Teachers to continue taking a 'once in a generation stand'

Teachers from across the Borough rallied outside Maidenhead Town Hall yesterday morning (April 27) for the fourth national strike date this year.

The Windsor and Maidenhead district of the NEU were on a picket line from 9.30am to 10.30 am to talk to members of the public about the ‘crisis’ in education.

Executive of the National Education Union (NEU), Dominic Coughlin said: “It’s always a sad day when you have to take strike action.

“We’ve been forced into this by the Government that is simply not listening to our concerns.”

The secondary science teacher based in the Isle of Wight added: “We’re asking for a conversation with the Government that looks at the situation and redresses the balance.

“A teacher in Windsor and Maidenhead, who’s been teaching for six years, earns £8000 less than a similar teacher in Scotland. Scottish education is really good and the teachers are fantastic there, but the cost of living in Windsor is considerably higher than in Scotland.”

Union members from Windsor and Maidenhead received positive support from members of the public who honked their car horns and cheered loudly on St Ives Road.

Patsy Smith, NEU Windsor and Maidenhead District Treasurer said: “Those who understand, are parents, and they can see the underfunding.”

In March, members of four major teacher unions including the NEU, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) and The Teacher’s Union (NASUWT) rejected the Government’s pay offer of a 4.5% rise next year and a £1,000 one-off payment this year.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have made a fair and reasonable teacher pay offer to the unions, which recognises teachers' hard work and commitment as well as delivering at additional £2 billion in funding for schools, which they asked for.

“For unions to coordinate strike action with the aim of causing maximum disruption to schools is unreasonable and disproportionate, especially given the impact the pandemic has already had on their learning. Children’s education has always been our absolute priority and they should be in classrooms where they belong."

Elaine Hurrell, NEU Windsor and Maidenhead District Secretary added: “No teacher wants to strike but they are making a once in a generation stand for the future of education.

“The underfunding of education, has led to a crisis in recruitment and retention of teachers.

Elaine, who has worked as a teacher for nearly 40 years, said teachers in the Borough were finding themselves ‘making difficult decisions’ between paying mortgages, heating bills or putting food on the table.

“Our children are being deprived of having experienced and qualified teachers in the classroom as there has been a reduction of 23 per cent of graduates going into teaching and that increases to 40 per cent for some subjects like maths and physics.

In a post on the Government website, the Department for Education said that schools would have been ‘fully funded’ to meet the costs, including an additional £620million of funding in the next academic year ‘to pay for the one-off £1,000 payment for each teacher’ and ‘enable schools to pay salary increases that go above the funding already received’.

NEU members claim that the funding would be sourced from the school’s ‘already depleted budget’ and lead to ‘difficult decisions in what to prioritise’.

Patsy said: “If the pay rise is not fully funded, then schools will have to decide how they’re going to pay for heating or children’s supplies.”

Elaine added that several teachers who couldn’t join the picket line on Thursday, ‘simply can’t afford to strike’.

Teachers who are members of the NEU will strike again on Tuesday, May 2 as government negotiations have not yet progressed.