PAY CAMPAIGN RESPONSES: (updated 26 July 2007) page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

After 6 years teaching I have decided to leave and have just had my last day at school. The hours are too long and the pressure, expectations and responsibility too great. The pay does not reflect the 10+ hour days and weekend work. The public perception of high pay, short days and long holidays could not be further from the truth. I was initially worried about whether I may regret my decision, but since I've resigned many of my colleagues have said they wish they'd got out earlier!Gwyneth, Dudley
I have been working out my finances and my whole income is now taken up with our mortgage and bills, not counting food shopping! My partner doesn't earn a great deal - we have one young child and don't go out or live extravagantly but I am now thinking I need to get an evening job just to make ends meet! How will that leave me feeling for my 'day' (and evening / weekend) job of teaching??? Kate

Three years ago I paid £400 per calendar month to rent a two-bedroom flat. In Gloucestershire it now costs £600 per calendar month. That's an increase of £2400 per year. Need I say more? I'm broke and can't afford a holiday this year. I could go through the threshold to the UPS but I only have a temporary contract and am well aware that all Heads employ people with budgetary considerations paramount. I daren't take this step in case I end up unemployed. I think I'll probably get out of teaching at the end of 2008. It's just not worth the grief anymore. Allyson, Gloucestershire

Considering how much pressure this job entails and the number of changes that come in year after year, our salaries do not justify how much we do. I know personally I have struggled to cope with marking as a majority of course I teach are all coursework based and I do 90% of my marking at home. My PPA'S are used for admin and planning lessons and making phone calls. I do love teaching but apart from teaching I don't have a life. Pay day is the last day of the month and I'm lucky if I see any of my money by day seven. My mortgage kills me and my council tax also has gone up as well. We bought our house two and a half years ago and even then it was a struggle. We want to start a family soonish and don't want to move but paying such a big mortgage and then trying to have a family will be hard. I will be applying for threshold and I think that all the paperwork we fill out for that is stupid. RC, Wolverhampton

After just finishing my NQT year my financial situation is in a poorer condition now than when I started full time employment. The costs of living and higher levels of costs in the south east make it very difficult to lead what would be considered a normal existence for a professional and graduated work a six day week! I have friends working in other sectors with much greater financial reward, work life balance and lower levels of stress. I hope some changes can be made to satisfy the honest requests that the NUT have suggested. Martin, West Sussex

At the end of my second year as a class teacher my monthly income is not sufficient to meet my outgoings, particularly as I am still paying off university debts. I find that I am continuously worrying about my finances, adding stress to an already stressful job. I have no hope of saving any money and starting a family or buying a house is not an option for me at the moment, although my husband and I would love to do both of these things. I love my job but I am seriously considering leaving the profession to earn more in another role. I have a real desire to teach and I have put so much into learning about the profession over the last few years that I would be very sad to give it all up. Rebecca, South Gloucestershire

I love teaching. Like many people have said, I also work very, very hard; in the evenings and at weekends. I am a dedicated professional but our pay does not reflect this - if like many of the people I went to university with I worked in journalism, advertising or many other graduate professions I would be earning double my salary now. I want to move out but don't want to pay someone else's mortgage by renting - it is totally impossible. I am struggling to pay off student debts. I just want our pay to show the importance of our profession, the government needs to consider the fact that without teachers our country would collapse! Emma, West Sussex

Recent pay increases are an insult. So called cost of living pay rises do not meet my cost of living with increases in council tax, utilities etc. As a life long labour voter I feel very let down by the government’s refusal to consider a review. I might feel better if mps or local government executives awarded themselves a 2.5 % pay increase. When was the last time that happened? Education! Education! Education! Yes on the cheap. We are obviously not valued for the work we do. Hilary , Kent

The bills keep on rising but the rate of pay doesn't!! Have really noticed a difference in the last year. Sharon , Leicester

As Graham from Staffordshire, also I agree with his complaint. Teachers who teach a normal child spend less cognitive load than a teaching assistant at SEN. Sueli, Hamlets

