A number of Isle of Wight schools will be closed this coming Thursday (2nd March) as teachers once again walk out as part of ongoing industrial action.
Members of the National Education Union (NEU) are striking over pay and funding for schools. Thursday’s strike will be the 2nd day of action, following on from a strike on Wednesday 1st February.
Medina College, Carisbrooke College, The Bay CE School (Secondary) and Christ the King College will be closed to almost every pupil, except those considered ‘most vulnerable’.
At Medina, Carisbrooke and The Bay, Year 11 will be expected to attend as normal.
Cowes Enterprise College will be open to Years 11, 12, 13 and vulnerable pupils only, as well as pupils of critical workers.
The only secondary school to avoid closure is Ryde Academy, which will remain open. However, there will be some impact on internal staffing and therefore there may be some changes to the students’ usual way of learning.
A number of primary schools are also set to fully or partially close, which will clash with World Book Day. It means that some pupils will completely miss out on the annual event.
Further strikes are planned for Wednesday 15th March and Thursday 16th March.
Local representative of the NEU, Peter Shreeve, previously told Island Echo:
“It’s not just about a pay rise. The strike and protest are about recruitment and retention of staff. Nationally, 42% of secondary school students are not being taught by a qualified maths teacher. It’s been a similar situation for 10 years now.
“Older and more senior staff are leaving the profession because they are too expensive to retain. This has led to schools losing (for example) their deputy heads.
“Education on the Isle of Wight is suffering due to the lack of teachers. 1 in 19 students have special educational plans requiring individual tuition but we just do not have the staff to do this.”



























































































Get back to work all just got on UC if it’s to much of a issue
Just woke brainwashers of the young, ensuring the next generation is even worse than the last.
Overpaid, so many hols, and short days.
So, for once agree Kev
If it’s such a great overpaid job with so many hols and short days why won’t you two become teachers for that money?
If it’s true then there’s no problem, supply and demand will fix it, right?
Because of a couple of reasons.
I already have a job which I chose, trained for and do to the best of my ability and enjoy, despite the pay being less than £13 p.h
The second reason, a little more hard for you and many others no doubt to comprehend. It being that I would not be false to myself and belief by being used by the state to indoctrinate young minds into woke life.
If I were a teacher I would expect to teach the subject I was trained to do, along with basic manners and behaviour.
I could not sleep well at night, knowing that I had subtly brainwashed children into modern ‘values’ which I don’t hold.
Whilst the media, modern TV etc constantly bombard minds with accepting the ‘unacceptable’ I would feel too guilty
Susan and IF it is such a bad job, surely such wise, intelligent people that teachers OUGHT to be, would have looked into such BEFORE accepting the position, or if it has ‘changed since’, then now in such times of almost full employment, left and gone elsewhere?
Just greedy, pretend to care, but really want their cake and eat it.
In the P.C world they help create they ‘can’t’ be honest and say that many benefit parents are slobs, their clones are making ‘their’ life difficult, and their hands are tied in what they can do.
But teachers should be telling their superiors, otherwise it will never change.
Likely just greed for more and stuff everyone not getting a rise imo
And a good pension , they have to look at the bigger picture. They say some are leaving to stack shelves at supermarkets etc ,well they don’t get that pay, rights, hols or pensions there. They know teachers pay when they decide to be one ,as for its not all about pay but lack of teachers and they’re doing it for the children ,well this is not helping them at all !! By all means protest but don’t take it out on the children they’ve missed enough school over last 3yrs !
Wow this will hurt.
All those being paid to breed, might, for an extra day, have to entertain and feed what they are paid thousands a year to look after.
Perhaps they could have a care worker sent around to provide a meal for them so as not to disturb ‘mummy’s’ day of being in the nail bar, free state paid for sauna at the gym, having to avert long lashed eyes from a screen to ‘tend’ what it has dumped upon society.
Says someone sat on their butt whining to a news website in the arse end of butt-f*ck nowhere.
Get back to work.
So that comment touched a ‘raw nerve’
Guess you have a few buggy pushing idle in ‘the family’ then, getting others to ‘fund’ their rent, council tax, and their womb contents clothing, food, uniforms and all health care for the whole dysfunctional family then. Father, or more correctly sperm doner still around? Never mind you get ‘more’ for being a ‘single muver’ so, no matter, sure it doesn’t sleep alone anyway.
