because she hasn\'t got a clue!Basically she has blagged it n earns a good wage for it. N surely teachers should be the cream of the crop.Only the best should be allowed to train.But no - do appalling in your exams n you too can still apply to teach kids. Its a joke.Which is why teaching standards have gone down and down.
You need Maths, English and for Primary Science too. These subjects must be grade C and above. If you friend does not have these they are not a fully qualified teacher. Looks like she has "blagged" you too.
Sorry but I was with her when we got our results.
If anything it's the kids that are being blagged by the people up above who let folk with crap qualifications into the system.
There's always some Uni somewhere that's willing to take you on regardless.

Robert Mugabe, On the dole looks lke for good says...
4:56am Thu 24 Apr 08

Think yourselves lucky to be in a job, i have been unemployed for a long time and i must have applied for over a thousand jobs still no luck,

Steve, oswaldtwistle says...
9:06am Thu 24 Apr 08

Paul of Rishton; You're quite right, the Teachers don't pay for their training at University were they study to get their Teaching degree....Oh don't forget, before the introduction of university fees no one who got a degree did, me included !! So use that argument for everyone who has a degree !! "Why can they not control the kids"; well, this is simple. The parents do not teach respect, when a child does something they shouldn't have done and are told so the parents go into school to complain because "my child is not like that". So we have no way for the teachers to enforce punishments (bring back the cane; and for those ferel idiots running wild around the streets, birching) and the parents are not only failing to sit, read, teach simple writing to the children, but then they are punished they complain about it !!!

justme, bburn says...
10:32am Thu 24 Apr 08

Liz wrote:
justme wrote: Although i'm not in agreement with the teachers strike,i have to just say that my childs school(our lady's) has cancelled the next teacher training day to make up for the day lost through the strike action.so, a little common sense at one school at least then.
Don't worry, if its OLSJ, the kids wouldn't be missing much anyway.
Liz. Where do your children go then?

lobotomised, Burnley says...
1:14pm Thu 24 Apr 08

Two things:
1. I have just had a lobotomy can i be a retard teacher
2. Lets be honest most of the kids in school won't amount to sh*t anyway so why bother going to school

Liz, Blackburn says...
4:17pm Thu 24 Apr 08

justme wrote:
Liz wrote:
justme wrote: Although i\'m not in agreement with the teachers strike,i have to just say that my childs school(our lady\'s) has cancelled the next teacher training day to make up for the day lost through the strike action.so, a little common sense at one school at least then.
Don\'t worry, if its OLSJ, the kids wouldn\'t be missing much anyway.
Liz. Where do your children go then?
St Augustines, thankfully I managed to get them there before it was too late.

justme, bburn says...
9:18am Fri 25 Apr 08

Liz wrote:
justme wrote:
Liz wrote:
justme wrote: Although i\'m not in agreement with the teachers strike,i have to just say that my childs school(our lady\'s) has cancelled the next teacher training day to make up for the day lost through the strike action.so, a little common sense at one school at least then.
Don\'t worry, if its OLSJ, the kids wouldn\'t be missing much anyway.
Liz. Where do your children go then?
St Augustines, thankfully I managed to get them there before it was too late.
Good for you Liz, but for what reason are you so down on OLSJ? I live in Blackburn, not billington and send my daughter to the best school i could get her into.Saying that,my daughter is doing very well there. No bullying,all A's in her subjects and does lots of extra-curricular activities too.It's not the schools that are the problem,its the parents of some of the children that attend them.
I'd have a lot more sympathy for the teachers striking if it was about the work conditions rather than pay.