I am 33, I love my job and I work hard. I do not have a lot of debt but I am unable to save and simply cannot consider buying a flat in London. I don't see how this situation will change. I hate the insecurity that I feel living in overpriced rented accommodation and I am outraged at the way I am being used by the government. Jo, Lewisham

Most of the professionals I work with are passionate about giving young people the knowledge and skills; helping them to aim high and live a fulfilling life. This passion and dedication is constantly taken for granted, as demonstrated in this U-turn on the cost of living pay rise. Shameful. Tina, West Berkshire

I am the main wager earner in our family. We would love to move not only to a bigger house but also to a nicer area, but can't afford to. We would love to have another child (we have one at present) but can't afford to. We struggle to make ends meet from one month to the next and when we have any unforseen costs, such a garage bill, it generally causes us all sorts of worry as to how we are going to pay for it. We are both constantly overdrawn in our bank accounts and try very hard not to use credit cards unless it is essential or we want to insure the purchase of expensive items. We don't go on holiday abroad and are only going on holiday in England this summer because we have been lucky enough to have been offered a house free of rent for five days. Salaries in the teaching profession do not match in any way what our friends have built up to in the world of business. There are no cash incentives, bonuses or extra holidays for 20 years service for example. I love teaching. I don't want to change careers but am seriously considering other options before I am possibly considered too old. Emma , Kent

I have been teaching for eight years, my first job was in the outer London area. We struggled for four years to by a house and we gave up and moved away, because of the house prices increase and my wages were not going up in line with inflation. I now live in Cornwall another expensive county, I am still in debt from university, I did not receive a golden hello, I also did not get paid for teaching practice, my wife and I are still struggling to make ends meet along with paying the student loan and with the cost of living increasing every year. I feel very dishearten to be eight years into my career and knowing at the end of the month there sometimes is no money for petrol to get to work as all my wages are spent on the bills. I am now looking to get out of the teaching profession as there has been too many broken promises from this government. This decision needs to made now knowing after UPS3 there is a very little chance of going any further to the Excellent Teachers scale. WHAT A CON!!!! Alex, Cornwall

The 2.5% annual pay increase over the last two years has effectively meant in real terms that many teachers including myself have lost around £1000 since the actual level of inflation is above 4%. This loss would actually pay for half the repayments of my student loan every year. When will the pay increase reflect wage increases throughout the rest of the country? James, Portsmouth

Considering that teachers deal with the most complex issues that face modern society on a daily basis, we get very little reward for it. Having more adequate pay that can support a family or a mortgage would go a long way to help cope with the daily stress and challenges the job can bring. C, Islington

After 30 years of teaching, I'm looking forward to receiving what I think is a well-earned pension. But I cannot recommend to anyone that they join the profession at this stage. Twenty-five years ago we bought our first house three times my then salary. Today we could not afford to buy our current house without borrowing five times my current salary. And we're in on of the so-called "cheaper" areas! We need to attract the best brains into the profession, but good brains soon work out that if they work for peanuts they will be thought of as monkeys. Low pay for public sector workers is a slap in the face for all those who only want to teach, heal, or protect others. Why do we deserve that? Geoff, Lancashire

Coming up to retirement after 37 years of teaching, I thought teachers pensions were automatically increased with inflation. As inflation is at 4.3% why has the teachers’ pension only been increased by 3%? When teachers gain their pay rise it will be too late for me to benefit from this. As I have been teaching many years when the pay was lower I would like to start a campaign for teachers already retired to gain from the pay rise by increase in the pension in line with the new pay award when it happens. Please direct me to the department/person who could implement this idea. Joan, Newcastle upon Tyne

I am sick of teachers being undervalued. We work solid when we're at school, hard at home with all the pathetic red tape work and then do all the extras such as discos, parties, plays which are vital towards children’s development. We now need the union to lead us into industrial action, which I am sure many will take, prove to the government how valuable we really are otherwise more young teachers like myself will be looking to find another job without the hassle. It needs to happen soon as like I say, the first opportunity I find, I'm out! Matthew, Stockton

