Category: Events

OPEN …but not for business

To whom it may concern,

I am a teacher employed to work at a Derby City School. I have been impelled to write to express my concerns about the current situation our valuable Teaching Assistant colleagues have been forced into. I have read that some, clearly uninformed, people within the Council have stated that schools in Derby are managing fine during the strike action with no Support Staff and Teaching Assistants. Our school may be open but their absence is having a significant impact on my job as a teacher and more importantly the education and welfare of our children.

I teach a class of 36 pupil premium children, often the most vulnerable children in a school who rarely reach their full potential, and often have significant emotional and welfare issues. My TA is a vital part of our working environment.

• She is a role model, counsellor, carer, first aider as well as an educator.
• She is responsible for delivering support programmes to children.
• She delivers a spelling group
• She marks work and encourages groups to produce the best they can As another adult in the classroom, there is another pair of eyes and ears to identify early misconceptions, and help remove them
• She helps create Working Walls (visual supports for children)
• She delivers our PPA cover
• She has professional discussions with me which supports and enlightens my decisions about next steps
• She completes admin tasks (printing, photocopying, slicing) that must be completed in order to teach, such as resources, learning objectives, success criteria. Perhaps not a huge task but more hours added to my already packed days.

My school is open, I teach well, my children make progress and the classroom functions but we are not complete. This week our children will not have had all the things listed above. Maybe you need to come into schools and experience the impact of these people on a daily basis, and therefore the impact they have when not in. I support their decision to strike and it breaks my heart to see them cry with guilt as they strike.

I need you to know and understand our TAs make a difference to adults and children, who miss out every day you ignore a plea to get round the table. I need my TA round a table with children, please get round a table with our TAs representatives. Children need these adults, for the sake of their education…talk and listen.

Yours sincerely

A Teacher

#togetherwearestronger

On Tuesday 17 January 2017 our School Support Staff campaigned in Derby City Centre, raising awareness of the Industrial Action they are currently carrying out. They found that there was overwhelming support for their campaign, here are some of the engagements and experiences our School Support Staff had with Derby residents and members of the public.

“I don’t know about anyone else but after today, I feel overwhelmed how many of the public supported us. Parents grandparents everyone I spoke to knew what was happening and were disgusted how the council were treating us. It has definitely given me the inspiration to keep going. Thank you everyone for being there”

“I too was overwhelmed,  it seemed the general public are as fed up with Derby City Council as we are. I also noticed that (as we all do) people were putting heads down to walk past the crazy people with clipboards but as soon as we said “School Support Staff” or “teaching assistants”    We had heads up and where do I sign. Amazing support!”

“We had people coming up to us and saying “where do I sign?”, without even opening our mouths. They saw the flags and t-shirts and headed over, lots of waves from drivers and honking horns in support!  Amazing amount of support!!!”

“We got loads of taxi drivers…they were like sitting ducks. Also approached a bus driver. She said she was so glad we’d approached her. She’d seen us coming and was hoping we’d go over and speak to her. She was so pleased when I turned up at her door”

“I had one lady wasn’t happy she works for NHS for over 30 years said they’ve been  privatised  and the union did nothing for her, she wasn’t going to sign so I told her I have worked in my school for 32 years and union is good, so she signed  well done her and thank you”

“I went to speak to a bus driver. She said she was so glad we’d approached her. She’d seen us coming and was hoping we’d go over and speak to her. She was so pleased when I turned up at her door”

“It was lovely to realise that there is actually support out there and so many people saying they are sick of Derby City Council. I even had people approaching me asking if they could sign, pays to wear the tshirt”

“We gathered signatures by the bus station,  lots of people coming over to support us without even asking them to”

“So many angry people, well and truly hacked off with what this council are not only doing to School Support Staff, but to Derby as a whole.”

“One woman came over to sign our petition and told us that if it wasn’t for the TA at her daughter’s school, she doesn’t know where her daughter would be right now., she was also very tearful as she said it!!!”

A really big thank you to all of those that showed support for our School Support Staffs Campaign we really appreciate it. #togetherwearestronger.