MORE than seven in 10 teachers have said their school is “running on empty” ahead of an indicative strike ballot by Britain’s biggest education union.

A survey of 2,000 National Education Union (NEU) members found 71 per cent believe their school does not have enough funding to meet basic provision for pupils.

One teacher respondent said: “My school’s budget is so tight at the moment that we’re discussing no longer having whiteboards and pens due to the cost of replacing whiteboard pens.”

Special and primary school teachers were even more likely to say their school could not afford the basics.

NEU general secretary Daniel Kebede said: “Schools are running on empty. Chronic underfunding means fewer teaching assistants and larger classes.

“A failure to get on top of the recruitment and retention crisis is driving up workload for all staff.

“The reality on the ground is caused by underfunding, but the effects are high workload for teachers and burnout leading to staff shortages.

“For parents, it is a failure of government to ensure that schools can even deliver the most ‘basic provision’ for their children.”

NEU members will be asked whether they would be willing to strike over school funding, their pay, and workload in an indicative ballot on February 28.

The union said that the government had failed to address the situation schools were facing after the autumn Budget.

Last year, the Institute for Fiscal Studies said schools were facing “a particularly tight set of pressures” in 2025/26, with growing costs expected to see them need to make savings despite increases in funding.