TEACHERS have called a strike on Tuesday, July 5, as they demand more funding for education and more negiotiations on contracts over workloads.

Mike Harrison, secretary of Wiltshire National Union of Teachers, said: "The NUT is calling the first day of strike action on July 5 and it is important that your readers are aware of the reasons: The strike demands are to increase funding to schools and education, guarantee terms and conditions in all types of schools, and to resume negotiations on teacher contracts to allow workload to be addressed.

"The NUT is not taking action lightly. In light of the huge funding cuts to schools, worsening terms and conditions, and unmanageable and exhausting workloads, teachers cannot be expected to go on without significant change.

"NUT research has shown that Wiltshire is likely to suffer a 4.4% funding cut in real terms over the next few years The effects on children's education are also real and damaging. As a result of school funding cuts, class sizes in primary and secondary schools are increasing, subject choices are being cut, and children are getting less individual attention as teachers and support staff are made redundant or not replaced when they leave.

"There is worse to come, with the Institute of Fiscal Studies predicting that the biggest real terms cuts to per pupil funding in a generation are on the way.

"There is already a teacher recruitment and retention crisis in our schools. Without significant change to the pay and working condition of teachers, this will simply deepen. We know that many parents share our concerns.

"The commitment from Government to ensure all schools become academies will result in decisions on pay and working conditions, including maternity/paternity rights and sick pay, being made at school level. There is absolutely no evidence that this sort of deregulation will lead to higher standards. There needs to be a guarantee of good standards for teachers' terms and conditions across the board, in all schools.

"School leaders' attention should be on educating children, not squandering huge amounts of time on negotiating individual staff members' contracts."