A history teacher has warned how the education system faces 'crisis' unless there is action on pay. It comes as members of the National Education Union (NEU) prepare to walk out on Wednesday (February 1), with many classrooms in Greater Manchester set to be empty on the day of the strike.
Crunch talks between the NEU and the Department for Education today (Monday) have failed to reach a breakthrough, with the union claiming education secretary Gillian Keegan had 'squandered an opportunity'. The union says it has around 12,500 members across Greater Manchester, working in almost 1,200 schools.
They include Dan, a 34-year-old history teacher in Salford, who says many teachers he knows have looked at taking jobs abroad. He told the Mirror: "Teachers don’t want to be doing this.
"But if we don’t force action the system will be in crisis in the next five to 10 years. At present you have people solely educated by cover teachers because of the staffing crisis."
Dan added: “I know staff who were amazing and they’ve gone over to the Middle East. It gets to the point where some think, ‘It’s not worth it, the stress, the hours and the pay’.
“In real terms over the last 10 years teachers’ pay has gone down 18%. Then you factor in the hours. It’s one of the professions that do the most overtime.
“I know of staff who take time off with mental health issues and a sense of guilt that they’re not doing enough, despite working all those hours. Some are hitting rock bottom.”
The NEU warns that teachers are leaving in their 'droves' due to more than a decade of 'real-terms pay cuts'. It says teachers have lost 23% in real-terms since 2010, while the average 5% pay rise this year is well behind inflation.
Dan says he hopes the strikes have an impact, adding: “If the Government wants to attract the best and brightest they need to put the money there and pay teachers better. We’re taking action now because if we don’t, things are going to get even worse.”
Are you affected by the teaching strike on Wednesday? Tell us what you think in the comments section below
Schools across Greater Manchester have written to parents, explaining if they are staying open or closing their doors on Wednesday. One headteacher in Bolton made an eye-opening admission in her school's newsletter, describing how some job vacancies go unanswered amid a 'critical' teacher shortage.
Rachael Lucas, headteacher at Bolton St Catherine's Academy, told parents: "The support for strike action from teachers, is as a direct result of 12 years of underfunding education, by the government. The consequence of this is that we are now in the throes of a recruitment and retention crisis in teaching.
"Teacher shortages are a critical problem for almost every school, with pay too low to attract and retain enough staff. In my experience, there has been a significant drop in applications for vacant posts, with some subjects, such as maths, computing and modern languages, science and technology often receiving no applications at all."
Following their meeting with the education secretary today, joint NEU general secretaries Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said: “Real-terms pay cuts and cuts in pay relativities are leading to a recruitment and retention crisis with which the education secretary so far seems incapable of getting a grip. Training targets are routinely missed, year on year.
"This is having consequences for learning, with disruption every day to children’s education.” Downing Street called the union’s decision to go ahead with strike action in England and Wales on Wednesday 'deeply disappointing'.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman told the PA news agency: “Children were some of the hardest hit during the pandemic when schools needed to be closed. To have the ability to get into classrooms taken away from them again is particularly difficult.
"Obviously it has a knock-on impact on parents who will have to scramble to get childcare. So, it is very disappointing. We do hope the unions will take the last few days [before the strike] to keep headteachers informed of their intentions so we can properly prepare and make sure children are safe and looked after in their classrooms.”
In a statement on Twitter about the strikes, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said: "I am disappointed the NEU is taking action despite our continued engagement. We have set out guidance asking school leaders to keep as many children in school as possible, prioritising the key cohorts including our most vulnerable children."
READ NEXT:
