"I teach 64 children in one class because there aren't enough of us" Gloucestershire maths teacher claims
Many schools are expected to either fully close or restrict access to pupils as a result of the walkouts by teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU).
Teachers in Gloucestershire were back on picket lines on Wednesday as they staged another strike in a long-running dispute over pay.
A maths teacher at a Gloucestershire academy has told Greatest Hits Radio he teaches two classes together in one classroom because they can't find enough specialist staff.
Many schools are expected to either fully close or restrict access to pupils as a result of the walkouts by teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU), with another strike planned on Friday.
There are fears that pupils could miss out on end-of-year activities - including concerts, trips, sports days and opportunities to meet new classmates - during the strikes at schools and sixth-form colleges this week.
It is the seventh day individual schools in England have faced walkouts by NEU teacher members this year.
Education union leaders have warned that further strike action in the autumn term is likely if the ongoing pay dispute remains unresolved.
Wayne Partridge is Head of Maths at Henley Bank High School, an academy in Brockworth:
"We don't have enough maths specialists around to teach. It is a result of chronic underfunding. I am teaching a class of 64.
"I can explain the maths, but what it means is that I don't get to build those personal relationship with pupils to help them really progress as much as they could do.
"They're still learning but at the same time it is limited what I can do with a class this size. Which is a shame for them.
"It's really difficult for them and it's really difficult for me. They're not getting that one-to-one attention that they deserve."
The Department for Education said that this would be an anomaly, with average class sizes remaining low at secondary level at 22 pupils.
There is actually no statutory limit on junior and secondary school classes. It is up to schools to decide on class sizes (other than infant classes) that are 'consistent with raising attainment and helping pupils to achieve their potential'.
The law does limit the size of an infant class though, (reception and years 1 and 2) to a maximum of 30 pupils per teacher.
Speaking from a picket line outside Regent High School in north-west London, NEU general secretary-elect Daniel Kebede said teachers are taking up second jobs amid the cost-of-living crisis.
He told the PA news agency: "I'm certain (if other) education unions would like strike ballots in the autumn term there will be co-ordinated action."
The NEU - alongside the NASUWT teaching union, the NAHT school leaders' union and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) - are balloting their members in England to take action in the new school year.
The Government offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5% rise for staff next year after intensive talks with the education unions in March this year.
But all four education unions involved in the dispute rejected the offer and the decision on teachers' pay in England for next year has been passed to the independent School Teachers' Review Body (STRB).
Striking teachers will march in Westminster in London before taking part in a rally in Parliament Square.
A poll by Teacher Tapp, of 6,952 teachers in England on June 19, found that only a third said there were no transition days, trips, sports days, concerts or performances, or work experience placements scheduled for the strike dates.
During the most recent national strike action on May 2, Department for Education (DfE) data suggests that 50% of state schools in England were open but restricting attendance and 5% were fully closed.
A DfE spokesperson said:
“This strike action will see the cancellation of end of term events and important transition days to secondary schools, impacting children and causing more disruption for parents.
“We hugely value the work of teachers. Schools are receiving significant additional funding as part of the extra £2bn of investment we are providing for both 2023/24 and 2024/25 which will take school funding its highest level in history next year, as measured by the IFS.
“As part of the normal process, the independent School Teachers’ Review Body has submitted its recommendations to government on teacher pay for 2023/24. We will be considering the recommendations and will publish our response in the usual way.”