Some school transport and Special Schools across Northern Ireland face more disruption next week due to strike action by the Unite union.
Members of trade union who work for the Education Authority (EA) are striking over pay, which is impacting particularly on school transport and on some Special Schools.
The action is due to continue until Sunday 8 May (excluding Bank Holiday Monday, 2 May).
Read more: NI council services and schools face two weeks of disruption
Unite has said that the decision to take strike action has been made due to the "failure of employers to provide an improved pay offer to workers."
It has said workers have been offered a 1.75% pay increase and that the current rate of inflation impacting employees living standards is 9%.
Unite members in most councils and the Housing Executive started a walk-out last Monday while the union's members in the EA followed suit on Tuesday.
It has meant that some EA yellow bus services, which take pupils to school, are not operating for two weeks.
A number of special schools also face disruption as some non-teaching staff, including classroom assistants, are on strike too.
School bus services operated by Translink have been running as normal following the postponement of a possible strike by bus drivers last week.
The EA said it had asked Unite for special school staff and bus drivers to be exempted from the strike action but the union refused.
Issuing an update on the strike on Friday night, the EA's Assistant Director of HR and Corporate Services, Robbie McGreevy, said: “Whilst the EA fully respects the right of staff to take industrial action, we also very much recognise the significant impact any reduction or change to learning patterns can have on children and young people, particularly those with special educational needs.
“We are working very hard to implement a range of contingency measures to minimise disruption as much as possible during this time.
“To date the measures put in place have enabled us to ensure that the vast majority of transport and school meal services continued to operate.
“We have a dedicated team who are in daily contact with Special School Principals to identify emerging issues and to explore every possibility to ensure the safe return of as many pupils as possible where they are learning remotely.
“We would also ask Unite to reconsider our valid and reasonable requests for exemptions for staff supporting Special School services which would help protect our most vulnerable children.”
For updates on how EA services are impacted by industrial action parents can visit the EA website.
Read more: Translink bus strikes suspended after new pay offer
Read more: Teaching union chief calls for pay dispute resolution as schools face strike disruption after Easter
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