East Sussex teachers' strike over pay hits thousands of pupils
- Published
At the Priory School in Lewes, 61 members of staff walked out
More than 6,100 school pupils across East Sussex have been affected by teachers striking in a row over pay, a union has said.
The National Education Union said 250 staff took action in Lewes, Eastbourne, Uckfield, Peacehaven and Seaford.
Teacher Phil Clarke said it was "incredibly disappointing" to have to strike when students were facing exams.
But Caroline Barlow of East Sussex Secondary Heads, said there was "no surplus" in the budget to pay more.
The union has been campaigning against the local authority pay award for 2017/18.
It said the dispute is over the failure of East Sussex County Council to ask schools that the newer and lower paid teachers get a 2% pay rise.
It claimed this rate had been paid in most areas of the country including Brighton & Hove.
But East Sussex County Council said it did not decide the annual increase in teachers' pay.
It said it consulted annually with schools on a "model pay policy" but it was the responsibility of each governing body to decide whether to adopt it or consult staff.
'Incredibly disappointing'
The council said it understood "teachers have concerns" but was "disappointed" by the strike action.
It added: "The education of our children should be an absolute priority and nothing should disrupt that."
At the Priory School in Lewes, 61 members of staff walked out. St Catherine's College in Eastbourne was down by 47 people.
Seaford Head School, Peacehaven Community School and Uckfield Community Technology College were also closed to younger pupils.
Teacher Phil Clarke said: "It's incredibly disappointing. Our year 11s have exams coming up very shortly. It's very difficult to go on strike."
But Caroline Barlow, Chair of East Sussex Secondary Heads, said: "We all know that schools have had reduced budgets and real terms cuts very the last few years. There was no surplus.
"If we were going to give any more we would have to make cuts."
Kevin Courtney of the National Education Union warned it could cause recruitment and retention problems that could damage children's education.
He said: "There is absolutely no reason why teachers in East Sussex cannot be paid equally with teachers in Brighton."