Struggling teachers said the Government "doesn't value" staff as talks to avert a wave of strikes stalled.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan held a crunch meeting with unions on Wednesday after tens of thousands of teachers backed walkouts in February and March.
But speaking after the talks, NEU joint General Secretary Dr Mary Bousted said: "At the moment we haven't heard anything which leads me to believe we can avert this strike."
ASCL General Secretary Geoff Barton, who also attended the meeting, said: "No progress was made at this meeting and we are no nearer a solution."
The Department for Education insisted the talks were "constructive" and discussions will continue in the coming days.
NEU members will hold nationwide strikes on February 1 and March 15 and 16, with 23,400 schools in England and Wales expected to be hit.
Four days of regional strikes have also been announced.
Schools may be forced to close and shift to online lessons if they don't have enough staff to teach children safely.
Some 11% of schools shut their doors and 20% were partially closed during the last nationwide teachers' strike in 2016.
The Mirror has spoken to teachers who are poised to strike on why they plan to walk out.
'Teachers need a fair deal'
Maths teacher Charlotte McFarlan said pay had been squeezed for a long time, adding: “It feels like the Government doesn’t value teachers.”
The 31-year-old, who teaches at a secondary school in south London, blamed pay and soaring workloads for difficulties retaining staff.
“Teachers often have two degrees," she said. "My friends working in other industries have more flexibility, they can work from home, whereas we have incredibly demanding jobs with very long hours.
“It’s about a fair deal for teachers and for education in general - and the pay offer needs to be fully funded. Otherwise it’s just a cut in other areas.
Charlotte is worried about what will happen when her fixed mortgage deal comes to an end in the summer.
“Compared to some people I’m not badly off but I have friends who can barely make ends meet. It’s a bit of a worry for everyone.”
'Students are being damaged every day already'
Steve Scott, an NEU rep in East Riding, Yorkshire, said: “It’s about reversing the last 12 years of pay cuts teachers have had. Speak to older teachers, when they first started they were able to apply for a mortgage on their teaching salary.
“Now it takes teachers into their second or third year to even be able to consider that.”
Steve, 27, who has been a teacher for five years, said schools are struggling to hold onto staff due to years of cuts and challenging working conditions.
“There’s clearly something wrong with workload and pay for all these teachers to be leaving,” he said.
Asked if children’s education was being put at risk by walkouts, he said: “Students are being damaged almost every day when they are being taught by non-qualified teachers or they are being taught by people who aren’t specialists in those subjects.
“Unless educationalists stand up for education and school funding, that’s only going to get worse. We need to protect the education of all pupils, not just the ones in the classroom in front of us right now.”
Steve, who teaches at a secondary school near Beverley but was speaking in his capacity as a union rep, urged ministers to get round the table.
“No teacher wants to strike, we want to be there for the pupils but we can’t let the Government continue to cut up education like it’s doing. We want them to talk.”
'Teachers should not have to have second jobs'
Andrea Jackson, 48, has been a teacher for 26 years, during which time she’s been forced to move further and further away from London due to rising prices.
The single mum has also had to take on a second job as a tutor to make ends meet - as well as marking in the holidays - and has had to give up treats like holidays abroad.
“I’m angry that I’m in this situation after working for so many years,” she said. “Teachers should not have to have second jobs.”
Andrea, who works as an English teacher in a secondary school in Buckinghamshire, added: “We’re no different to other public service workers like nurses. We’re in the same boat in terms of the cost of living.
“And we’ve had our pay cut over the past 10 years. Teachers are finding it more difficult as each week goes by. We are going to have massive recruitment and retention issues.”
She added: “It’s just like the NHS and the legal system, it’s all creaking.”
Schools are struggling to deal with the impact of Covid on children’s learning - and have picked up extra duties since the pandemic, she said.
Andrea said the profession had been “devalued” and called for greater respect for teachers. “If you asked in class if anyone wants to be a teacher. No one would put their hand up.”
She added: “It’s just like the NHS and the legal system, it’s all creaking.”
