Thousands of Christchurch teachers hit the streets in nationwide strike over conditions and support for students

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Thousands of teachers took their fury at the Government to streets across the country in a nationwide strike to demand better pay and working conditions.

Schools across Christchurch on Thursday were shut as teachers streamed into Victoria Square to vent their anger before marching through the city centre.

Many were also optimistic – and plenty carried creative signs that underscored their concerns about support, classe sizes and release time.

“I’ve been crying out to the Ministry (of Education) and crying out to anyone who can hear me to have support for these children,” said Felicity Jenkins, head teacher at Wigram Kidsfirst Kindergarten.

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“Every single person here feels the burn of the amount of work that we have. Not only that, it’s the children out there not getting the support they need, and that is devastating.”

Classrooms and schools across the country were largely empty as 50,000 secondary, primary and kindergarten teachers walked out, with major protests also in Wellington and Auckland and hundreds at rallies in smaller centres.

Secondary, primary and kindergarten teachers striking in Christchurch on Thursday took their protest to the Ministry of Education building on Cambridge Tce.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

Secondary, primary and kindergarten teachers striking in Christchurch on Thursday took their protest to the Ministry of Education building on Cambridge Tce.

The “historic joint strike action”, organised by unions the Post Primary Teachers’ Association (PPTA) and New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI) Te Riu Roa, saw teachers calling for better pay to meet the rising cost of living, as well as more support and resources in school.

Education Minister Jan Tinetti addressed striking teachers outside Parliamen, telling them she is committed to doing better and acknowledging parts of the system are “broken” – a message met by booing from some protesters.

The PPTA is meeting with the Ministry of Education on Friday, and acting president Chris Abercrombie hopes the strike will “encourage a more productive conversation”. NZEI is waiting to hear from the ministry as to when negotiations will resume.

Teachers will be back in classrooms on Friday, but further strikes have not been ruled out.

Despite the seriousness of the issue, the mood was upbeat in Christchurch.

Teachers Kiri Conrad, Barb Kennedy, Lynley Cooper and Louise Wylie (from left to right), from Darfield Primary School clutch a sign apparently with a message for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Education Minister Jan Tinetti.

Shannon Redstall/Stuff

Teachers Kiri Conrad, Barb Kennedy, Lynley Cooper and Louise Wylie (from left to right), from Darfield Primary School clutch a sign apparently with a message for Prime Minister Chris Hipkins and Education Minister Jan Tinetti.

When asked what an average day looked like, a group from Darfield School burst out laughing, one saying: “How long have you got?”

Over toots of support from passing traffic, teachers of all age groups explained how they are facing increasing mental health concerns and behavioural issues in students.

Barb Kennedy, deputy principal at Darfield Primary School, said most of her children are “absolutely gorgeous” but there are some she watches closely as they walk through the school gate in the morning.

“You’re reading their body [language], you’re reading the body [language] of the parent who’s dropping them off because that will dictate how the rest of your day goes.

“If they are off, and disregulated, it can take us nearly all day to get them back into a calm state, which affects you as a teacher and the rest of the children.”

Her colleague, Kiri Conrad, said a lack of funding had led to tough calls about who gets specialist support.

Protestors in Victoria Square before the march.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

Protestors in Victoria Square before the march.

“We have to make decisions about who deserves the funding more, this child or this child. They both do,” she said, outraged.

Another Darfield Primary teacher, Louise Wylie, added: “At the moment we have to go with the most severe. And it’s not fair on the children that deserve it. But [we] don’t get [the funding] because they’re not severe enough.”

Not one person during the strike in Christchurch mentioned getting anything for themselves out of the negotiations. Ratheri, it was all about having the resources to get better outcomes for their students.

“This isn’t a pay thing” secondary school maths teacher Clare Kelly said.

“It’s not to improve our lives … That would be nice, but if it improves the education for the students, that’s a win for us.”

Kelly currently teaches three classes, all with roll numbers in the high twenties, and said ideally she would like to have no more than 24 students in a class at one time.

Abby Robertson teaches Te Reo Māori at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery but feels her job is not sustainable.

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

Abby Robertson teaches Te Reo Māori at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery but feels her job is not sustainable.

Te Reo Māori teacher Abby Robertson teaches a class of 37 students at Ao Tawhiti Unlimited Discovery School, and she too would like to see smaller class sizes.

Robertson is only in her second year teaching but fears she’s “falling into that young teachers group leaving before the five-year mark”.

“I absolutely love my job, however it’s not sustainable,” Robertson said.

Teachers protesting outside the Ministry of Education building on Cambridge Tce in Christchurch. One placard among the many read: “Can you read this? You’re welcome.”

ALDEN WILLIAMS/Stuff

Teachers protesting outside the Ministry of Education building on Cambridge Tce in Christchurch. One placard among the many read: “Can you read this? You’re welcome.”

Large numbers of all new teaching graduates are leaving the profession in the first five years, unions say.

“If we don’t make this profession attractive to others there isn’t going to be teachers standing in front of children,” Felicity Jenkins said.

She had an invitation for Tinetti: “Come and spend a day in a kindergarten … It’s not just play dough.”

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