Teachers' strike: Yorkshire staff walk out in pay row

Teachers at Ruth Gorse Academy in Leeds are among the staff on strike on Wednesday

Teachers in Yorkshire have joined colleagues across the country on the first of a series of strikes.

Members of the National Education Union (NEU) say they want an improved pay offer as well as better conditions.

Matt Perry, head teacher at Halifax Academy, said: "There's been such drastic funding cuts in education, staff are on their knees and something has to change."

The government said it did not want to fuel inflation with big pay rises.

It is believed about a quarter of Yorkshire's 38,000 classroom teachers may withdraw their labour, leaving some schools closed and others providing a reduced service.

Erika Kennedy, assistant head teacher at Halifax Academy, said: "Our children deserve more and this community deserves more. If staff taking a stand will make people in positions of power listen, then it's worth it."

Neil Renton, head teacher at Harrogate Grammar, said schools were struggling to recruit and keep teachers as a result of pay issues.

"We had an English position last year and we had one application," he said. "This is a great school and there are just not the teachers out there.

"It really is a worry that we don't have enough qualified teachers in front of our children."

Teacher Sal Wilcox, on the picket line at Ruth Gorse Academy in Leeds, said teachers needed greater resources

Sal Wilcox, an English teacher at the Ruth Gorse Academy in Leeds, said: "We love our jobs, we love your children, we want to give them the best education possible and to do that we need resources."

Ben Miskell, a teacher at Bradfield Secondary School in Sheffield and a Labour councillor, said GCSE pupils in his area were being taught by unqualified staff.

"We are asking the government to prioritise young people in this city," he said.

Staff on the picket line at Bradfield School in Sheffield

Emily Brooksbank is a teacher at St Peter's School in Scarborough.

Speaking to BBC Radio York, she said: "A lot of parents and people don't understand that the 5% pay rise [announced by government in July 2022] comes out of the school budget, so it means the school has suffered because of that."

Emily Brooksbank and Suzy Crawford are teachers at St Peter's School in Scarborough

Children and parents affected by the strikes in Wetherby were invited to take part in a fitness class.

Mel Copcutt organised the event and said: "Some year groups are closing and the mums and dads are up against it. So this is a great way to release some energy and get some fresh air."

A fitness session took place in Wetherby for parents and children affected by the strike

Schools minister Nick Gibb MP said the government wanted to resolve the dispute and was open to negotiations with unions.

Mr Gibb said: "I think the unions want to resolve this dispute but going on strike is not the way to conduct pay negotiations in a modern economy, particularly when it means disrupting a child's education and disrupting the lives of families up and down the country."