A TEACHER has called for urgent action to stop pupils having to study without heating and in mould-ridden classrooms.
Jane Patchett, a teacher at Oakwood Primary School, described her classrooms' leaking roof, damaged floors, and walls covered in mould.
Speaking at a rally on the first day of teachers' strikes, the Year 6 teacher laid bare the impact of underfunding by holding a placard showing damaging pictures of her school.
She was among 100 campaigners calling for a pay rise for teachers and more funding for schools.
She said: "We've got a hole in our roof.
"We've got children surrounded by buckets and leaks.
"It's been like this for ages.
"It's been brought up with the authorities. Every time we have a thunderstorm, a leak, or if it's raining, this is what we have to deal with.
"Our floor is lifting, which is dangerous, so that's where we are at the moment.
"I've sat in meetings where I have been dripped on."
This is the sad reality of some schools where teachers are dealing with mould, holes in the walls and ruined floors in classrooms… pic.twitter.com/9o46b7rsRB
— Shivalika Puri (@Echo_Shivalika) February 1, 2023
READ MORE: Walkout Wednesday rally in Guildhall Square
Jane has been a teacher at the school on Sandpiper Road for nearly 13 years and has been in the profession for over 30 years.
She was not only at the protest asking for better pay but also for her students' safety and the future of education.
She added: "I don't have any pens in my classroom, and (pupils) are writing with a pencil, which they shouldn't be. They should be developing their handwriting.
"I am dipping into my own pockets for money to provide them with resources.
"We need to give children a suitable environment to work in.
"We will carry on doing our job because we are here for the kids, but we need action."
Just like Jane, Penny Burnett, who works at Tanners Brook Primary, was also at the rally to "defend education".
She said: "There is a huge teacher shortage at the moment, and teacher's assistants are leaving the profession for jobs that are better paid, with fewer hours, and with less stress.
"It's leaving our schools without vital staff that they need.
"Striking is always the last resort.
"If there is any other way to send our message across, we will do it.
"And the fact that 40,000 people have joined the NEU since the strike action was announced because they want to make their voice heard is shocking."
READ MORE: Southampton teacher says schools are being starved of cash
Helen Field, a retired teacher, was also at the forefront of the rally.
The 69-year-old was only 21 when she started teaching.
She retired in 2019 after teaching at Romsey School.
The Totton resident was surprised to see young teachers on strike.
She said: "I feel very uplifted by it.
"It's good to see so many young teachers taking a stand because they don't know what else to do.
"Teachers really are at the end of their tethers.
"If you are a teacher, your students are suffering, if you are a nurse, your patients are suffering.
"They can't deliver the care they want to because of our cutbacks, privatisation, and government policies."
READ MORE: 'There aren't enough of us' - Teacher speaks out ahead of strike and rally
Helen added: "When I started as a teacher, it was completely different.
"You really felt like you were doing a good job for the kids, and the aim of education is to give the kids the education that they deserve.
"Now it feels like ticking boxes to please Ofsted and not for the children's development."
The Department for Education (DfE) has offered a 5 per cent pay rise to most teachers for the current school year.
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