Thousands of schools in England and
Wales are to close
or will be severely affected by
Wednesday’s national
strike by the National Union of Teachers
(NUT), with
primary pupils most likely to receive an
unscheduled day
out of the classroom.
Parents juggling childcare and work are
likely to face
most disruption in the NUT’s London and
Manchester
strongholds.
Manchester city council said 73 schools
would close, 55
would partially close and only 39 would
be fully open. In
Liverpool, 46 schools will close and a 64
will close to
some year groups, leaving only 14 fully
open. In
Newcastle, however, 80 schools will be
unaffected and
25 will be partially closed.
The NUT called the strike in protest at
what it says is the
government’s unwillingness to negotiate
over teachers’
pay structures, pensions and working
hours. In contrast
to recent action, however, the NUT has
not been joined
on the picket lines by the other major
teachers’ union,
NASUWT.
In London, Enfield is set to be hardest
hit, with 37
schools closed, including more than half
of the borough’s
primaries, 27 partially closed and only
seven opening as
usual.
In Newham, 33 schools will be closed, 45
partially closed
and 11 open. In south London, Lambeth
said 24 of its
schools would be closed, 26 partially
closed and just 12
open.
Partially closed schools will send some
classes and year
groups home, focusing their resources on
older students
and those with exams.
Local authorities in Leeds said at least
37 schools were
expected to be closed, 109 partially
closed and 98 open.
Nine were undecided about their plans.
In Wales, where teachers are affected
by national pay
and conditions set in London despite
policy devolution to
the Welsh government, more than half
of the state
schools in Cardiff will be closed or
partially closed.
The Welsh government would not
comment on the
effects of the strike, saying it was a
matter for
Westminster.
Because the NUT’s membership is
concentrated in
primary schools, they are most likely to
be affected in
many areas. In north London, 22
Camden primary
schools will close and 12 will be open,
while in Enflield34
primaries will close and six will be open.
Barnet expects
to see 57 of its 89 primaries closed or
partially closed.
The figures the Guardian collected from
local authorities
in England do not include academies
and free schools,
which lie outside local authority
jurisdiction. The
Academies Enterprise Trust, England’s
largest chain with
77 schools, said it had identified just
one definite
closure, a special school, while some of
its secondary
schools would be partially closed.
The NUT and the Department for
Education (DfE) traded
rhetoric over the strike on Tuesday, and
the education
secretary, Michael Gove, published a
letter sent to all the
unions taking part in talks.
“Parents will struggle to understand why
the NUT is
pressing ahead with strikes over the
government’s
measures to let heads pay good teachers
more. They
called for talks to avoid industrial
action, we agreed to
their request, and talks have been
taking place weekly,”
a DfE spokesman said.
Christine Blower, the NUT’s general
secretary, said the
DfE’s response showed how little progress
had been
made.
“The secretary of state has attended
none of the talks,
nor have other ministers. The talks are
with civil
servants who are forbidden by Mr Gove
from straying
into areas of policy. The talks are only
allowed to discuss
how Mr Gove’s policies are implemented,”
Blowers said.
“Michael Gove needs to change direction.
If he does not,
he will be presiding over a serious
teacher shortage as
thousands continue to leave the
profession as a result of
his policies. It goes without saying this
will be bad for not
only teachers but the schools and the
children they
serve.”
Laura, a science teacher and NUT
representative at a
school in Portsmouth, said: “I follow the
campaigns of
the NUT very carefully and we are not
being listened to
or respected as the professionals that
we are. I am sick
of education being used as a political
football. The main
people who suffer are our students and
the local
community. Enough is enough, and I will
be out
tomorrow to demonstrate this.”
Not all teachers, however, support the
strike. David
Rogers, an assistant headteacher, said:
“Growing up in
the Rhondda during the miners’ strike,
I have an activist
streak running through me and I do
have a great deal of
sympathy for those teachers who choose
the strike. But
for me, the problem is the fragmented
union structure in
the UK. This dilutes the message. If you
asked for the
position of teachers, you’d get many
different, often
competing, points of view.
“As a teacher, of course I want working
conditions
optimised and teachers to have a clear
voice, but I also
want the main focus of the conversation
to be about
what is best for the children.”
