Thirty teachers from Somerset – including several from Burnham and Highbridge – took part in the UK’s largest march of teachers for 50 years this week.
The teachers from the National Education Union (NEU) travelled to London on Wednesday (March 15th) to take part in the mass demonstration campaigning about funding, pay, conditions and the cost-of-living crisis.
It is estimated that at least 60,000 people marched from Speaker’s corner in Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square for a rally. It coincided with a two-day national teachers strike that saw picket lines outside schools in Burnham and Highbridge.
Niel Apps, Somerset NEU committee member, said: “The route took an hour and a half to complete due to the enormous numbers of people taking part.”
“The majority of the marchers were teachers, but also present were University staff, Doctors, Nurses and Fire fighters. The protest was designed to coincide with the Budget to ensure that the government do not forget their responsibility to Public sector workers.”
“Many teachers had created their own banners and placards; there was a Somerset hand created banner and various placards highlighting the crisis in funding which is destroying education in this country.”
“For example, I saw some which read: “If the ministers paid their taxes, we could afford glue sticks”, and “Schools just wanna have funds”.”
“As well as the Somerset banner, there were banners from as far afield as West Riding of Yorkshire and Cumbria, they were there to show their determination to fight for a decent and fair funding for education and education professionals.”
“The day was chilly but there was an atmosphere of solidarity and good humour, there was lots of singing and music, the songs were well known but with words changed to suit the day.”
“The crisis in education has been creeping up for years, chronic underfunding since the austerity decisions of George Osborne, little or no pay rises for education staff leading to a 23% real terms shortfall in teacher pay.”
“Teaching assistants are leaving because they can get paid more in supermarkets, one school in Somerset has been advertising for these posts for 2 years and has still not been able to fill them.”
“I heard of another school in Somerset which had been unable to find a new head teacher, so will have to advertise the job again in September, so the problems run right through the education sector.”
“What has made the crisis existential is the cost-of-living crisis, school’s fuel and electricity bills have increased, doubled, or tripled in some cases, and their funding has not kept pace.”
“The crisis in education has been creeping up for years, chronic underfunding since the austerity decisions of George Osborne, little or no pay rises for education staff leading to a 23% real terms shortfall in teacher pay.”
“Teaching assistants are leaving because they can get paid more in supermarkets, one school in Somerset has been advertising for these posts for 2 years and has still not been able to fill them.”
“I heard of another school in Somerset which had been unable to find a new head teacher, so will have to advertise the job again in September, so the problems run right through the education sector.”
“What has made the crisis existential is the cost-of-living crisis, school’s fuel and electricity bills have increased, doubled, or tripled in some cases, and their funding has not kept pace.”
“Simultaneously with the 60,000 workers march, the Chancellor was making statements which reinforce the message from the teachers. The disposable income per person in the country will fall by 6% by 2024, the biggest fall since records began.”
“Inflation peaked at 11% and those rises are locked in, even if the rate of increase slows now people can afford less. However, money has been found to fund tax cuts for the wealthiest 1%, but not for all of our children.”
“The crisis in education is leading to a recruitment timebomb, the collapse of the number of people training to become teachers. The target for entrants to teacher training for secondary schools is at 59%. The picture is even worse for some specific subjects, with 34% of the target achieved for modern foreign languages, 30% for computing, 25% for design and technology and a deeply worrying 17% for physics.”
“The “per pupil” funding, which is the budget every school has to work with, an amount is given for every pupil to create the budget of the school, this has still not returned to the level it was at in 2010, and using the government’s own figures, is not expected to do so before 2024.”
“The Secretary of state for education was invited to go to ACAS to find a solution to this dispute, but she declined. She says the government is spending more in education as a whole, than ever before, but the problem is that it is not targeted towards the children in the funding of schools.”
“This means 14 years of our children going through school without the required funding to ensure they get the excellent education they deserve. This number is important, 14 years is the total amount of time students spend in education if they stay on to further education as 6th formers.”
“Students only get one chance at education, if the government was serious about ensuring the future for our children and the country, they would prioritise spending on education, not tax breaks for the wealthiest.”
“As well as the rally there were pickets at various schools around the county, in Burnham and Taunton for example. And the ongoing pay dispute in 6th form colleges which is also part of this dispute.”
“Kevin Courtney the Joint Secretary of the NEU at the rally said that parent support was growing not diminishing as parent recognised the strikes were to help their children gain a better education. This has been felt by the teachers on the picket lines here in Somerset who have been given cakes and warm drinks as well as verbal support by people in Somerset.”
Salaries in England fell by an average of 11% between 2010 and 2022, after taking inflation into account, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says. Unions claim teacher pay has fallen by as much as 23% in that time.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan says the government has committed an extra £2bn in England, taking “real-terms spending on schools to its highest level in history”.
The government offered most teachers a 3% rise in 2023/24 – which the NEU says is not enough.