Ivy, that’s you in disguise I think.
Naaah, I’m loaded luv.
Worked my butt off for 30 years and now sitting pretty on the proceeds.
Just think its funny when a waste of oxygen like you or Ive moans about other wastes of oxygen.
Get back to work you lazy so called teachers
Do you work? A day in the life of a teacher yesterday. Was in school at 7:30am, taught all day. Staff meeting until 5. Marked work until 6:30pm. Went home and planned resources, printed and sorted work for the next day. In-between grabbed some food and a drink as didn’t have time during the day because of dealing with parents and vulnerable children. No break as I was on playground duty. Finished at 10:15pm. Went to bed to get up at 6:30 to do it all again today. You have no idea and shows your ignorance.
Clearly that placard wielder isn’t struggling to buy food.
I expect our pcc donna jones doesn’t struggle to buy food either
Not with the annual precept rises, no.
Pure greed.Teachers don’t care about your child’s education.
Its an easy, well paid job with a very generous pension from 55.
Go back to school Terry. Every statement you make here is incorrect.
While I don’t dispute point 1, it’s not a pleasant job for two reasons, kids number one, parents number two. And no you don’t retire at 55.
Bob, teachers ‘can’ retire at 55, that’s the minimum retirement age. It’s going up to 57 in 5 years or so time.
Certainly is easy life. My Cousin is a teacher, and, in the evening goes to the prison to teach there.
IF you were so stressed, so worn out, had to mark sooo much homework etc, you would not have the time, will or energy to do that as well.
They are spenders and good luck to them, but don’t come the hard luck story, plenty of Islanders far, far worse off.
Also unlike years ago, many teachers have class helpers, especially if, as most do now, they have joey children in their midst.
So not as hard a life as they wish the gullible believed.
So pleased for your cousin.
But what a ridiculous comparison.
Plenty of islanders are far, far worse off.
But what a ridiculous justification. Plenty of islanders don’t work in a degree led profession.
Teacher recruitment targets in secondary subjects have been missed for years. The profession is falling to pieces.
What are your views on that?
Boooooo booooo get back to work lazy
Teachers’ pay is correct given the low number of hours worked per year and the low level of ability required to get the job. Those who can do and those who can’t teach. If teachers had the wit to improve maths skills, there would be more maths graduates and thus more maths teachers among those who can’t get a decent job that requires maths skillls. Indeed, the whole country would benefit from better maths skills. Sadly, thick teachers are churning out dumber and dumber kids. Academic standards on Isle of Wight are the lowest in the UK. Teachers here can barely teach most kids how to drag their knuckles properly.
Hold on a minute.Teachers. 1 Every weekend off. 2 Every bank holiday off .3 Minimum 6weeks summer holiday.4 Minimum 2weeks Easter holiday.5Minimum 3weeks off for Xmas.6 Minimum 4 weeks off for half terms.7minimum5or6 days off for development.8 Lunch breaks and coffee breaks every day.When is any teaching actually done?Must work out at about£50 an hour plus massive pension .Get back to work you fazy luckers.
Like the sound of this where do I get an application form?This will be easier than being unemployed and with loads a money and loads of time off.Can I start tomorrow?
So teachers.. Not the easiest job but compared to some are on a very good deal. No threat of any teacher losing their job during lockdown, great pension, great holidays etc. We do have to think how grateful we we were though when the children did return after lockdown. So for me striking is the very last resort but there has always been a militant left wing element in the Teachers Union and they do get their way. They really need to think what they are teaching their students – If you dont like something go on strike – not a great example is it.
1 in 19 students have special educational plans requiring individual tuition
and I suspect that 18 of them, have parents that didn’t bother teaching them anything before school age – in other words, lazy parents expect schools to do the parenting and education.
Why is it that one family took there kid out of school to go on holiday and got fined for it and the school said that it would harm there education
So is is exactly the same with the teachers going on strike they are harming the kids education will they get fined for it no
So sad that people are so negative when they clearly have no idea what being a teacher is like. I feel so sorry for you that you weren’t taught to get your facts correct before your mouths verbalise your feelings.
Most of them are too thick to work in McDonalds, let alone as teachers.
Sad little failures jealous of everyone who did better in life than them