TEACHERS protested about pay and terms and conditions outside Sarum Academy this morning.

They joined about 200,000 members of the National Education Union (NEU) across England. 

Picket supervisor for the NEU, Ian Scott said: "We are supporting our members across the country today on picket lines because the government's current position on pay is not acceptable.

Read more: Student questioned by police for social media post

"This is a very important dispute. It is unusual for teachers to take national action, this is the second time in twelve years that teachers have taken industrial action on a national scale. 

"But it is because of the historic increases in inflation this year, that has caused our teachers and support staff members problems paying the bills at the end of the week. The current situation cannot go on." 

Ian emphasised that teaching used to be a career but felt, it was no longer one. 50 per cent of new teachers leave after ten years simply because of the workload and feeling undervalued. 

He said: "This is also a dispute about proper funding for schools.

"Parents are supporting us because they recognise education needs to be valued properly and properly funded so that their children can thrive in the future."

Find out more: Facebook Live covering the teachers' strikes

Last week, the government offered formal talks on pay if the planned strike action would be suspended but the NEU rejected the offer.  

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan had previously stated on Sky News that a serious offer had been made to both the National Education Union and the Royal College of Nursing. 

Ian Scott refuted this.

He said: "Gillian Keegan wants to talk but she does not want to negotiate. The difference with the RCN position is that they had a clear indication from the government that they wanted to negotiate.

Teachers are asked to do two years of training before they can become qualified, so it is an investment but it is about getting the right teachers so that people are not standing in to cover maths or science classes. 

Ian added: "The NEU will go into meetings to negotiate but we are not going to have talks where the government will simply repeat what is already been offered. They need to indicate to us that they mean to go into meaningful negotiations so that there can be a serious increase in the current position from the government."