Most schools affected by strikes, figures suggest
The historic strike action that swept Britain on Wednesday impacted more than half of schools in England, with either restricted attendance or closed schools during the teacher’s strike.
Teachers in England and Wales were among thousands of workers across many industries that walked out in what was the biggest strike day for a decade.
Most taking part in the industrial action are striking over pay not keeping pace with inflation.
The government data estimates on school closures were based on attendance data from 77% of state-funded primary and secondary schools in England.
The department of education said this data showed:
- 43.9% of the schools were fully open
- 42.8% were open but restricting attendance
- 8.9% were fully closed
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said she was grateful to head teachers for how they had worked to keep schools open.
“Conversations with unions are ongoing and I will be continuing discussions around pay, workload, recruitment and retention, and more.”
National Education Union joint general secretaries, Mary Bousted and Kevin Courtney, said: “One day’s disruption through strike action is dwarfed by the long-term damage caused by government policy on education funding, on workload, and on pay.”
Teachers were also striking in Wales and parts of Scotland.
