A CAMPAIGNING councillor threw his support behind teachers on the picket line, stressing: “Funding cuts damage children a hell of a lot more than a strike.”

Mark Goacher, Colchester councillor for Castle Ward, headed to Colchester Sixth Form College, in North Hill, to rally behind striking staff.

In the true spirit of activism he held up a huge cardboard sign in the direction of tooting drivers as they whizzed past the picketing education workers.

Although he said recruitment and a pay increase for the National Education Union members was incredibly important, he also raised other concerns.

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He said: “You are getting a lot of teaching going on from non-specialists, so maths is being taught by people without a maths degree.

“But this is also about funding cuts which are a big issue for sixth form colleges. Since 2010 funding has gone down by between 50 and 60 per cent per student.

“This means everything is stripped down to the bone and if people retire that is how you avoid redundancies. You reduce staffing but you are lowing quality.

“So it comes down to whether people want education on the cheap and want it impacting on the children’s education.

“People will say going on strike for one day damages the children but funding cuts damage them a hell of a lot more.”