Even buying pencils is difficult - striking teacher

Anna Grainger from Coventry said schools are finding it hard to fund basic equipment

Teachers are having to "dig into their own pockets" to buy basic school equipment like pencils, a professional on the picket line said.

Members of the National Education Union rallied in Birmingham's Centenary Square in the latest strike.

The union is calling for above-inflation increases and extra money for schools to ensure pay rises do not impact school budgets.

The government has said "inflation-busting pay rises" were unrealistic.

Teacher Anna Grainger, from Coventry, said: "There just isn't enough money.

"Even buying basic equipment such as pencils, glue sticks and paper, is becoming so much more difficult," she added.

Teachers across the region came to Birmingham city centre

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said the government had already agreed to provide an extra £2bn in school funding "which will take real-terms spending on schools to its highest level in history".

Teacher Lucy Lucas, who works at a special needs school in the city, said: "The state of our special schools are not great.

Even though she said felt cruel for missing a day of school, she said she "knows it's the best for our children in the long run".

"Lots of teachers are over worked, we're under staffed and we don't have all the recourses that we need.

"Our children are so vulnerable, the deserve the best," Ms Lucas said.

The Department of Education has been contacted for comment on its funding for SEND schools.

Bridget Winters said more and more people are leaving the profession

Bridget Winters has been working in the profession for 30 years, first as a secondary school teacher and now in special education in Dudley.

"People entering the profession below me are going to be working for what is an decreasing amount of pay, the working conditions are continuing to get more strenuous and more colleagues are leaving," she said.

"Our young people and most vulnerable in society are getting a poor deal," Ms Winters added.

The next teachers' strike in the West Midlands is 15 and 16 March.

The Department for Education said it wanted "formal talks on pay, conditions and reform" ahead of the latest strike days - but only if the NEU called them off.

The NEU said it would only pause strike action if good progress was made in talks first.

The government has said "inflation-busting pay rises" were unrealistic