Pupils in England face missing five days of school next term after the National Education Union approved further industrial action over pay and school funding for the summer, as well as the possibility of more strikes in autumn.
Delegates to the NEU’s annual conference in Harrogate voted for three further strike days to take place in late June or early July, to follow two days of strikes already scheduled for 27 April and 2 May.
The conference also backed a fresh ballot of NEU members to authorise further strikes once the current ballot expires, which if passed by members would allow the union to extend industrial action into the new school year from September onwards.
The move is an escalation of the dispute over pay and school funding, after both the NEU and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) decisively rejected the offer by the education secretary, Gillian Keegan, of a one-off payment of £1,000 and a pay rise of 4.5% from September for teachers in England.
Keegan has said the rejection means no negotiations will take place until next year’s pay recommendation by the independent School Teachers’ Review Body.
