Teachers with no union can still join the strike action

TEACHERS who are not part of a union are still able to join colleagues in strike action, it has emerged.

Under current strike rules, teachers can join colleagues on the picket line even if they themselves are not part of a union, provided they do not belong to a group which did not meet the voting threshold for industrial action.

National Education Union (NEU) members will walk out as part of a nationwide strike today and tomorrow. Union members are not obliged to tell their employers if they are planning to join the action, and schools may need to decide to close without knowing which of their staff will be taking part.

The action means that teachers will fail to teach GCSE and A-level pupils despite a union boss promising they would be “unharmed” during crucial learning time ahead of examinations.

Schools have been asked to prioritise keeping classrooms open for pupils preparing to sit exams, and Dr Mary Bousted, the joint general secretary of the NEU, told LBC radio yesterday that “teachers losing a day’s pay will be ensuring that those children taking GCSES and other exams are not harmed by this action”.

However, some schools have told parents that GCSE and A-level pupils in Years 11, 12 and 13 will have to miss lessons and study at home or in the library because teachers are expected to walk out, The Daily Telegraph has learnt.

Parents of Year 11 pupils at the Heart of England School in Coventry were told last week that their children must stay at home today and access online learning resources. At Chingford Foundation School in Waltham Forest, northeast London, pupils in Years 11, 12 and 13 have been told that lessons are cancelled but they can use the school library to study independently.

Elsewhere, at Chase Terrace Academy in Burntwood, Staffordshire, only a small number of A-level subjects will be taught on strike days.

Pupils whose subjects are not being taught must study from home.

Arabella Skinner, director of the parents’ group Usforthem, said: “As students approach Easter knowing their exams are just around the corner, especially those taking A-levels who have never taken public exams, they are likely to be nervous and concerned about how well prepared they are after three years of stop-start education.

“For those pupils, another two days at home with minimal teaching just adds to the strain they are under, as well as the threat of more strikes during the exam period.”