HUNDREDS of children at schools across Somerset will be told to study at home on Wednesday (February 1) as a large number of teachers go on strike for the day.

It will be the first of four days of industrial action called by the NEU union after 90 per cent of its members who voted expressed their support for the walkouts.

Union rep Neil Apps, a parent and a teacher, said: "Our dispute in not with the individual schools, or the MATs in Somerset. We would much rather be in school supporting the education of our Somerset students than losing pay by withdrawing our labour.

"There will be four strike days for Somerset schools - February 1, March 2, 15 and 16.

"We voted in our conference at Easter to ask for a fully funded, above inflation pay rise after 13 years of under inflation pay rises, or no pay rises at all.

"We were working through lockdown as key workers and had no pay rise. Some teachers caught Covid or long Covid as a consequence.

"The government was aware of this vote at the time, but has refused to negotiate on this matter. They offered a 5% pay-rise, but with inflation soaring what this amounted to was a 7% pay cut. It has been calculated by the IFS that if teachers are 15% below where they were in real terms in 2010, this amounts to over the 13 years, £64,000, or more than twice the starting salary of a teacher. This has led to some teachers in Somerset who are going to food banks, this should not be happening.

"But to make matters worse, despite our request for a fully funded pay rise, this 5% offered pay rise was not funded by any increase in school’s budgets, so any rise in pay would come at the expense of other spending on children’s education.

"The recruitment and retention crisis in schools means that our children are missing out as teachers leave the profession in droves. One in four teachers leave the profession within two years of qualifying; a third within five years. 13% of teachers who qualified in 2019 have quit.

"This is exacerbated by the collapse of the number of people training to become teachers. The target for entrants to teacher training for secondary schools is at 59%. The picture is even worse for some specific subjects, with 34% of the target achieved for modern foreign languages, 30% for computing, 25% for design and technology and a deeply worrying 17% for physics.

"This strike is in response to 13 years of government underfunding of education. The per pupil funding, which is the budget every school has to work with, has still not returned to the level it was at in 2010, and using the government’s own figures, is not expected to do so before 2024. This means 14 years of our children going through school without the required funding to ensure they get the excellent education they deserve. Students only get one chance at education, if the government was serious about ensuring the future for our children and the country, they would prioritise spending on education.

"We have seen this underfunding playing out in Somerset, many schools are in need of repair, leaking roofs, loose windows, one in Yeovil was so dangerous that it was closed in September with no warning, possibly permanently, and the students distributed to other schools.

"Teachers do not want to strike any more than Nurses and Paramedics do, but we need to ensure that our children’s education is protected by making sure they have well trained dedicated and passionate teachers. This can only happen if education is a priority."

HERE'S THE FULL LIST OF SOMERSET SCHOOLS PLANS FOR WEDNESDAY:

ANSFORD ACADEMY: Partially closed. The academy will be open for Year 11 and a small group of pre-identified students only. The academy will be closed to Years 7 to 10 who will be provided with work for the day.

ASHLANDS CofE FIRST SCHOOL: Fully closed.

AVANTI PARK SCHOOL: Partially closed.

BALTONSBOROUGH CE VC PRIMARY SCHOOL: Partially closed. The nursery will remain unaffected but all four classes need to be closed.

BIRCHFIELD PRIMARY SCHOOL: Partially closed. School will be closed to classes RAE, 1KW, 2JR, 2LA, 3PW, 4DG, 4GM. School will remain open to classes RFG, 1JW, 3SS, 5TM, 5ZD, 6GQ, 6WL, 6NL.

BISHOP HENDERSON CofE PRIMARY SCHOOL, COLEFORD: Partially closed. One class will remain open and support vulnerable learners, SEND children and key workers.

BOWLISH INFANTS SCHOOL: Partially closed. School is closed for Robin Class only.

BUCKLER'S MEAD ACADEMY: Partially closed. Year 7, Year 8 and Year 11 students should attend the academy as normal. Year 9 and Year 10 students will remain at home and access lessons remotely. They will be expected to complete the work set on Google Classroom. It is the school's intention to continually review this and if we can have more students in the academy we will.

BUTLEIGH CofE PRIMARY SCHOOL: Partially closed. Falcon, Kestrel and Kite classes will be closed all day. Owl class will be open and vulnerable children will be invited in.

CHARLTON MACKRELL CofE PRIMARY SCHOOL: Fully closed..

FAIRMEAD SCHOOL: Fully closed.

FIVEWAYS SPECIAL SCHOOL: Partially closed. The 6th Form will be fully open. The parents of the pupils from the lower and upper school who will continue to attend school will be contacted directly.

