Hazel Shearing reported recently on the increasing risk of teacher strikes throughout England. Moreover, these strikes have the potential to cause school shutdowns within the current academic year. The potential strikes come after years of contentious negotiation over salaries and working conditions, with many parents and students worried about the impact. The education sector is reeling from unprecedented challenges. It has to address mistakes made in the AQA A-level law exam and the consequences of widespread tragedies which have affected members of the teaching community.
In her article, Shearing highlighted the struggles faced by AQA A-level law students who were given incorrect advance information for their upcoming exams. This mistake has triggered concerns over the fairness of exam processes and the effect on students’ long-term prospects. Shearing is not a stranger to us— she wrote for us earlier this year, reflecting on this summer’s A-level results. Our students are scared, as they are asked to chart all unknowns of their academic journey.
This is a time when the picture is complicated still, by a social crisis impacting all children across the UK. The same studio that introduced the world to Wallace and Gromit has produced a short animation focused on child refugees. We plan to distribute this film widely in schools to help educate kids on this very serious issue. Educators hope that this new Enchanted Road initiative will create empathy and understanding within students to have a better perspective on what displaced children experience.
Plans to improve support for special educational needs unveiled by Education Secretary Gillian Keegan. She understands that too many families have had to fight the system for far too long. Considering the turbulent times we are all living through, these support systems are needed now more than ever. This urgency comes following an inquest that found an Ofsted inspection had played a part in the death of head teacher Ruth Perry. Perry’s death has left her community mourning and heartbroken. Former colleagues remember her as a person who experienced extreme pressure in the months before her death.
London-based medical students and junior doctors protest on July 25, 2022. Their actions underscore an increasing agitation with workplace conditions and compensation, menacingly discontent across public sector lines. Schools Minister Nick Gibb has made the UK government’s opposition to these strikes clear. He further strenuously argued that the government cannot and should not fund a salary increase that more than matches what he termed “interim inflation.” This catch-all has created further frustration from teachers who are disappointed that their voices are not being heard as strongly as they need to be.
Scalby School in Scarborough remains shut even after the summer recess. Longstanding concrete safety concerns are making a complicated education environment in England even more difficult. Strikes, examination blunders, and tragic deaths are adding up. That leads to a challenging landscape for teachers and learners even as they prepare for the return to the classroom this fall.