I have just graduated from university and the financial prospect involved in becoming a teacher is daunting. After doing a four year teaching course at university, I thought that I would be able to support myself in my new career. This is not the case when you have such a large loan to repay, would like to join the property ladder and need to pay for transport to school. Teachers’ pay increases should be inline with other graduates, otherwise they will have no choice but to leave the profession - which most teachers love and put their all into. Rebecca, Northamptonshire

I have only just paid off my loans from University after having 10 years of debt. I now face an impossible task of getting a mortgage. I pay £650 a month in rent and would struggle to find anything half decent in the city with a mortgage for that much....looks like I will have to continue renting and wasting dead money. Kerry, Nottingham County Council

Me and my husband will have to move out of London as we just can't afford to buy a flat slightly bigger in London in reasonable distance from work. The pay is a joke considering how much work we do compare to other professionals. Lene, Lambeth

The settlement amounts to a pay cut and therefore, on principal should be opposed. The government need to be persuaded to rethink and quickly. Michael, Sunderland

I am currently trying to buy a flat but am filled with the worry of being able to afford it. Like other people I have found that friend who left straight after school to get jobs instead of going to university are already comfortably off already in their first house. The alternative is moving back home and after leaving at 18 I don't think it's fair to my parents that their 26 year old daughter is asking for her old room back! Why don't the government save money by stopping all these adverts (which are just laughable) and put it towards keeping teachers in the profession that they have spent time, money and energy on! S, Surrey

I have friends who have the energy to go out after work and enjoy themselves. I am too knackered. I no longer get phone calls from them. Most have no qualifications and earn more than I do. One who works for Corus gets paid more and has more time off. I'm in so much debt I can't afford to leave the profession as much as I want to. We've had more Education Secretaries than pay rises! Mick, Middlesbrough

Why are we a profession who is treated with such contempt by a government who professes to hold education as one of their priorities? What moral grounds do they use to justify reducing our wages in this way? Please could someone answer these questions because I cannot find any logical explanation? Are we simply not worth it? Garhard, Merthyr Tydfil

I'm in my NQT year, living with my fiancee and our two children. I'm the only one working as our youngest is only 6 months old. Every month we end up spending more on bills and essentials than I actually get paid! The thing is to help support in the short term I'm thinking of stopping paying money into my pension as it will give me more money a month to help get through. We keep getting turned down for credit and the debt we are building up gets worse and it has become a downward spiral. Anything less than £25,000 a year for any teacher, anywhere in the country is a joke! Peter, Hounslow

It's nice to see politicians' logic at work. The government is faced with an ongoing teacher shortage and the fact that many new teachers leave the profession after only a few years. Probably the best thing to do then is to ignore a quite reasonable outcry about pay and moot plans for extending full-time education to the age of 18. Genius! AL , Bristol

How are young teachers meant to buy a house and raise a family when wages are so below the national rate of inflation? Paul, Manchester

We are told all the time that there are shortages of teachers in education. Underpaying the staff does not appear the best way to entice new staff or retain existing staff. Next year will be my sixth year of teaching and I am still having to rely on the generosity of my parents to help me through the tight spots. Perhaps it really is time to start looking at other professions. Nick, Essex

As a single parent with two growing lads (14 and almost 16) I am finding it increasingly difficult to make ends meet (buy enough food, pay the bills and mortgage etc.). I haven't been able to afford a holiday for two years now, we just stay at home. In the job I do I believe I deserve a decent two week holiday away, so that I can recharge my batteries. A decent holiday helps me when I return to work. I feel totally exhausted as the end of this academic year approaches, and with no holiday to look forward to, it just feels like a slap in the face. Elizabeth, Brent

I’m sure we’ll all be on strike soon about this! Sad thing is of course with all the bad press we have as teaches, we’ll have no support from the media or the public. Should have been a nurse or a doctor I suppose! It’s time to raise teaches and teaching as a profession; and raise the pay. How do the nurses get such great press every time? Amazing! Tony, Conwy

Quite simply reducing teachers' pay in real terms will lead to the best teachers finding new careers. Why, because they have the skills to be successful in the most mercurial of situations, under pressure and naturally work to need, not to the clock. When they leave I feel really sorry for the children who will suffer at the hands of those too lazy, too, unemployable, too inexperienced to provide the standard of education children, who will shape our future economy, deserve. Rozanne, Coventry

