Schools North East has called on the Secretary of State for Education to urgently depressurise the education system, as staff in schools across the country are targeted by TikTok users. Schools North East has written to Nadhim Zahawi for effective actions to address the rising concerns for staff wellbeing
During an MPs Roundtable last week with Andy McDonald MP, Schools North East heard from one Head Teacher as they described how a member of their staff was feeling ‘suicidal’ after images of them had been used in offensive videos on the social media site. Since the videos had been uploaded and circulated, the police have also been contacted in what worryingly appears to be a growing trend across the country.
Earlier this week, Geoff Barton, General Secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, called for TikTok to remove these videos, highlighting how those working in schools should be praised, rather than insulted, especially considering their efforts throughout the global pandemic; reiterating what has been a key message of Schools North East for the last 18 months.
Mr Barton said: “School and college staff have worked tirelessly and in extremely difficult circumstances throughout the course of the pandemic. Imagine how they feel to be the subject of spiteful and nasty videos on a social media platform. Those responsible should show more respect and TikTok should show more care.”
The Department for Education has since responded, saying it is now “engaging with” TikTok over the videos, with a government spokesperson stating that online criminal attacks should be immediately reported to the police and that they are “introducing new laws which will usher in a new era of accountability for these social media companies”.
While instances like this seem to be growing at an alarming rate in recent weeks, Schools North East is more concerned that this is becoming just the latest stress trigger that staff have to deal with, while the Department for Education seem reluctant to take away any of the pressures that lie within their remit.
The impact of factors such as Ofsted inspections, for instance, as well as ‘catch up’ after a Covid-disrupted two years, is increasingly negative in terms of staff wellbeing, with many stating that they are already close to ‘burn out ‘. Now, with the added stress of students mocking them in such a public and humiliating way, school staff are in dire need of support from central government, Ofsted and the DfE.
Unfortunately, since Schools North East conducted a survey of staff wellbeing in the summer of 2021, not much has changed. Covid worries and anxieties still exist, as well as the continuous fallout from last year’s cases, with staff still being affected by the ongoing global pandemic and feeling ‘worn down’ by constant changes to working patterns, brought on by a rising number of staff absences.
Respondents also noted more challenging behaviour from some students before the summer break, where levels of aggression had increased. Staff are still stressed over the distinct lack of empathy and understanding from Ofsted who, despite being less than a term into the academic year, are continuing to push a ‘back to normal’ approach, adding more anxiety to an already strained sector.
Following calls last week from Head Teachers for a pause and re-focusing of the inspection agency, Schools North East has written to the Secretary of State to address the rising concern for staff wellbeing by asking him to consider suspending routine Ofsted inspections, at least for the remainder of this academic year.
We believe that the current education inspection framework is not fit to meet the challenges of the current situation, putting unreasonable expectations on schools and unnecessary workload burdens on staff. It is not clear how Ofsted can make fair and accurate judgements considering the differences in regional impacts of the pandemic, as well as the varying experiences of different groups of students, such as those from disadvantaged backgrounds or those with special educational needs. Ofsted’s role in supporting schools must be reviewed, identifying what has and hasn’t worked during the pandemic and, in particular, assessing and supporting their abilities to move forward from this period.
We have also asked Nadhim Zahawi to ensure support is delivered to the students that need it the most, removing unnecessary obstacles hindering schools. In the North East, almost 109,000 more children and young people in our region are now eligible for free school meals (FSM) – 27.5% of all pupils, up from a pre-pandemic 23.5% – the joint steepest increase of anywhere in England. Despite this increase, FSM students do not automatically receive the support they are entitled to. The Government should use the data it already has to automatically register eligible children for FSMs, taking the onus away from schools and LAs, and ensure they access the support that they desperately need following the disruption of the pandemic. Each year, the North East’s schools lose approximately £15 million in pupil premium funding from un-registered pupils.
At a time when budgets are stretched and staff have significant additional workload, it is vital that greater trust is placed in schools and that the system is simplified to allow schools to easily access the funds they need to support children and young people.
We have also reiterated our call from November 2020 to suspend school performance league tables. Assessments must be for internal use only, to support schools to identify and rectify learning loss, and must not be used by Ofsted to unfairly penalise those schools working in the most challenging circumstances. Our school staff deserve better than to face pillory for the effects of covid being mistaken for their professional competence or the standard of education they provide for their students.
While the rise in humiliating TikTok videos is an abhorrent situation, it is just the latest in a long line of anxieties that school staff face on a daily basis. While working with TikTok to put a stop to it, the Department for Education must focus more broadly on ‘de-pressurising’ the system by trimming down the to-do lists for school staff into the tasks that are absolutely necessary. By doing this, they would be making workloads, pressures and the overall mental wellbeing of the sector much lighter.
