Teachers in England were back on picket lines on Wednesday as they staged another strike in a long-running dispute over pay.
Many schools are expected to either fully close or restrict access to pupils as a result of the walkouts by teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU), with another strike planned on Friday.
There are fears that pupils could miss out on end-of-year activities – including concerts, trips, sports days and opportunities to meet new classmates – during the strikes at schools and sixth-form colleges this week.
It is the seventh day individual schools in England have faced walkouts by NEU members since February.
Union leaders have warned that schools could face co-ordinated strike action by education unions in the autumn term if a deal over pay cannot be reached.
Speaking from a picket line outside Regent High School in north-west London, NEU general secretary-elect Daniel Kebede said teachers are taking up second jobs amid the cost-of-living crisis.
He told the PA news agency: “I’m certain (if other) education unions would like strike ballots in the autumn term there will be co-ordinated action.”