As a 50% primary teacher married to a full time secondary, we are at our wits end in with our finances. We had two children by age 27 and feel like we are now being financially punished. We have applied for threshold to scrape a bit more each month, but both schools are dawdling - I could scream! What with 1000's pounds debt and a crippling mortgage, I really wonder if it’s all worth it, especially when I see parents claiming everything under the sun and affording holidays abroad every year! This country is in a sorry state. Emma, Leicestershire

Until the government realises that good quality teachers need to be recruited for the present economic climate and retained with a salary commensurate to the role they play in society, then skills that are needed for the present social and economic climate will be just that.......those needed! Until the curriculum accurately reflects this need then this country will have a society in which skills are an ever decreasing commodity. Teaching is a profession that should be regarded in high esteem and paid accordingly. The government needs to act now to address the issue before it goes to the point where no graduates even consider it as a profession. D, Oldham

I agree with all what teachers have said. I think it is time now for the government to start listening and honour the pledges they have been making for the last 10 years .In my particular case and I am sure there must be hundred similar cases in the country, I have been teaching languages for almost 15 years. As a dedicated and committed teacher I opted and intend, to remain in the classroom. I could have followed the management route but education and most importantly pupils need teachers, good teachers in the classroom. My decision was made at a time when the labour government promised an upper scale pay of 5 grades up to £40000 …those were the words of Mr Blunket at that time…I am stuck in UPS3 since 2004..no way out of it…lies again ! and again…!!!! In addition to all this now we are supposed to accept the pay cut and say nothing…another pay cut…..I feel undervalued, being lied to and treated unfairly like all the thousands of the wonderful classroom teachers this wonderful nation had produced .I love teaching young people but enough is enough so Monsieur le Ministre Please écoutez nous!!!! D.R., Oldham

My bills are increasing and my mortgage has gone up, Car tax is increasing as well as so many other things and yet my wages increase only slightly each year. I shop at car boot sales, charity shops and spend valuable time looking for bargains on the internet. This is an added stress to an already stressful job. I believe the Government wants to squeeze out experienced teachers and replace them with NQTs who are happy to work for a lot less. We will end up with very poor retention of good teachers. Mohammad, Kirklees

I live in West Yorkshire and I find it very difficult to manage with the cost of living. My expenditure on rent, bills and council tax take most of my pay and at the end of the month I find myself sinking deep into debt. At times I do ask myself, am I in the right profession? L, Kirklees

You know something is wrong when no one working in your school can afford to live anywhere near it unless they live in council or housing association homes. Leaving aside astronomical house prices in London, the financial trouble goes right back to teacher training and is then compounded year on year. The dire bank balances of those finishing undergraduate degrees is well documented. There has been less attention paid to the £6,000 bursary for students doing a PGCE. First, this has not risen with inflation, meaning a de facto cut each year. Second, it is nowhere near enough to live on, particularly in London. Why isn’t it weighted like teaching salaries? My only option was to get out a student loan, which still wasn't enough to get by on but guaranteed that I started my NQT year with massive debts. These haven't gone down significantly in the last two years of teaching and look set to be a continuing financial drag for years to come. With childcare costs, council tax and a London-sized mortgage, the last thing I can afford is £250 a month to pay off the PGCE. The cost of training makes a mockery of the starting salaries for NQTs. I think that in order to attract and retain career changers like myself and good quality graduates, the PGCE bursary in London needs to be at least doubled to £12,000, with future rises linked to the retail price index. Dominic,

I have only been teaching for a couple of years. I should by now have started paying off my student loan from two years ago, but after a mortgage (of a house that we could only buy due to my partner’s salary) bills, everything else, there is no possibility that I can. I have no disposable income and now have to tutor and work in a Saturday school. Feeling more and more fed up! Emily, Lewisham

This year, I have been planning my wedding and I can honestly say that the ever increasing rate of everything related to living (but the teacher's pay) has made things more difficult than expected, despite having been saving up for over a year. World Class Education requires without a doubt World Class Pay! Séverine, Leicestershire

PAY CAMPAIGN RESPONSES: page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17