Thousands of striking teachers were joined at a rally and march through Oxford today by the joint general secretary of the leading teaching union.  

Mary Bousted of the National Education Union spoke passionately to teachers gathered at Oxford Town Hall before she marched with them through the city to Broad Street.

This was the fourth day of national strike action this year as teachers across England demand better pay and working conditions from the government.

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Earlier in the day, Ms Bousted joined teachers on the picket lines at Cheney School in Headington and Larkrise Primary School in East Oxford.

She told the Oxford Mail: “Teachers are striking because they want to see a long-term correction in pay which has fallen behind virtually every other profession and behind average pay increases over the last 12 years.

Oxford Mail: Mary Bousted of the National Education Union joined the march through Oxford

“That’s resulted in a teacher supply crisis. There are teachers leaving the profession - one-third within five years - and the government has missed its teacher training targets in secondary by 40 per cent last year and the same this year

“Our schools are running out of teachers. Parents know that, the government knows that, and it should be negotiating.”

The government stopped negotiations when its pay offer, which followed strikes in February, was rejected by 98 per cent of NEU members who voted.

The offer included a £1,000 one-off payment and a 4.3 per cent pay increase to most teaching staff from September.

Siobhan Lancaster, 60, an English teacher at Wallingford School, said: “The government don’t want to fund our pay rise.

"They are saying their offering so much but it’s coming directly out of school’s budgets.

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“If you look at what’s happening in schools at the moment, you can’t recruit teaching assistants, we can’t recruit other support staff, and so teachers are covering up those gaps.

“Most teachers at the moment are finding creative ways of making sure their year 11’s and their year 13’s have work. I am having work sent to me today.”

Larkrise assistant head Morag Scott-Smith, 41, said: “We’re all out here because we know our schools are in crisis. We need them to be funded properly.

“It’s really difficult to recruit staff. Because we’re in the city it’s difficult for younger teachers and teaching assistants to find accommodation around here.

“Also, we’re finding it really difficult to access SEND provision out with the school for our pupils and it’s causing an extra strain on the teachers and teaching assistants who do remain.”

Joe Wilson, a teacher at New Hinksey Primary School, said: “We currently have raw sewage coming up through our school sometimes from a broken drain.

“Who do you think is clearing that up? It’s the head. She’s out there every morning sweeping it up, getting it away.

"Can we afford to fix it? No. Can the county council afford to fix it? No.

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“I think the Prime Minister should come to my school, it’s very central, and he should come and sweep it up, and then we should ask him ‘how do you feel about school funding now?’

The teachers who gathered in the town hall gave a standing ovation to Ms Bousted as she ended her speech by telling them ‘together we will win.’

That was followed by march through Oxford, with flags and banners and chants of ‘no if’s, no buts, no education cuts.’

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Any strike action is hugely damaging.

"We have made a fair and reasonable pay offer to teachers recognising their hard work and commitment.

"Thanks to the further £2bn we are investing in our schools, next year, school funding will be at its highest level in history.”