When I was asking when Z’s speech and language was starting I was told the teachers and lsa know what they are doing. As much as I love Z’s teacher she is a teacher, she went to uni to be a teacher if she wanted to be a speech and language therapist she would have gone to uni to become that and not a teacher. Same goes for lsa’s. Why should it fall on these people to do a speech and language therapists job too. Yes I’m all for a therapist advising and the staff following on and helping but not to do their job for them that the local authority should be providing.
The staff have enough to do. There’s around eleven children in Z’s class each child is of a different ability so each child has an individual education plan, that’s possibly eleven different ways to teach in a day per subject. Include that in the plans the teacher has to do, now add on speech therapy too. Without nappy changes and general work they have to do.
Teachers are overworked that’s in the media everyday, teachers are calling it a day they are underfunded and understaffed.
Oh but wait they have so many holidays.
My husband is a caretaker, he hates the holidays because the teachers are in working, planning for the next term, getting displays sorted and marking.
Talking to Z’s teacher this week she was saying about how well Z is eating. My confused look as half his pack lunch is still in his bag. Oh yes he loves skittles, Pringles and cake. ( maybe the cake is a pink cupcake as Z was quite excited for this one today!) These are his reinforcers, I don’t send in these. I send in 50p a week snack, that’s not covering a packet of skittles never mind a tub of Pringles. The teacher provides this. So if the teacher provides for one she provides for all. Remember each child is different so will have different reinforcers, that could well be eleven different foods. If Z went through two packets of skittles a week that’s at least £2 if bought on offer say £1 Pringles and again two a week that’s £4 just for one child. If this works out roughly for eleven children that’s £44 a teacher is paying a week. If each parent sends in 50p that’s £5.50 .
How is this the teachers job?
This has me thinking, so when they say oh he’s done this and that, played tired this food and held this, the staff are paying for that too.
Now a teacher is not only providing speech and language to my child, she’s feeding him too, she already spends six hours a day being a teacher and teaching him, yet she’s expected to do the added extra because it’s a sen school, how is this fair on the staff.
I drive a bus for work, imagine if I had to put my own diesel in to do my job, I wouldn’t be happy. Imagine if you had to buy your own ink to print out what needed printing along with the printer and computer to do the office job you are in. This would be classed as unfair yet a teacher is used to buying the resources needed because there’s no money.
Yet as a parent if I wasn’t driving that school bus I wouldn’t have known that.
From now on I think I’ll be asking for a shopping list! What food they may need that week even if it’s for sensory play, I’ll also be adding a packet of skittles to his pack lunch everyday!
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