FROME COMMUNITY COLLEGE: Open only to children of key workers and vulnerable children.

HATCH BEAUCHAMP CofE PRIMARY SCHOOL: Fully closed.

HOLY TRINITY Vof E SCHOOL, TAUNTON: Partially closed. It will be open to children in Stars (Reception) and Everest (Year 6). It will also be partly open to a select group of vulnerable children.

HUGH SEXEY CofE MIDDLE SCHOOL: Partially closed. Open to Years 5 and 6. Open only in Years 7 and 8 to children of key workers and vulnerable children.

HUISH EPISCOPI ACADEMY: Partially closed. The academy will be closed to Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 and open to Years 11, 12 and 13.

HUISH PRIMARY SCHOOL: Partially closed. Classes 2, 5, 10 and 11 only will be closed to students on Wednesday. All other classes remain open.

ILCHESTER COMMUNITY SCHOOL: Partially closed. The school will only be open to children receiving free school meals (benefit related) and their siblings or children in receipt of an EHCP.

KINGSMEAD SCHOOL, WIVELISCOMBE: Partially closed. Students in Years 7, 8, 9 and 10 should remain at home on Wednesday and complete remote learning. Year 11, given the proximity to their final exams, will be expected to attend school as normal. Looked after children and those in receipt of an EHCP will also be individually invited to attend school on this date.

KINGSTON ST MARY CofE PRIMARY SCHOOL: Partially closed. School closed to children in Owl Class. School open as normal to children in Buzzard, Robins and Woodpecker Classes.

KINGHTS TEMPLAR CofE/METHODIST COMMUNITY SCHOOL: Partially closed. Two classes are open, five classes are closed.

MARTOCK CofE PRIMARY SCHOOL: Only open to vulnerable children.

MINEHEAD FIRST SCHOOL: Partially closed. Pre School remaining open. Years R-4 are closed.

NORTON ST PHILIP CofE FIRST SCHOOL: Partially closed. Reception Class only to be closed.

OAKFIELD ACADEMY: Partially closed. Fully open to Years 5 and 6. Open to all FSM, vulnerable and key worker pupils from Years 7 and 8.

OAKLANDS PRIMARY SCHOOL: Partially closed.

SELWORTHY SCHOOL: Partially closed. Following a risk assessment regarding strike action, both sites will be partially closed. Open classes: Juniper, Dill, Fennel, Sage, Rosemary, Lavender, Lyme, Dunster, Bossington, Porlock, Kilve, The Cove (in line with Court Fields). Closed classes: Tarragon, Basil, Mint, Chive, Parsley, Woolacombe, Saunton, Exmouth, Croyde, Minehead, Grove 1, Grove 2 and Grove 3.

SKY COLLEGE: Fully closed. Welfare visits will take place on this day to most vulnerable students.

ST CUTHBERT'S CofE ACADEMY INFANTS AND PRE-SCHOOL: Partially closed. The school will be open for vulnerable pupils only but not for key worker pupils because of the staffing ratio.

ST DUNSTAN'S SCHOOL ACADEMY TRUST: Partially closed. The school will be open for year 10 and year 11 students only.

ST MARGARET'S SCHOOL: Partially closed. One class will be closed all day and one other year group will be affected in the morning only.

STANCHESTER ACADEMY: Partially closed. Stanchester will be open for Years 10 and 11 only.

TATWORTH PRIMARY SCHOOL: Partially closed. Reception class closed except for key worker children.

THE BLUE SCHOOL: Partially closed. Campus closed to Y7, Y8, Y9 and Y10 - remote learning. Campus open to Y11, Y12 and Y13 only.

THE KING ALFRED SCHOOL: Open to Years 7 & 13. Years 8, 9, 10 & 11 to remain home. Canteen will open at lunchtime for FSM provision for all years

THE TAUNTON ACADEMY: Only Years 11 and 7 will be attending school. Years 8, 9 and 10 will be set work on class charts.

VALLIS FIRST SCHOOL: Partially closed. The following classes will be closed for the day: Apollo - Year 1/2; Neptune - Year 1/2; Saturn - Year 1/2; Voyager - Year 3. All other classes are open as usual.

WADHAM CofE VC COMMUNITY SCHOOL: Partially closed. Open to Year 11 Students (normal curriculum timetable). Open to Sixth Form Students (self-study warm space). Open to Vulnerable Children and children of Critical Workers (drop-down day - bespoke curriculum). All other Year Groups (7-10) will be provided with work to complete at home.

WELLSPRINGS PRIMARY SCHOOL: Partially closed. Four classes open. The school is also open to pupils with identified vulnerable needs.