governor, says...
12:21pm Fri 25 Apr 08

Tracey wrote:
I cannot believe the ignorance of people out there. I arrive at work at 8am and don't leave before 5.30pm. I then take work home in the evening. On nights when there are meetings it can be after 9pm when I get home. Parents just expect us to give up our time to look after their kids for longer. And what thanks do we get? Teaching is a difficult enough job without the numerous initiatives put on us by the Government (without the money given to schools to implement them), and the parents who constantly complain about schools and lack of discipline etc. It's about time parents took responsibility for their own children's behaviour and discipline them themselves. We are there to TEACH, not do the parents' job. It's about time teachers stood up for themselves - they've been walked over for far too long. And yes, I am a teacher and proud of it!
What utter nonesense. As a governor at your school I know how well you are paid Tracey - so please stop this I am not paid enough nonesense. This strike purely for self-gain. If teachers were paid on performance management then we woould have more improved schools - consider yourself lucky tracey and do not bemoan the goo fortune you have. Not all children misbehave, just like the fact that soem of the teachers are pretty inadequate as well

meme, bburn says...
2:22pm Fri 25 Apr 08

governor wrote:
Tracey wrote: I cannot believe the ignorance of people out there. I arrive at work at 8am and don't leave before 5.30pm. I then take work home in the evening. On nights when there are meetings it can be after 9pm when I get home. Parents just expect us to give up our time to look after their kids for longer. And what thanks do we get? Teaching is a difficult enough job without the numerous initiatives put on us by the Government (without the money given to schools to implement them), and the parents who constantly complain about schools and lack of discipline etc. It's about time parents took responsibility for their own children's behaviour and discipline them themselves. We are there to TEACH, not do the parents' job. It's about time teachers stood up for themselves - they've been walked over for far too long. And yes, I am a teacher and proud of it!
What utter nonesense. As a governor at your school I know how well you are paid Tracey - so please stop this I am not paid enough nonesense. This strike purely for self-gain. If teachers were paid on performance management then we woould have more improved schools - consider yourself lucky tracey and do not bemoan the goo fortune you have. Not all children misbehave, just like the fact that soem of the teachers are pretty inadequate as well
Tracey. Thats one of the big problems with schools today. Teachers don't teach anymore,they just train the children to try and pass exams so the school can look good.So many children leave school with 10 GCSE's but not an ounce of common sense

Tracey, Burnley says...
8:07pm Fri 25 Apr 08

governor wrote:
Tracey wrote: I cannot believe the ignorance of people out there. I arrive at work at 8am and don\'t leave before 5.30pm. I then take work home in the evening. On nights when there are meetings it can be after 9pm when I get home. Parents just expect us to give up our time to look after their kids for longer. And what thanks do we get? Teaching is a difficult enough job without the numerous initiatives put on us by the Government (without the money given to schools to implement them), and the parents who constantly complain about schools and lack of discipline etc. It\'s about time parents took responsibility for their own children\'s behaviour and discipline them themselves. We are there to TEACH, not do the parents\' job. It\'s about time teachers stood up for themselves - they\'ve been walked over for far too long. And yes, I am a teacher and proud of it!
What utter nonesense. As a governor at your school I know how well you are paid Tracey - so please stop this I am not paid enough nonesense. This strike purely for self-gain. If teachers were paid on performance management then we woould have more improved schools - consider yourself lucky tracey and do not bemoan the goo fortune you have. Not all children misbehave, just like the fact that soem of the teachers are pretty inadequate as well
At which point did I say - 'I am not paid enough'? If you had read my post correctly, you will have understood that I was talking about other people's perception of teaching. I also know that you are not a governor at my school - because my governors can spell! And guess what - I didn't strike!!!!!

