Teacher strikes: More schools than ever unable to fully open in England

More schools than ever were incapable to afloat unfastened successful England's latest teachers' strike, Department for Education (DfE) information suggests.

Teachers belonging to the National Education Union (NEU) took portion successful their 5th time of nationalist onslaught enactment connected Tuesday.

Members of 4 teaching unions person rejected a wage connection which ministers said was "fair and reasonable".

The NEU is considering 3 further days of onslaught enactment successful the summer.

Based connected the 16,400 schools which submitted attendance data:

The DfE data is an estimation of state-funded primary, secondary and peculiar schools.

The worst-affected time successful presumption of schoolhouse closures remains 1 February - the archetypal time of the NEU's nationalist onslaught enactment - erstwhile 9.3% of schools were estimated to person shut.

Richard Garratt, who joined a objection extracurricular Westminster with his eight-month-old baby, said helium was struggling to marque ends meet.

"I consciousness annoyed, I was primitively a teaching assistant, past I became a teacher and connected paper, my money's expanding but successful world due to the fact that of prices rising I americium worse disconnected than I was 10 years ago," helium said.

Exam play begins connected 15 May successful England and the NEU says it is supporting arrangements for schools to beryllium capable to person capable unit connected onslaught days truthful exam students tin attend.

A-level pupil Katie, 18, is studying English language, past and music.

She said she sympathised with striking teachers due to the fact that they person "ridiculous dedication".

"If you spoil equipment, you cognize [replacing it] volition travel retired of teachers' ain money," she added.

The DfE information suggested large determination differences successful however schools were affected by the onslaught connected Tuesday.

An estimated 11% of schools closed successful London, compared with 2% successful the West Midlands.

Paul Williams, a secondary schoolhouse teacher from Greenwood Academy successful Birmingham, was connected onslaught but went into schoolhouse to thatch students from his GCSE maths classes.

He said his main crushed for striking was due to the fact that schoolhouse backing has "deteriorate[d] massively implicit the past decade".

The magnitude of extracurricular activities his schoolhouse tin supply has truthful go "very restricted".

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live, Sarah successful Worcester said her girl was successful school, due to the fact that she was sitting her GCSEs this year, but that being determination was "pretty pointless" arsenic different teachers were taking her classes.

The "number-one priority" should beryllium exam students and however this was affecting them, she said, adding: "They are already down successful school."

The NEU is calling for an above-inflation wage emergence which does not travel from schools' existing budgets.

Kevin Courtney, associated wide caput of the NEU, said the dip successful the fig of fully-open schools during the 2 May onslaught time "shows that enactment is not falling".

He added that pupils' acquisition had been affected severely by Covid "and that is wherefore we are calling for this concern successful their education".

All 4 teaching unions person rejected a wage connection which included a £1,000 one-off outgo for this year, and a 4.3% wage emergence for astir unit successful September, with starting salaries reaching £30,000.

They argued the summation was not afloat funded, meaning schools would person had to marque cuts elsewhere to spend it.

But the DfE described it arsenic a "fair and tenable offer", and said that schools would person an other £2.3bn implicit the adjacent 2 years.

The determination connected what to wage teachers volition present beryllium made by the wage reappraisal body.

Both Labour and the Liberal Democrats privation to spot negotiations betwixt the unions and the authorities restart.

Aside from the NEU's action, the 3 different unions successful the quality are holding ballots connected onslaught action.

If their members ballot to strike, the unions person agreed to squad up, which could mean afloat schoolhouse closures successful the autumn term.

A DfE authoritative said co-ordinating onslaught enactment was "unreasonable and disproportionate, particularly fixed the interaction the pandemic has already had connected students' learning".

Additional reporting by Branwen Jeffreys, Louisa Pilbeam and Sallie George.