Head teacher once praised by Cameron joins strike

A HEAD TEACHER who was praised by David Cameron for refusing to strike in June has decided to join the November 30 public sector strike, saying she worries that poorer pension terms will deter the best candidates from joining the teaching profession.

Sue Foster-Agg, who runs The Vaynor First School in Redditch, told BBC News why she had made "the most difficult decision" of her professional life.

"This action for me is really in support of all the younger teachers who are going to lose out. My concern is that they are not going to attract the best people into the teaching profession and you are not going to get the number of heads coming through, when there is already a shortage of head teachers."

The November 30 strikes are likely to be much more widespread than those in June, with the National Association of Head Teachers and another teachers' union, NASUWT, voting to walk out over pensions. It is the first time the NAHT has joined a strike.

Foster-Agg, who describes herself as a Conservative supporter, refuses to concede that teachers' pensions are unaffordable. "Our pensions are not bust. Two recent audits have shown that the pension pot is viable for another 50 years and we are not going to be a burden on the taxpayer.

"The difference in the summer was that I had faith in the government that they could work out a solution."

Foster-Agg's decision comes as a Comres poll commissioned by the BBC shows 61 per cent of people believe public sector workers are right to strike over pensions. ·