It is extremely disappointing that the National Education Union (NEU), one of the trade unions representing the teaching profession, announced its intention to strike. Not enough members of two other unions – NASUWT, which represents classroom teachers, and NAHT, which represents head teachers – voted in favour of taking industrial action.
After two years of disrupted education due to the Covid-19 pandemic, every single day spent in school with experienced teachers who know their students makes a difference to a child’s development. The NEU’s decision to call strike action puts children’s education and wellbeing at risk at a time when teachers are working hard to support them in recovering from the pandemic.
I am deeply disappointed that the NEU has taken this step given that the Government announced a record funding increase for schools in the Autumn Statement. In the Autumn Statement, the Chancellor confirmed that schools in England will receive an additional £2 billion of funding next year and the year after. This will be the highest real terms spending on schools in history, totalling £58.8 billion by 2024/25. Of course, that does not mean that teachers are not facing pressure, but this is not a sector starved of investment.
The Secretary of State for Education and officials from the Department for Education (DfE) continue to meet the trades unions to try to prevent strike action. The Government’s priority will always be to keep schools open and to keep children in the classroom, and the DfE has issued guidance to school leaders to help with this process.