Striking teachers have said they are struggling to pay the bills as they join picket lines across the country in a battle for fair pay.
Members from the National Education Union (NEU) have walked out today with 23,400 schools set to be affected. It has been left up to headteachers to decide if schools should remain open.
"Long hours and poor pay are the main reasons teachers are leaving the profession in their droves," the NEU said as some teachers have accused the government of "taking advantage" of their dedication.
Emotional burnout, long hours and the stresses of the job have all been cited as reasons teachers have walked out today in search of better pay.
Primary school teacher Antonia Lozano says she’s going on strike not just because of her own pay packet, but also to make sure children have the best education as they grow up.
The 30-year-old, who teaches year 6 pupils in Camberwell, north London, has worked in schools for eight years after starting out as a teaching assistant.
But as an experienced teacher she says she doesn’t feel her £40,000 wage reflects the work and responsibilities expected of her. Living in London, where she shares her rent with a housemate, she says little is left over at the end of the month.
Antonia, a member of the National Education Union (NEU) which has declared seven days of strikes over February and March, says: “I love my school and I’m really proud of where I work, but the pressure we are put under isn’t being reflected in our pay. The government wants us to meet difficult targets and deliver the curriculum, with the extra duty of care we have on top of that, but then are saying that our labour doesn’t deserve a pay rise.
“I think it’s important to live in the community I’m working in, so I live in Camberwell where rent increases as well as the prices of everything else has a massive impact on how far my money goes. Saving money is really difficult and buying my own home isn’t even something I think about, it’s completely unattainable to me.
“And I just look after myself. For many staff members who have families and other responsibilities money is an even bigger concern.”
But Antonia says the main reason she voted to strike was how government cuts are affecting the children she teaches. She says: “As someone who has worked in schools for eight years, I’ve seen such massive staff turnover which has had a huge impact on the children, but also on the adults who choose to remain in the profession.
“Something has got to change so teachers are more willing to stay in their jobs for long.
“It’s completely unnatural for us to leave children without a teacher for the day, but with the state of teaching as it is there are lots and lots of days pupils don’t have a teacher because of the high staff turnover.
“If parents want highly-skilled staff teaching their children, I believe this is a really important step we have to take.”
'Buying a house is not even an option'
What primary school teacher Ellie Sharp hopes people will understand is that she is not taking the decision to strike lightly.
The 27-year-old from Croydon, South London, feels compelled to take industrial action today for two reasons; low pay and lack of funding in schools.
“Teacher recruitment is in absolute crisis, and part and parcel of that is workload and low pay. So our pay has absolutely gone down and down, in the last 10 years it has dropped by 20%. Even the 5% pay rise we’ve had this year doesn’t add up to the inflation rate. So we’re still essentially losing out on 7%,” she says.
“I always thought going into teaching would be the sort of job where I’d be able to save, and I’d buy a house somewhere, but that’s not even an option.”
This has played a factor in a third of teachers who qualified in the last decade having quit, and more teachers or assistants being spread thin or having to educate in subjects they know little about to the detriment of students.
“Also, the pay rise is not funded. and we’re seeing schools with absolutely crippling budgets,” says Ellie who teaches classes of 30 students. “I know that in my own school, we’re in a situation where teaching assistants aren’t going to be replaced.”
'Teachers are not respected or valued'
Teacher Nicola Hawkins says striking is only way to get the Department for Education’ to listen about the state of the education system.
Ms Hawkins, who has been teaching for 25 years, said making the decision to strike was “difficult” but she is doing it to protect the future of schools and the quality of education.
The history lead from Cumbria said: “I have been a teacher for over 25 years and I am very much embedded in my local school and my community and I love my school.
“It is really difficult to make that decision to walk out, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it is in everyone’s long-term interests really.”
“We put evidence out to the School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB) every year and it’s been pointed out that recruitment targets aren’t being met, that teachers are leaving, but our pay has been whittled away over the last decade or so,” she said.
“Long term, what I really want for the kids in my school, and for every school really, is for students to be taught by people who are valued and who are paid their worth.
“And I think it sells those students short if they don’t have that.”
