Southampton teacher says schools are being starved of cash

Penny Burnett, who works at Tanners Brook Primary, said the education system was being "destroyed by underfunding" and cited the impact it was having on pupils.

She warned that schools starved of cash were struggling to provide the support that youngsters needed.

The walkout by members of the National Education Union will result in many schools having to close (Image: PA)

Mrs Burnett, 50, told the Daily Echo: "All schools are struggling and all schools are doing their very best to do more with less, but it's becoming impossible.

"This is not just a strike for teachers' pay, it is also a strike for funding for our children.

"We have tried talking to the government but they have repeatedly refused to accept the evidence in front of them. All our shouts have fallen on deaf ears, so we have no choice but to take this most drastic of action."

READ MORE: Southampton teachers' strike - all you need to know

The walkout, by members of the National Education Union (NEU), means a large number of schools in Southampton and elsewhere will be forced to shut.

Teachers say their pay has dropped by 20 per cent in real terms since 2010. However, they also point to many other problems affecting the profession.

Teachers are staging a national one-day strike over pay and funding cuts (Image: Martini archive)

Mrs Burnett said: "Teaching is the best job in the world but it's hard, with punishing workloads and enormous pressures.

"One in three teachers leave within their first five years and the government can't recruit enough new ones. It repeatedly misses its own recruitment targets, so many more teachers are leaving than are being recruited.

"Falling pay only makes this worse.

"Teachers are leaving in their droves for jobs with more money, less stress and shorter hours. Every day children are being taught by teachers who are not specialists in that subject - because schools can't find the teachers they need."

READ MORE: National Education Union says 900 Southampton teachers set to take part in national walkout

Mrs Burnett said schools were also being forced to reduce spending on important resources as well as cutting back on extra-curricular clubs and activities.

"Children with SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) are not getting the support they need."

Referring to the strike she added: "We cannot just sit back and let our education system be destroyed by underfunding.

"A child losing a day or two of schooling is not good. But a child having their entire schooling experience adversely affected by underfunding is way, way worse."

Mrs Burnett was speaking ahead of today's rally in Guildhall Square by teachers and other striking workers in the city.

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