Teacher strikes: school disruption across England as NEU members stage fresh walkouts over pay

Schools across England will face major disruption today as teachers strike once again over pay.

It marks the sixth national strike schools have faced by members of the National Education Union (NEU) since February, with another day of walkouts planned for Friday (7 July).

Along with lessons, sports days, transition days and end-of-term school trips are set to be disrupted as teachers mount picket lines outside schools and sixth-form colleges across England during the two strike days this week. Striking teachers will also march in Westminster in London before taking part in a rally in Parliament Square on Wednesday afternoon (5 July).

More strike ballots are taking place prompting Education leaders to warn that further strike action is likely in the new school year if the ongoing pay dispute fails to be resolved.

The government has offered teachers a £1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5% rise for staff next year after intensive talks with the education unions earlier this year.

But all four education unions involved in the dispute rejected the offer and the decision on teachers’ pay in England for next year has now been passed to the independent School Teachers’ Review Body (STRB).

Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said: “Teachers do not want to strike. They want to be doing what they do best – teaching and supporting their pupils. We regret the disruption caused to education by our strikes and we support the rearrangement of transition days where possible – as some local authorities such as Birmingham, Coventry and Warwickshire have confirmed.

“We grant exemptions to members involved in school trips that cannot be rearranged. However, the disruption to children and young people’s education occurs daily due to the running down of our education service by government. This cannot go on.”

The NEU – alongside the NASUWT teaching union, the NAHT school leaders’ union and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) – are currently balloting their members in England to take action in the autumn.

Dr Bousted added: “Even at this late stage, Gillian Keegan has it in her power to stop the strike action. She could restart talks with the education unions, publish the STRB report and its pay recommendations and fully fund a decent pay rise that begins to address the recruitment and retention crisis.

“With education unions ASCL, NAHT, NASUWT and the NEU all balloting members for strike action in the autumn term, the Education Secretary must be in no doubt that failure to resolve this dispute will result in strike action across the school and college sector this September.”

Members of the NEU went on strike across England on 1 February, 15 and 16 March, 27 April and 2 May, and regional walkouts took place between 28 February and 2 March. During the most recent strikes on 2 May, Department for Education (DfE) data suggests that 50% of state schools in England were open but restricting attendance, while 5% were fully closed.

Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “This week’s strikes are a problem of the government’s making through its neglect of education and refusal to resume formal negotiations with unions. Unless the government changes its approach then there will likely be further strikes in the autumn term.”

On Tuesday, education union leaders called on Ms Keegan to urgently publish the STRB’s pay recommendation as they warned the hold-up is causing “anxiety” in schools and “frustrating headteachers”.

Paul Whiteman, general secretary of school leaders’ union NAHT, said: “We have repeatedly called for the government to publish the STRB’s pay recommendation for next year and to restart negotiations. It is in their hands to end this strike action, but they are refusing to engage.”

A DfE spokesperson said: “Any strike action is hugely damaging. We have made a fair and reasonable pay offer to teachers, recognising their incredible work and commitment. Thousands of schools received significant additional funding as part of the extra £2 billion of investment we are providing both this year and next. As a result, school funding will be at its highest level in history next year, as measured by the IFS (Institute for Fiscal Studies).”