Teaching '"a profession in crisis", says former Stamford School head
The NEU will announce whether teachers will strike today
A Stamford man and former head of politics at Stamford School says his profession is one 'in crisis'.
David Tuck, who now teachers at Harrow International School in Hong Kong, says more teachers are being tempted to move abroad or out of the industry for better salaries:
'Teachers in the state sector are unhappy with increasingly onerous and bureaucratic workload and below inflation pay - 20,00 new teachers join the profession each year but around one in eight are leaving in their first year, while one in four are quitting after three years - it's a profession in crisis.'
He added: 'The former head of Stamford School has recently become headmaster at Brighton College Bangkok, Thailand - the Government should be weary if people think teaching abroad is more attractive than teaching at home.'
'Strike action will inevitably affect children in the UK and in Stamford and Rutland. If teachers do strike, it will be up to headteachers if they do close as there is no minimum staffing rules. Schools will only be able to offer a limited service.'
'When teachers went on strike in the late 1980s, huge amounts of classes did not run and hundreds of thousands of children had to stay home or were sent home.'
Will there be strikes?
The National Education Union will announce whether its members will strike over pay after the ballot closes today.
The National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) announced on Thursday (12th January) that nine out of 10 of its members in England and Wales voted to strike over pay, but the turnout failed to reach the 50% threshold required by law, with 42% turning out to vote.
Following the NASUWT ballot results, A Department for Education spokesperson said:
“After two years of disrupted education for children and young people, families will be relieved that these teachers did not choose to strike.
“The Education Secretary has arranged further meetings with union leaders to avoid harmful strike action.
“We have already met the unions’ request for a further £2 billion for schools both next year and the year after in the Autumn Statement and awarded teachers with the highest pay award in 30 years.”
A No 10 spokesperson said: "The Education Secretary held a meeting earlier this week, a constructive meeting with union leaders, and I believe that she held a similar meeting today.
"She agreed the importance of working together to avoid strike action that would be damaging to children. We know the disruption that children have already faced in terms of their education due to the pandemic, so we obviously don't want to see any further disruption.
"We continue to want to try and help and facilitate teachers and the unions receive a fair and affordable pay deal.
"But as I say that the most important thing is that we continue to talk."