Schools set for day of disruption as strikes begin
Teachers from across the region will down tools in the latest round of a long-running dispute over pay.
Teacher members of the National Eduction Union (NEU) are set to strike in the Midlands and eastern regions in England today, and further walkouts will take place across Wales and the south of England on Thursday.
It means that hundreds of schools across the Black Country and Staffordshire will either restrict access to some pupils or fully close for the day.
Colton Hills Community School in Wolverhampton was one of those schools affected by the strike action.
Acting Headteacher Mr Stephen Blower said: “We are working hard to balance the right of our colleagues to take strike action with providing uninterrupted education for our students.
"This is particularly important for our older students as they move into their final mock exams and their last preparations for GCSEs and A-Levels this summer.”
“At Colton Hills, we are determined to make sure that our students are not further disadvantaged after the learning loss during the pandemic.
"Even if the school day needs to look a little different, we are making every effort to keep school open to as many students possible.”
Pauline Browne, West Midlands Regional Secretary of the NEU, said: "Despite a full month to come to the table with concrete proposals on pay, [Education Secretary] Gillian Keegan has done nothing to resolve our dispute.
"At our meeting on February 15 she made no offer. The responsibility to avert further strikes rests with the education secretary, and she has failed.
"Gillian Keegan has called a series of meetings with education unions, which we welcome. But while she may be hearing us, she is not listening.
"This government's habit of digging its heels only serves to show how out of touch it is with the profession and the general public.
"Our members have broken through the threshold for ballots. They have bravely taken strike action already, and our membership has grown by 47,000 since the ballot result was first announced. The strength of feeling is all too clear. Enough is enough.
"The Government’s education policy is driving the current recruitment and retention crisis. A fully funded, above inflation pay rise would make a significant difference.
"It would ensure children are taught by those who specialise in the subject they are delivering, and stop the brain drain which leads to pupils seeing a revolving door of teachers over the course of a year.
"We regret having to take strike action and the disruption it causes, but it is also self-evident that disruption to education is now part of a pupil's daily life.
"This is the point we have repeatedly made to the education secretary. It is time for her to come up with solutions.”
In a statement on Monday evening, Ms Keegan said: "As a government, we have made a serious offer to the leaders of the National Education Union and Royal College of Nursing: pause this week's strikes, get round the table and talk about pay, conditions and reforms.
"It is hugely disappointing the NEU has thus far refused this serious offer and has not joined the Royal College of Nursing in calling off strikes.
"Instead of sitting round a table discussing pay, the NEU will once again cause disruption for children and families.
"Children deserve to be in school, and further strike action is simply unforgivable, especially after everything children have been through because of the pandemic."
