Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Independent Schools as an alternative to Grammar

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Moonlight
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Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by Moonlight »

Does anyone know if independent schools are required to give notice to parents of a teacher's intention to strike? I know state schools have to do this but I'm not sure about indie schools. Also, if the school is closed, what happens to the fees that have been paid that day? Are they re-imbursed or is this at the school's discretion? Have looked for this in the Terms and Conditions that I have but can't see any mention of procedures for strike days.

I hope I at least get told if the school is closing before my daughter actually arrives there!
nicemum
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Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by nicemum »

i thought indie schools were not part of the strike,
aargh
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Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by aargh »

In fact, though a ballot result must be made known, teachers do not have to give notice of their individual intentions to strike.
They are allowed to wait to tell their school on the day itself and head teachers are forbidden to pressure them into giving the information in advance.

This means that the Head has to make a decision about closure without knowing which, if any, of her staff will be striking. My DCs school has sent a letter home today saying that they have decided to close because the problems caused by this decision ahead of time will be less than if parents suddenly have to make arrangements on the day.

The school where I work however has not yet made a decision. I will not be striking myself, but must go in. I cannot take my DCs to work with me. My DH will have to take them gardening with him!

Independent schools should not be affected because the strike is about public sector pensions and their teachers are not public sector workers.
mad?
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Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by mad? »

aargh wrote:Independent schools should not be affected because the strike is about public sector pensions and their teacher are not public sector workers.
One would have thought that...but DCs' indie has said that their teachers ARE part of the teacher superannuation scheme so may well strike. I cannot begin to describe how I feel about this, but for starters... As a taxpayer I am happy to pay for training and pensioning teachers, I consider it part of my public duty, even if their pension arrangements are vastly in excess of anything I could hope for. However, I remain completely non-plussed that teachers who choose to opt out of the system that trained them are entitled to any of the pension benefits that come with that. In a horribly vituperative way it particularly bugs me at DCs' school where many teachers appear to have jumped ship in order to take advantage of the vast reduction in fees they get for their children. I have no issue with this being offered as part of the school's recruitment strategy, but coming from an HR background I am gobsmacked at the public sector publicly funded benefits those who choose to work privately have been able to retain whilst taking advantage of 'private sector' benefits and making minimal contributions to the public sector. Sorry, rant over, for a while at least. :twisted:
Last edited by mad? on Wed Nov 23, 2011 8:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
mad?
Moonlight
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Joined: Sat Oct 16, 2010 1:20 pm

Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by Moonlight »

aargh wrote:Independent schools should not be affected because the strike is about public sector pensions and their teachers are not public sector workers.
Good point, but I seem to remember seeing something on a previous thread that mentioned independent school teachers possibly striking. This related to the strike at the end of June.

Just thought I'd ask because DD came home from school today saying that she heard one of the teachers mention that an exam planned for that day will still go ahead if teachers strike.
Looking for help
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Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by Looking for help »

Presumably they will strike if they are members of unions who have taken that decision and agree to do so.
I'm sure you can still be a member of a union and work in the independent sector.
yoyo123
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Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by yoyo123 »

Looking for help wrote:Presumably they will strike if they are members of unions who have taken that decision and agree to do so.
I'm sure you can still be a member of a union and work in the independent sector.
http://www.tes.co.uk/article.aspx?storycode=6085914" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
aargh
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Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by aargh »

mad? wrote:even if their pension arrangements are vastly in excess of anything I could hope for.
Can I just point out that contrary to the myth, a vast majority of public sector workers do not get vast pensions. Myself included. I worked 16 years as a librarian, a break when I had my DCs then back to work as a teaching assistant when they reached school age. My current state pension entitlement is something like £2,500 per year. This is due to my low wages as a librarian and TA.
mad?
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Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by mad? »

aargh I am sympathetic and do not want to go OT. That said, the mount you will get, insufficient and derisory though it is,is substantially more elsewhere (well here anyway, despite no work breaks and massive salary sacrifice). My point is that we all make choices and I am just surprised that after the inflated private sector salaries and benefits that my DCs' teachers get, they are still eligible for a public sector pension. Lucky them and good luck to them, had I|that choice it is definitely one I would have made, albeit that in my line of work it was definitely either/or.
mad?
sherry_d
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Re: Strike Day 30th Nov 2011

Post by sherry_d »

What about resident boarding school teachers? It doesn't seem feasible for them to.
Impossible is Nothing.
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