A teacher has said making the decision to strike was “difficult” but she is doing it to protect the future of schools and the quality of education.
Walkouts by teacher members of the National Education Union (NEU) in England and Wales will take place on Wednesday – the first of seven days of strikes in February and March.
The strikes follow failed talks on Monday afternoon between Education Secretary Gillian Keegan and the general secretaries of unions representing teachers and headteachers, which had hoped to resolve a pay dispute which threatens disruption to more than 23,000 schools this week.
Nicola Hawkins, who is in her mid-50s, lives in Cumbria and is a history lead and primary school teacher, told the PA news agency that she made the decision to strike to help protect the future of education.
“I have been a teacher for over 25 years and I am very much embedded in my local school and my community and I love my school,” she said.
