Thousands of schools in England, Scotland and Wales face further disruption this week as teachers strike again over pay.

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On 16 January the National Education Union (NEU), one of the trade unions representing the teaching profession, announced its intention to strike. Not enough members of two other unions – the National Association of Schoolmasters/Union of Women Teachers (NASUWT) and the National Association of Headteachers – voted in favour of taking industrial action.

The NEU trade union has taken this step after the government announced a record funding increase for schools in the Autumn Statement. The Education Secretary and officials from the Department for Education (DfE) continue to meet the trades unions to try to prevent strike action. We are also working to support schools and their leaders to avoid children missing education and causing disruption to parents and families.

However, in the event of strikes taking place, there will be impacts on the delivery of education and we have a duty to help parents and families understand how this will affect them. Here’s what you need to know.

When are strikes happening in schools?

The NEU has announced it has met the threshold required in a ballot of its teacher members to strike in schools across England.

The NEU has said it will hold strikes on:

• Wednesday, February 1 (England and Wales),
• Tuesday, 14 February (just Wales)
• Tuesday, 28 February (Northern, North West, Yorkshire and Humber regions),
• Wednesday, 1 March (East Midlands, Western, Eastern regions)
• Thursday, 2 March (London, South East, South West regions)
• Wednesday, 15 March (England and Wales)
• Thursday, 16 March (England and Wales)

After two years of disrupted education due to the pandemic, every single day spent in school with experienced teachers who know their students makes a difference to a child’s development. The NEU’s decision to call strike action puts children’s education and wellbeing at risk at a time when teachers are working hard to support them in recovering from the pandemic.

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