But parents don't want their children's education to be disrupted. If teachers feel it's neccessary to stop covering classes and children are sent home, it is very difficult for parents to manage, especially as so many are working. A qualified teacher, she said she thought it unlikely that the industrial action would spread to Essex. But she said the high number of vacancies was taking its toll on her sons' school. At our school at the moment, there are five key vacancies.
Senior staff spend a lot of time shuffling names and children.
Part of the problem here is that the school is coping so well. She does not think her children's education has suffered because of the teacher shortages. She believes parents are very supportive of teachers - but that this could be tested if the situation does not improve. So many parents work that this could have an economic impact, affecting their ability to work. Puttnam 'amazed' Lord Puttnam, Chairman of the General Teaching Council, has also offered his sympathy to teachers over their workload.