a stressed teacher, Accrington says...
8:11pm Fri 25 Apr 08

meme wrote:
governor wrote:
Tracey wrote: I cannot believe the ignorance of people out there. I arrive at work at 8am and don't leave before 5.30pm. I then take work home in the evening. On nights when there are meetings it can be after 9pm when I get home. Parents just expect us to give up our time to look after their kids for longer. And what thanks do we get? Teaching is a difficult enough job without the numerous initiatives put on us by the Government (without the money given to schools to implement them), and the parents who constantly complain about schools and lack of discipline etc. It's about time parents took responsibility for their own children's behaviour and discipline them themselves. We are there to TEACH, not do the parents' job. It's about time teachers stood up for themselves - they've been walked over for far too long. And yes, I am a teacher and proud of it!
What utter nonesense. As a governor at your school I know how well you are paid Tracey - so please stop this I am not paid enough nonesense. This strike purely for self-gain. If teachers were paid on performance management then we woould have more improved schools - consider yourself lucky tracey and do not bemoan the goo fortune you have. Not all children misbehave, just like the fact that soem of the teachers are pretty inadequate as well
Tracey. Thats one of the big problems with schools today. Teachers don't teach anymore,they just train the children to try and pass exams so the school can look good.So many children leave school with 10 GCSE's but not an ounce of common sense
Meme. Tell that to the government!

meme, bburn says...
10:36am Sat 26 Apr 08

a stressed teacher wrote:
meme wrote:
governor wrote:
Tracey wrote: I cannot believe the ignorance of people out there. I arrive at work at 8am and don't leave before 5.30pm. I then take work home in the evening. On nights when there are meetings it can be after 9pm when I get home. Parents just expect us to give up our time to look after their kids for longer. And what thanks do we get? Teaching is a difficult enough job without the numerous initiatives put on us by the Government (without the money given to schools to implement them), and the parents who constantly complain about schools and lack of discipline etc. It's about time parents took responsibility for their own children's behaviour and discipline them themselves. We are there to TEACH, not do the parents' job. It's about time teachers stood up for themselves - they've been walked over for far too long. And yes, I am a teacher and proud of it!
What utter nonesense. As a governor at your school I know how well you are paid Tracey - so please stop this I am not paid enough nonesense. This strike purely for self-gain. If teachers were paid on performance management then we woould have more improved schools - consider yourself lucky tracey and do not bemoan the goo fortune you have. Not all children misbehave, just like the fact that soem of the teachers are pretty inadequate as well
Tracey. Thats one of the big problems with schools today. Teachers don't teach anymore,they just train the children to try and pass exams so the school can look good.So many children leave school with 10 GCSE's but not an ounce of common sense
Meme. Tell that to the government!
I have. It's just a shame that more parents don't care enough to write a letter expressing their feelings to the government too.

Liz, Blackburn says...
12:40pm Sun 27 Apr 08

justme,

OLSJ used to be a good school. The previous headmaster was excellent. Sorry to say the school appears to have lost the plot.

justme, bburn says...
5:07pm Sun 27 Apr 08

Liz wrote:
justme, OLSJ used to be a good school. The previous headmaster was excellent. Sorry to say the school appears to have lost the plot.
Interested to know how your such an expert on OLSJ if you send your child/ren to St. Augustines.Like i have said, my daughter is doing extreamly well at OLSJ.It's not a bad school,it's bad parents that allow their children to get away with murder and have no control either through lack of knowledge or more likely,lack of concern.You can't blame the schools for the children acting like thugs. discipline starts at home.

doris, Blackburn says...
10:04pm Fri 2 May 08

Andy wrote:
Who forced these people to become teachers? They knew the terms of employment before they joined. If you hate a job so much (for whatever reason) then leave! Oh, actually they probably can\'t - they won\'t get a job anywhere else because they are not used to working a full time hours or having weeks and weeks of holidays. Surprised that the strike day isn\'t on Friday so they can have a long weekend.
You need to get your facts straight! Not used to working full time hours! I arrive at school at 7.45, often have no time for a break throughout the day, I then leave school at 6.30pm most days including Friday. When I do get home I then work until I go to bed most nights! I am in school every holiday without failure resourcing my classroom. You obviously haven't got a clue what you are talking about!!!!

Concerned, says...
2:50pm Tue 6 May 08

This school closing is appoling students suffer and for the final year students who are taking there GCSE`s its the hardest time for them and also where has all that money gone Hugh Henry has not invested enough in this sector

Comments are closed on this article.

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