St Helen's Square, York: Teachers protest over pay

Teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) across England walked out again on the Wednesday (July 5) and Friday (July 7) in the disputes which have been running since February.

The unions have rejected the Government’s offer of a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5 per cent pay rise for staff next year.

Jo Giles, teacher at Springwater School in Harrogate (Image: Newsquest)

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Union members gathered in St Helen’s Square, York, on Friday to make speeches highlighting the impact of the lack of funding in schools and their frustrations over pay.

Charlie, an NEU district representative, said: “We have had big city-wide support, and we’re holding the rally today to show that and to drive even more numbers.

“People keep saying that we’re letting the kids down by striking after Covid, but it’s the kids that keep getting let down by the Government, with the lack of funding, the class sizes over 30, and we desperately need more teaching assistants.

“The only way to gain awareness of these issues is to strike.”

Teachers protest in York city centre (Image: Newsquest)

Jo Giles, a teacher at Springwater School which teaches children with special educational needs in Harrogate, gave a speech about the impact of the long term lack of funding.

She said: “The funding per pupil isn’t enough, we’re meant to be funded for every pupil but what we get doesn’t pay for that. We are told North Yorkshire has less funding due to it being considered an affluent county.

“But we have to turn people away because we can’t take in more pupils and they’re stuck on a seven month waiting list to get a place in the school.

“We need resources catered for special educational needs, we don’t have textbooks, we need sensory products and other equipment, which is more expensive.

“We went from taking them on days out every week to every term because we can’t afford the mini bus anymore. We can’t afford sand for the sand pit.

“We’re passionate about the kids. I have to troll around charity shops for resources and families have offered to help us pay.”

The Department for Education has insisted that a “fair and reasonable” pay offer has been made to the unions, and that it “hugely” values the work of teachers and has listened to demands for a £2 billion increase in funding.

Dozens of union members gathered to protest over pay and funding (Image: Newsquest)

A department spokesman 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.

“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.”