Teachers to staff empty classes on strike days

Those not taking part in next week’s walk-out told to go in with 25,000 schools expected to be affected

NON-STRIKING teachers will be told to come in to empty schools during industrial action next week, it has emerged.

School leaders who have decided to close their sites to pupils have said that staff not involved in strikes will spend the day in classrooms without children.

Parents in England and Wales have received letters from many schools this week warning that they will close on Wednesday, despite uncertainty about how many teachers will walk out. One school in Suffolk said that teachers who are not members of the National Education Union [NEU] will spend the day doing administrative work and will not be asked to teach lessons online.

Head teachers have widely rejected government guidance which asked them to consider bringing in supply teachers, volunteers and external organisations to help keep schools open during strikes.

In letters to parents seen by The Daily Telegraph, dozens of schools have said they are closing for safety reasons due to the likelihood of a large number of staff absences.

Some schools have said they will provide online learning resources for pupils to complete at home.

The NEU has warned that more than 100,000 teachers are expected to strike.

Dr Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the NEU, said that she expects the “majority” of the 25,000 schools in England and Wales, to be closed to all or some classes on Wednesday.

“I think very few schools will remain completely unaffected by it,” she said.

She added that head teachers who decide to close based on a health and safety risk assessment “should be allowed to make that decision because it is right for their school and should not be intimidated by DFE [the Department for Education].”

Head teachers have been told how many of their teachers are members of the NEU. However, teachers are not obliged to tell their head teachers if they plan to strike. More than 30,000 teachers have joined the NEU since it announced strike action next week, with the aim of maximising strike chaos.

Teachers will lose a day’s pay for going on strike.

Gillian Keegan, the Education Secretary, yesterday urged teachers to keep schools open during the seven planned dates for industrial action in February and March.

“My ask of all of you is that you now work with me to keep as many schools open and as many children in school as possible during the disruptive strike action,” she told hundreds of teachers at the Church of England’s National Education Conference in London.

Bella Skinner, of parents’ group Usforthem, said: “It’s hugely disappointing that children once again are going to suffer disruption to their education and uncertainty about whether they are going to attend school.

“If we want our children to value education, we need to show them that we value it too and adults need to put children’s interests first and ensure that their education can flourish.”