The current state of play?

The National Education Union (NEU) has voted to reject the DfE’s latest pay offer for teachers.

New strike days for NEU member teachers in England have been announced on:

• Thursday 27 April
• Tuesday 2 May
• 3 further dates (to be announced) in late June/early July

Other unions have also rejected the pay offer, including the NAHT, which has said it will meet to discuss formal ballot action for strikes.

See the latest guidance below from the DfE.

• The DfE’s updated guidance on handling strike action in schools

DfE also tells schools to consider exam catch-up sessions for strikes. The government’s updated strikes guidance coincides with the NEU granting members “dispensation” to support year 11 and 13 pupils on strike days* [Tes Magazine – registration required and Schools Week].

*”If, in extremis and only by prior agreement with the NEU, members are asked to attend school for part of the day to supervise a specific exam group, then they should attend for this purpose only and leave work afterwards. If this is part of the negotiated agreement, then our members cannot be compelled to do this, but the Union will authorise it. Agreement should be sought from the head teacher that no pay is to be docked even if the member has not worked the full day.

In the event union members are paid for strike days because they are supporting the dispensation arrangements agreed by the union then we would encourage them to donate to the hardship fund to support colleagues suffering significantly greater than average hardship through loss of pay for striking.”

Please note, unions may have differing interpretations of your legal requirements than the DfE. We recommend you contact us and or consult with any union reps in your school as appropriate.

Keep checking with your local authority for any local authority (Leeds for Learning) steer and agreements / FAQs for Strike Action.