Wales are to close
or will be severely affected by
Wednesday’s national
strike by the National Union of Teachers
(NUT), with
primary pupils most likely to receive an
unscheduled day
out of the classroom.
Parents juggling childcare and work are
likely to face
most disruption in the NUT’s London and
Manchester
strongholds.
Manchester city council said 73 schools
would close, 55
would partially close and only 39 would
be fully open. In
Liverpool, 46 schools will close and a 64
will close to
some year groups, leaving only 14 fully
open. In
Newcastle, however, 80 schools will be
unaffected and
25 will be partially closed.
The NUT called the strike in protest at
what it says is the
government’s unwillingness to negotiate
over teachers’
pay structures, pensions and working
hours. In contrast
to recent action, however, the NUT has
not been joined
on the picket lines by the other major
teachers’ union,
NASUWT.
In London, Enfield is set to be hardest
hit, with 37
schools closed, including more than half
of the borough’s
primaries, 27 partially closed and only
seven opening as
usual.
In Newham, 33 schools will be closed, 45
partially closed
and 11 open. In south London, Lambeth
said 24 of its
schools would be closed, 26 partially
closed and just 12
open.
Partially closed schools will send some
classes and year
groups home, focusing their resources on
older students
and those with exams.
Local authorities in Leeds said at least
37 schools were
expected to be closed, 109 partially
closed and 98 open.
Nine were undecided about their plans.
In Wales, where teachers are affected
by national pay
and conditions set in London despite
policy devolution to
the Welsh government, more than half
of the state
schools in Cardiff will be closed or
partially closed.
The Welsh government would not
comment on the
effects of the strike, saying it was a
matter for
Westminster.
Because the NUT’s membership is
concentrated in
primary schools, they are most likely to
be affected in
many areas. In north London, 22
Camden primary
schools will close and 12 will be open,
while in Enflield34
primaries will close and six will be open.
Barnet expects
to see 57 of its 89 primaries closed or
partially closed.
The figures the Guardian collected from
local authorities
in England do not include academies
and free schools,
which lie outside local authority
jurisdiction. The
Academies Enterprise Trust, England’s
largest chain with
77 schools, said it had identified just
one definite
closure, a special school, while some of
its secondary
schools would be partially closed.
The NUT and the Department for
Education (DfE) traded
rhetoric over the strike on Tuesday, and
the education
secretary, Michael Gove, published a
letter sent to all the
unions taking part in talks.
“Parents will struggle to understand why
the NUT is
pressing ahead with strikes over the
government’s
measures to let heads pay good teachers
more. They
called for talks to avoid industrial
action, we agreed to
their request, and talks have been
taking place weekly,”
a DfE spokesman said.
Christine Blower, the NUT’s general
secretary, said the
DfE’s response showed how little progress
had been
made.
“The secretary of state has attended
none of the talks,
nor have other ministers. The talks are
with civil
servants who are forbidden by Mr Gove
from straying
into areas of policy. The talks are only
allowed to discuss
how Mr Gove’s policies are implemented,”
Blowers said.
“Michael Gove needs to change direction.
If he does not,
he will be presiding over a serious
teacher shortage as
thousands continue to leave the
profession as a result of
his policies. It goes without saying this
will be bad for not
only teachers but the schools and the
children they
serve.”
Laura, a science teacher and NUT
representative at a
school in Portsmouth, said: “I follow the
campaigns of
the NUT very carefully and we are not
being listened to
or respected as the professionals that
we are. I am sick
of education being used as a political
football. The main
people who suffer are our students and
the local
community. Enough is enough, and I will
be out
tomorrow to demonstrate this.”
Not all teachers, however, support the
strike. David
Rogers, an assistant headteacher, said:
“Growing up in
the Rhondda during the miners’ strike,
I have an activist
streak running through me and I do
have a great deal of
sympathy for those teachers who choose
the strike. But
for me, the problem is the fragmented
union structure in
the UK. This dilutes the message. If you
asked for the
position of teachers, you’d get many
different, often
competing, points of view.
“As a teacher, of course I want working
conditions
optimised and teachers to have a clear
voice, but I also
want the main focus of the conversation
to be about
what is best for the children.”
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