There is no feelgood factor in education.”`I care so much about what I do but you get demoralised’Lorna Wazir took voluntary redundancy from Springfield Lower School in Kempston, a suburb of Bedfordshire, last July – in effect, retiring a year early – to ensure that a younger member of staff did not have to go,”I had intended to go on until retirement, but I thought it would ease things for the school if I went early Things were very strained financially. The school was able to save pounds 5,000 or pounds 6,000 on my salary.”I think these cuts are outrageous. I love education – it has been my passion after my husband and children – but how can you possibly do a good job when there are 39 in the class? I care so much about what I do but you get demoralised. The year before last I had 36 six- and seven- year-olds in the class and I got so tired.”You are running all the time and you are still not doing it well enough. It may have been OK to have big classes 30 years ago, when children just sat still and looked at the board, but that is impossible with all the learning activities we do now.”"I’ve got a new job as head of the International School in Baghdad, where the maximum class size is 22.”`One classroom is empty not for lack of children but for lack of a teacher’Annette Fisher is head of Springfield Lower School in Kempston, Bedford, where Lorna Wazir taught until last July.As well as losing Mrs Wazir, she had to end the temporary contract of another teacher.”Our eight- and nine-year-olds are in classes of 39 and 38.

There are also classes of 37 and 36 and two of 35.”We lost money because 90 children moved on from the school last July and we only took in 72 this September. One classroom is empty – not for lack of children but for lack of a teacher to teach them.”I am cynical about statistics I can only say what is happening to our children now The classes they are in are too large. It is a physical problem of space as well as the limited number of interactions you can have with any one child when there are so many of them.”Learning support for special needs has been savaged. It gets harder and harder to prove a case for a child who needs more help than we are able to offer – and in the end it is all down to money.”We know who is to blame for all this – it’s central government.

Bedfordshire has been very good to us.”`I have lost out financially and in my career development’Stan is one of around 850 teachers made compulsorily redundant last July because of the national cuts in spending on education. The axe came after 10 years of teaching humanities at a Derbyshire comprehensive school, and he is bitter. He is 40 and has been unable to find another teaching job.”The budget was not large enough to cover all the costs so certain posts were identified for redundancy Class sizes were rejigged. Younger pupils were in classes of just over 30; they are in classes of 35,36 and 37 now.”I have lost out financially and I have lost out in my career development. The school and the children have lost out in terms of my experience.”"I used to run an after-school GCSE club I ran the school youth club all in my own time I love teaching.