Our schools are facing real crisis

I AM deeply concerned about the low morale of teachers, both in our region and across the country. It really cannot be doing our children, or our nation, any good for our teachers to be suffering from such low morale.

It is also. of course, a very serious issue for the teachers themselves.

The future of our nation depends upon how good our education system is and it makes no sense at all for the continual culture of negativity and blame towards teachers.

It is shocking that it was reported last year that the suicide rate among primary teachers was double the national average, according to data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The low morale of teachers is leading to increasing sickness and use of supply teachers. Yet morale among supply teachers is also very low. Many are not getting paid properly with the increasing use of unqualified – and of course cheaper – staff.

Supply teachers are highly skilled, often very experienced teachers, able to assess a situation quickly and do what needs to be done.

Like other teachers, they also deserve better.

There is a huge crisis in education and what is perhaps the worst element of it, is that it doesn’t need to be happening.

Those in charge of education are letting our children and their parents down. Indeed one has to wonder if it isn’t a crisis deliberately set up by the government, so that this great national asset can be broken up and sold off.

PETER SAGAR