“We regularly plan and prepare resources and lessons, mark and grade work, we run after-school clubs, get ready early for breakfast clubs,” she said.
“We might have to do follow-up visits with families or put together special packages for increasing numbers of children.”
“I’m coming towards the end of my teaching career and I’m taking action not so much for myself, but for my colleagues and the future of our schools and the quality of education we can provide,” she added.
“We need people who are paid professionally, treated professionally and can compete with the rest of the world, and at the moment we are an outlier - teachers are not respected or valued and that is not good for children.”
'What I earn isn’t enough to pay my bill'
Cara Dobbing said she used to manage on her £23,000 salary as a university student support staff, but since bills started going up she has had to take on extra work in evenings and at weekends to make ends meet.
The 32-year-old will be among the 70,000 University and College Union members who will walk out on Wednesday, and throughout February, in strikes which will hit 160 UK universities.
Cara, who lives on her own and privately rents a flat in Leicester, says: “The cost of living has really squeezed everything, and it’s got a lot worst the last six months.
“My gas and electricity has gone from £69 this time last year to £180 now, so the 3% pay increase they gave us in August didn’t help at all, it was a real terms pay cut, not a pay rise. We haven’t haven’t had a real pay rise for ten years.
“What I earn isn’t enough to pay my bills so I take on extra work as a Body Shop rep. I work 35 hours at the university and I’m not working an extra 20 hours on top of that to make ends meet, and then take a week off work every year to mark GCSE papers so I can afford to go on holiday.
“I don’t live near my family and I don’t see them as much now because I have to get trains, and fares are through the roof. I’ve cut back on the things we class as luxuries like takeaways, clothes and eating out, and I can’t even think about saving for the future.”
Cara says it’s not just about pay. “Our union did a survey and it found that on average people are doing 16 hours extra a week. The university made mass redundancies in summer 2021, and the university hasn’t recovered from it.
“People are starting early to get on top of emails, and staying late, but not get paid overrate, the uni is getting a lot of free labour out of us, it’s being run on free will.
“It’s really sad to see experienced staff leave because they just can’t carry on or they’re really stressed or get a better offer in the private sector.
Cara, who is a union rep, adds: “Being in dispute with our employer doesn’t feel great because you just think, what’s the point in staying? Should I find some something else? Should I try and get a job where I feel valued? But then you just think, if I don’t fight then who else is? Who else is going to stand up to them?
“The university sector has been so broken for so long, and it just seems to be getting worse. If no one stands up to them, then what’s going to be left? And what are students going to be dealt with in the future? And you think, well, if I have kids, and they want to go to university, what will it look like then?”
She adds that people should support the right to strike and oppose the new government legislation. “Before becoming a union rep I no idea how difficult it already is to get to the point of being able to take industrial action, the laws are already too restrictive, but it’s our only leverage.
“If this legislation goes through going to be really dangerous, it’s going to put all the power in the hand of the employer and leave us with nothing.”
'School will become a place of resentment'
Phil Park is on strike today to sound the alarm for chronic underfunding in schools, which he believes will leave the education system in dire straits if not resolved.
The secondary school English teacher, 30, who is based in Burnley, Lancashire, explains “If it carries on the way it’s going, you’ll see a massive fall in terms of the quality of results. I think the chances and life opportunities for some of the pupils, in particular in state schools in more deprived areas will become less and less. School will become a place of resentment for many pupils, they won’t be happy, they won’t be supported and they won’t feel that they can achieve.”
Teachers' pay is down 7% with inflation, including the 5% rise given this year which was unfunded. Phil says, “The government’s refusal to fund the pay rise will incur various cuts across the board and this also could mean redundancies. It will definitely mean that pupils go with less in the way of materials and much money to be spent on them and developing the school life and developing our education.”
Aside from a lack of technological equipment for students to learn from, Phil also reveals that with many teachers leaving due to pay and workload concerns students who need extra assistance particularly struggle. “Teaching assistants’ time isn’t allocated as much to helping in the classroom, it is now being allocated elsewhere to various bureaucratic exercises,” he says. “Specific learning needs are being left until year nine or 10, before they are even diagnosed or identifiable… there isn’t enough staff to deal with the quantity of needs.”
