Exact dates teachers will strike Yorkshire and whether schools will close
Those with children at school across Yorkshire may need to seek alternative childcare arrangements, after teachers voted to strike in the coming months. Nine out of 10 teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) voted for industrial action, including three national strike days and a number of regional walkouts. Each school will be affected for a maximum of four days, HullLive reports.
Support staff and headteachers will not be participating in the walkouts after their ballots failed to attract the 50 per cent turnout that is legally required to declare a strike. Whether individual schools close or not will be a decision for the headteacher, the Government said. Read More: Dad-of-two dies and wife left paralysed after being trampled by cows on lockdown walk in Wakefield
The strikes dates that will affect schools and sixth form colleges Yorkshire are:
-
Wed February 1 (national strike day)
-
Tuesday February 28 (regional strike day)
-
Wednesday March 15 (national strike day)
-
Thursday March 16 (national strike day)
The Department for Education (DfE) has offered a 5 percent pay rise to most teachers for the current school year, but the NEU is demanding a fully funded above inflation pay rise for teachers. Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, joint NEU general secretaries, said historic real-terms pay cuts for teachers had created an “unsustainable situation” in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis, adding that staff were leaving the profession “in droves”. “This is a scandalous waste of talent and taxpayers’ money yet the Government seems unbothered about the conditions they are allowing schools and colleges to slide into,” they said. “We regret having to take strike action, and are willing to enter into negotiations at any time, any place, but this situation cannot go on.”
Will schools close?
According to newly published Government guidelines, the DfE expects a headteacher to “take all reasonable steps to keep the school open for as many pupils as possible”.
However, the decision to open, restrict attendance or close a school will rest with the headteacher and in reality the vast majority of schools are likely to close or partially close. The union denied action was designed to hurt parents. Ms Bousted said: “Whilst we seek to negotiate, we will be campaigning to bring parents and other stakeholders with us. “Our action is absolutely not designed to hurt them or to disadvantage our pupils and our young people, rather it is a stand we must take now if things are not to deteriorate further.
Here we must stand, we can do no other.” Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said it was “deeply disappointing” that member of the NEU had voted to strike. “It is deeply disappointing for parents and children, and of course it will have an impact on children’s education,” “We all know that during the pandemic they have had a lot of disruption to their education and we are still trying to catch up from that, so it is deeply disappointing.”
Read next: