PICKETS are expected at Teignbridge schools as part of the ongoing teachers’ dispute.
The National Education Union is planning more action on Thursday and staff at Teignmouth Community School and Coombeshead College in Newton Abbot are due to take part.
The National Education Union is taking action to call for above inflation pay increases, and wanting schools to get extra money to ensure pay rises do not come from existing budgets.
A Devon union spokesman said: ‘We have had very strong support for the strike, both nationally but also in Devon, we have seen a growth in membership.’
He said schools are in ‘crisis’ and a third of teachers leave in the first five years.
He said: ‘This means that many schools are struggling to recruit staff both teachers, teaching assistants and other staff.
‘This means many classes are being covered by non specialists so one in eight maths lessons are taught by non specialists.
‘This is linked to the fact that schools are underfunded, less than they were in 2010.
‘The extra funding announced in the autumn statement was a direct result of the campaign's by unions and others in education
‘Teachers have had their pay cut by over 20 per cent since 2010...that is why schools cannot recruit and why recruitment targets were missed by 40 per cent for secondary teachers.’
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan says the government has already agreed to provide an extra £2bn in school funding, ‘which will take real-terms spending on schools to its highest level in history’.
The starting salary for teachers in England is due to rise to £30,000 a year by September 2023.
State school classroom teachers in England were paid an average of £38,982 in the 2021/22 school year. This compares with £39,009 in Wales and £40,026 in Scotland. Northern Ireland did not provide a figure.
The average head teacher's salary in England for the same period was £74,095, and £57,117 for other senior leaders.