Teachers from across Northamptonshire hold strike outside Corby Cube

Teachers from across the county were striking outside Corby Cube today (Thursday) as part of a two-day strike.

As well as staffing picket lines, Northants NEU members from schools across the area travelled to London yesterday to join colleagues at a rally.

The industrial action was called by the National Education Union (NEU), which wants an above-inflation pay rise for staff.

Phil Monk, district secretary for the NEU and teacher at Southfield School for Girls in Kettering, said: “Yesterday we took many thousands of people to London and we marched through central London to a rally in Trafalgar Square, very, very good turnout, hopefully we got the message heard.

“Obviously with the cost of living crisis as well going on, it is not helping the issue that we’re not getting paid in line with inflation, we’ve had a 13 per cent pay cut over the last 10 years.

“We get emails from members saying ‘I can’t afford to get to work’, ‘I can’t afford to pay the bills’, it’s not great really.”

Hayley Ansell, branch secretary for the NEU, said: “We’re hoping that this is going to be the last strike action we have to take because none of us want to be away from our pupils and the only reason we are is because the government is forcing us to be.

“You’ve got teachers that have got second jobs, teachers that are accessing food banks, that’s ridiculous when you consider how long teachers have to train and how much they have to pay to train to be professionals and they’re not treated that way.”

Bishop Stopford teacher Rosie Hainsworth said: “I’m on strike today because I really want to know at this point, why we’re worth eight grand less than Scottish teachers.

“We need teaching to be a profession that is funded in a way that it attracts talented young people into the profession.

“I have colleagues who are working second jobs to try and pay bills and that shouldn’t be the case.

“Why is it that we’re at a point now where teachers in England are being undervalued far more than teachers in the devolved powers.”

Simon Rielly, branch secretary for North Northants NEU, said: “The recruitment and retention crisis in schools is having a huge impact on the education our children receive. The Government must solve this by providing a fully funded, above-inflation pay rise for all educators.”

In an open letter to Education Secretary Gillian Keegan, NEU joint general secretaries Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney condemned the government and blamed them for not entering into negotiations.

They said: “The National Education Union of course regrets the inconvenience caused to parents, children and young people by strike action. However, the responsibility for this lies squarely with your department. Our members take very seriously the achievements of the pupils to whom they are responsible.

"That is why they will strike over the next two days with enormous regret. It was wholly avoidable, were it not for your insistence on a spurious precondition which cannot and should not be met.”