I WAS not at all surprised to read that female teachers are on average paid less than their male colleagues (TES, February 7).
I recently left a school where I taught as a newly-qualified teacher and was paid on the bottom rung of the qualified teachers’ pay scale.
I also happen to be a qualified and experienced nurse, which was directly relevant to my teaching subject. I asked for “experience points” but was rejected.
I was replaced by an acquaintance of mine, also a nurse, but more importantly, not a qualified teacher and with little experience of teaching. He tells me he is to be paid almost pound;3,000 more than I was on the unqualified teachers’ scale.
Did I qualify in vain? Or as the article suggests, are female teachers just poor at negotiating their starting rate?
Not an encouraging start to my teaching career!
Name and address supplied
