Schools are set for a day of disruption as tens of thousands of teachers walk out amid a dispute over pay. Members of the National Education Union (NEU) in England and Wales are taking industrial action next Wednesday, February 1.
Headteachers are being urged by the government to make sure education is provided for vulnerable youngsters and the children of key workers as a priority, while online learning could be available for some students. Some schools could even shut their doors altogether, with one headteachers' union urging school leaders to prioritise the safety of children and staff.
Thousands of teachers are expected to walk out next Wednesday across Greater Manchester. The NEU says it has around 12,500 members across the region, working in almost 1,200 schools.
School leaders are now carrying out risk assessments to work out what provision they will be able to provide for students. Some families could face more disruption than others, with final plans yet to be confirmed.
Teachers will join hundreds of thousands of striking workers from other industries on the day - including train drivers, rail workers, university lecturers and civil servants. With less than a week to go until the strike action takes place, this is everything we know so far about the NEU strike.
What is the teaching strike all about?
The NEU says it is calling for a fully-funded, above inflation pay increase, following more than a decade of 'real-terms pay cuts'. It's a situation which the union says is contributing to teachers leaving the sector 'in droves'.
Members who voted in the NEU ballot overwhelmingly gave their support to strike action. Across England, 90.44% of members employed as teachers in state-funded schools voted for strike action, with a turnout of 53.27%.
Manchester saw the highest turnout in the North West, with 67.5% of eligible members in the borough voting, and the union expects strong support in the city. In a joint statement, NEU co-general secretaries Dr Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney said: "This is not about a pay rise but correcting historic real-terms pay cuts.
"Teachers have lost 23% in real-terms since 2010, and support staff 27% over the same period. The average 5% pay rise for teachers this year is some 7% behind inflation. In the midst of a cost of living crisis, that is an unsustainable situation.
"The government has also been happy to sit by as their own recruitment targets are routinely missed. Teachers are leaving in droves, a third gone within five years of qualifying. 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."
The NEU is also calling for pay increases for school support staff, who will be taking part in industrial action in Wales, but not in England. While there was overwhelming support for strike action among support staff who voted in the NEU's ballot for England, the turnout did not meet the 50% threshold.
Two other unions, the NASUWT teachers' union and the National Association of Headteachers (NAHT), also failed to meet the 50% threshold for strike action. Difficulties with the post, amid Royal Mail workers taking industrial action, have been cited as a reason for lower turnouts.
Will my child's school be affected?
Schools in Greater Manchester are due to be affected by four days of strike action, beginning next Wednesday. Further industrial action in the region will take place on February 28, March 15 and March 16, unless a breakthrough is reached on pay before those dates.
The NEU expects 'most schools' will be closed to students next Wednesday, although firm details are yet to be confirmed. The Manchester Evening News contacted all local authorities across Greater Manchester, along with the dioceses of Manchester and Salford.
Those who responded confirmed that plans for next Wednesday are still be worked on, with final details on whether schools will be open yet to be announced. The M.E.N. has been told that final decisions on who might be able to attend classes could be made as late as the day of the strike itself.
Councils gave a mixed picture on the extent to which schools would be affected across Greater Manchester, with Wigan council suggesting the NEU action is 'likely to affect all schools', while Oldham council suggested the closure of schools was 'unlikely'. The Department for Education (DfE) has issued guidance to schools on how to deal with the strike action.
It says: "In the event of a strike, the DfE expects the headteacher to take all reasonable steps to keep the school open for as many pupils as possible." The DfE says that where attendance is restricted, they should 'consider where possible' providing remote learning, similar to what was seen during the covid lockdowns.
Priority for school attendance should be given to vulnerable children, or the children of 'critical workers', the DfE adds - in similar guidance to the covid lockdown. However, the NAHT insists the government's guidance is 'simply unworkable' for some schools, calling on headteachers to prioritise the safety of children and staff before making a decision on whether to open, fully or partially.
What happens next?
Schools will be contacting parents directly to confirm whether they intend to open, either fully or partially, during the strike day. The DfE says parents should send their children to school unless they have been told not to attend, or they are unwell.
Across England, at least 18,000 people have joined the NEU since the strike action was announced, so the full impact of the union's walkout could be bigger than previously expected. The number includes 'hundreds more members' across Greater Manchester, according to NEU regional secretary Peter Middleman.
Dozens of picket supervisors have also been trained by the union across the region, with picket lines expected in some areas next Wednesday. Mr Middleman added: "We expect most schools to be closed to students on February 1 even if some headteachers choose to maintain the façade of 'business as usual' by keeping the doors open and the lights on."
Education unions held talks with government officials last Friday in an attempt to avert the upcoming strike action, but the discussions failed to bring progress in the pay dispute. Mr Middleman says the NEU's stance has been 'overwhelmingly' supported by 'most headteachers, school governors, parents and carers'.
What the government says
NEU regional secretary Mr Middleman accused education secretary Gillian Keegan as being 'just as aloof as her string of predecessors from the funding crisis in schools'. But in a blog post aimed at parents, the DfE insists it 'understands the pressures many teachers, like the rest of society, are facing now due to the challenge of high inflation', and says teachers will see pay increases of 5% to 8.9% under current plans.
A Department for Education spokesperson told the M.E.N.: “Strike action is highly damaging to children’s education, particularly following the disruption that children have experienced over the past two years. We have been clear we want to support school leaders to do everything they can to keep as many children in school as possible."
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