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Over 100,000 Teachers Walkout in Latest Wave of Strikes

The “majority” of schools in England and Wales will remain open, the education secretary has claimed, as more than 100,000 teachers joined the picket line for the first time in six years. The UK’s biggest teaching union, the National Education Union (NEU), has predicted that 85% of schools will be affected, with one survey suggesting that up to one in seven schools will be closed to all pupils, rising to a quarter in London.

The Strike Action Teaching staff are taking part in a day of coordinated strikes involving up to half a million civil servants, Border Force staff, and train drivers. The NEU said it was keen to reopen negotiations to avert strikes planned for later this month and March, even though there appears little hope of a breakthrough, with the Treasury in effect blocking progress. Teachers are not required to tell their schools in advance whether they will be going on strike, leaving many parents braced for severe disruption.

Teachers Strikes in 2011
Teacher Strikes

Education Secretary Reacts to Teacher’s Strikes

Education Secretary Gillian Keegan expressed her disappointment that any schools were closing at all, but when asked how many schools would stay open, she struggled to estimate how many pupils would not have their education disrupted. She told Sky News: “We don’t know that, we’ll know later today. We have done a survey that a lot of headteachers have responded to … the majority of schools will remain open. Some will open with restrictions, some will open to everyone. But we’re very disappointed that any are closing.”

Keegan said she had been surprised to learn that teachers were not required to say in advance if they were taking part in Wednesday’s industrial action. She said the legal position would remain “under review” and urged teachers to be constructive and let their schools know if they were going on strike.

This comes as MPs yesterday backed plans to enforce minimum service levels for some sectors during strikes. Under the bill, some employees, including in the rail industry and emergency services, would be required to work during industrial action and could be sacked if they refuse. The bill passed by 315 votes to 246 but will face further scrutiny in the House of Lords before it becomes law. Unions have criticised the bill as an attack on the right to strike and have threatened legal action if it passes. Business Minister Kevin Hollinrake said the measures were “proportionate and sensible”.

Impact on Students and Parents

The strikes will disrupt the education of thousands of students, who will miss valuable class time, impacting their learning and academic progress. For some students, this could be a major setback, especially for those who are struggling and in need of additional support. In particular, SEND students will see compounded disruption, however many parents of SEND children have still voiced their support for the strikes.

Parents will be impacted by the strikes, as they may need to take time off work to care for their children or find alternative childcare arrangements. This can be a major inconvenience and put additional financial strain on families, who are already struggling to keep up with the rising cost of living.

Final Thought

Ultimately these strikes do not exist in a vacuum. They are reflective of the depth and breath of issues facing the UK education system. In many senses these challenges mirror the hotly debated and fore-fronted issues facing the NHS.

Both services face significant funding shortfalls in the short-term, and likely require restructuring of their financial models in the medium/long term. For health services this will be a much greater focus on prevention, to reduce the need for and cost of treatment. For education the inequalities of provision and outcome seen across the UK is only being compounded by the growth in inequalities of access to technology and digital literacy, which will only serve to harm the labour market of tomorrow.

Moreover, both services face significant staffing shortages. Indeed, it was hardly surprising that the Prime Minister’s pledge for all students to study Maths in some form until the age of 18 was met with incredulity by many in the education sector who asked, “who does he think will be teaching them?”

These challenges and more will not evaporate as the result of any negotiated settlement with the Government, but require longer-term concerted efforts to address. It is these issues and more that Curia’s 2023 Education Commission, which will be launching later this year will address.

For more information on the Commission, email team@curiauk.com.

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