A social media post by the Department for Education lauding its achievements appears to have gone viral for the wrong reasons, as sector leaders slammed it as “smug” and “tone deaf”.
The tongue-in-cheek post – framed as an “apology statement” – lists the supposed merits of the government’s free breakfast clubs scheme, its expansion of free childcare, and drive to tackle pupil absence.
But it has been widely criticised as “self-satisfied”, while union leaders have called it “completely tone deaf” and suggest it ignores major issues affecting schools.
“We would like to address some matters brought to our attention,” begins the post.
“It appears that our efforts to give every child the best start in life have had some unexpected consequences.
“Our Best Start Free Breakfast Clubs have served over 2.6 million meals, creative unforeseen levels of concentration in our classrooms and have left parents facing alarming amounts of unexpected free time at the start of the day.”
It goes on to laud the benefits of its 30-hours free childcare scheme, which has “saved parents £7,500 per child per year, triggering an outrageous increase in household savings”.
“With our drive to tackle school absence getting 140,000 children back in class and thousands more teachers recruited into our schools, our classrooms have become bustling hubs of learning…and thrive with the help of this government,” it continues.
“It turns out that when you have a mission to break down the barriers to opportunity , you end up making working people’s lives better,” it concludes sardonically.
‘Completely tone deaf’
The post was shared on DfE social channels on Tuesday. By Wednesday lunchtime, the post had received more than 10,000 reactions and comments on the DfE’s Facebook page, primarily negative ones.
Union leaders were quick to point out the post was published on the same day as the Teacher Wellbeing Index, which showed wellbeing rates have dropped to a new low.
Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of leaders’ union ASCL, said: “The DfE’s claim that they have raised the bar ‘alarmingly high’, on the day that teacher wellbeing fell to its lowest level since 2019, is ill-advised at best.
“At worst it suggests a real lack of understanding of the pressures that the education workforce is under. We would hope that the government’s focus is on finding ways to ease this burden, instead of posting tone deaf messages on social media.”
Sharing DfE’s post on X, NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede wrote: “Over 76% of teachers are reporting stress. The DfE evidence to the Pay Review Body is pointing to a multi-year pay cut that is to be funded out of existing budgets. Whilst there has been some positive steps – this is completely tone deaf.”
A spokesperson for teachers’ union NASUWT said: “It is debateable whether many teachers would recognise the rosy picture painted by this post and many will no doubt feel angered by it.
“Patting themselves on the back at a time when teachers’ wellbeing is in a dire state and the SEND crisis remains unaddressed comes across as tone-deaf and out of touch.”
‘Out of touch’
On Facebook, one parent said the post was “sickening…inappropriate, unprofessional and completely out of touch with the current situation in the UK.” “Children aren’t thriving, many are barely surviving,” she wrote.”
Another said: “With the state of the current economy…you have the audacity to joke about saving parents money so flippantly?”
“Humour has its place, but not when schools are struggling for basic funding, teachers are burnt out, and families are already stretched to their limits,” wrote another parent, adding the post makes the government appear “out of touch…with what’s actually happening in classrooms.”
Prof Greta Defeyter, dean of social mobility policy engagement at Northumbria University, wrote on LinkedIn that while the release “is factually correct in terms of impact”, she too “find[s] the tone inappropriate”.
“It appears more like a Labour Party social media release than a social media release from a government department.”
Breach of comms rules?
Meanwhile one X user pointed to the Government Communication Service’s ‘propriety and ethics guidance for government communicators”, and suggested the DfE’s social media team could use “a refresher”.
The guidelines say civil servants should “check the accuracy and sensitivity of what you are posting before pressing submit”. It also says posters should “be sensitive to tone”, while any content produced “must be relevant to government responsibilities and a justifiable use of public funds”.
A DfE spokesperson said: “As government, it’s crucial that we communicate the ways hard-working parents can save money while providing children with the best start of life. Meeting people where they are, with information they need to know, is our priority.
“We are proud of our achievements that are highlighted in the post – rolling out free breakfast clubs, getting more expert teachers at the front of our classrooms, making the biggest attendance gains since 2010 and saving parents £7,500 through 30 hours of government-funded childcare.”
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