Teachers’ strike dates: When and where are schools affected?
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- 20 Apr 2023
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Teachers in England and Northern Ireland will go on strike again during the summer term.
Members of the National Education Union in England will strike on Thursday 27 April and Tuesday 2 May.
In Northern Ireland, five teaching unions will strike on Wednesday 26 April.
What are teachers' pay demands and what's on offer?
England
Unions want above-inflation increases, plus extra money to ensure any pay rises do not come from schools' existing budgets.
The government's offer included a £1,000 one-off payment this year and a 4.3% pay rise for most staff next year. The starting salary for teachers in England is also due to rise to £30,000 a year by September 2023.
All four unions involved in the dispute, the National Education Union (NEU), the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), the NASUWT, and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), have rejected the offer.
The Department for Education said it was a "fair and reasonable offer" and that schools would receive an extra £2.3bn over the next two years.
Unions argue it was "insulting" and not fully funded, which could mean schools having to make cuts elsewhere.
The government said it believes schools can afford to fund most of the 4.3% pay rise through money already promised in the Autumn Statement, but that it would have provided some additional money to fund the remainder of it, and to fund the £1,000 one-off payment.
Most state school teachers in England had a 5% rise in 2022.
Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said pay would now be decided by the independent pay review body, which previously recommended a 3% rise from September 2023. This means the £1,000 payment for this year will not happen.
Teachers' salaries in England fell by an average of 11% between 2010 and 2022, after taking inflation into account, the Institute for Fiscal Studies says. Unions claim pay has fallen by as much as 23% in that time. Read More…
