Teachers strikes 2023: 'Understaffed' Peterborough schools leading to workers 'off with stress', staff say

Teachers on picket lines outside schools in Peterborough have said they have seen an increase in the number of staff taking time off work with “stress-related conditions”.

It comes as teaching staff across the city take to the picket lines for the second day to urge the Government that funding for schools is currently “not enough”.

Strikers claim schools are experiencing a catalogue of issues, including increasing workloads caused by teacher shortages while struggling to recruit and retain staff is also a problem.

Some teachers told the Peterborough Telegraph that they are using their own money to “prop-up school budgets” by buying resources for children in classrooms.

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan asked schools across the country to pause two-day strike action so discussions can take place in “good faith and without disruption”.

Teachers, however, share the same sentiment that enough is enough.

‘It’s crippling us’

“The funding for schools is not enough and it’s getting worse every year,” Kim McCamley, NEU representative and teacher at Gladstone Primary Academy, said, speaking outside the school on Thursday morning.

"We’ve got teacher shortages, there’s not enough support staff and we are constantly using our own money to prop-up school budgets.

"It’s crippling us. Sickness levels are going up – teachers and support staff are off constantly with stress and stress-related conditions.

"Something has to change.”

‘We don’t feel valued’

Thursday’s walkout was the fourth planned NEU strike across February and March this year.

Tens of thousands of striking teachers rallied in London on Wednesday, including both Kim and Tabassam Tariq, who is also a teacher at Gladstone Primary Academy.

"We’re seeing lots of teachers off with stress and they have been replaced by supply staff,” Tabassam said.

"It means teachers in other classrooms see their workloads increase because they’re not only looking after their own class but other classes as well, as there’s not enough staff to cover.

“I became a teacher because I was inspired by my old primary school teacher. Right now – in this current climate – we don’t feel valued.”

‘I can see the injustices’

According to the NEU, one in four of all newly qualified teachers vacate the profession within three years of starting jobs – rising to a third of all teachers leaving within five years.

“I’ve only been in the profession for three years and I’m tired now – I can see the injustices already,” Marvin Zimmermann, a teacher at St John Fisher Catholic High School, said.

"There’s so much pressure, but not a lot of reward for it. We’ve failed to hit recruitment targets and we’re haemorrhaging teachers at all levels.

"At this rate I don’t know if I’ll make it to five years.

"It’s not the schools which are at fault – it’s what the schools are being given. We do the best with what we’re given.”

What Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan penned an open letter to parents setting out the latest on teacher strikes.

She said: “I am extremely disappointed that many young people will once again miss invaluable time learning with their teachers and friends, particularly after their education was significantly disrupted during the pandemic.

"It is made worse by the fact that this strike action is completely unnecessary. As I said to the NEU three weeks ago, I want to get around the table and engage in serious talks on teachers’ pay and other issues to resolve disputes.

"My only condition was that strike action is paused so those discussions can take place in good faith and without disruption.

“This was the same offer, and the same condition, made to unions representing nurses, ambulance workers and physiotherapists. Those unions accepted that offer, paused their strikes and are now negotiating on behalf of their members in private."